ISLAMABAD: A two-day seminar on combating corruption, organized by the government of Pakistan and the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), concluded in Islamabad with the adoption of a declaration, the foreign office said on Saturday,
The seminar, held in collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was attended by more than 200 international and national stakeholders including government officials, OIC member and observer states, IPHRC commissioners, members of the OIC secretariat and relevant United Nations agencies as well as practitioners, academia, civil society and media representatives.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who delivered the keynote, called on OIC countries “to explore innovative ideas and initiatives for strengthening the international framework to prevent corruption.”
Based on deliberations during the seminar, the ‘Islamabad Declaration on Combating Corruption for the full realization of all Human Rights and Sustainable Development’ was adopted.
“Need for strengthening existing national, regional and international legal and human rights mechanisms/institutions to combat corruption and in building resilient systems,” the declaration read. “Improving transnational cooperation for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of corrupt offenses, as well as in the recovery and return of confiscated assets.”
The declaration also called for following a “people-centric and human rights-based approach” to combating corruption and enhancing the capacity of the judiciary, prosecution service and law enforcement agencies. It also called for the promotion of civic engagement and social accountability and said an OIC intergovernmental working group should be set up “to actively explore innovative ideas and initiatives under the OIC and the UN auspices for mutual legal assistance on issues of corruption and stolen legal assets.”