At the conclusion of its conference in Doha ... Al Mahmoud's election as President of the International Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption

Mohammed Al-Shayazami-Doha

The head of the Qatari Shura Council, Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, was unanimously elected as the president of the International Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption at the conclusion of the seventh conference of the organization in Doha, where he will take over the presidency of the next session until 2021.

In his speech as the head of the organization, Al Mahmoud said that he will work with everyone to achieve the goals of the organization, and activate the initiatives, plans and programs to develop their work mechanisms and improve their performance.

He considered that the Parliamentarians Against Corruption organization deserves all support because it through its multi-media work constitutes a unique contribution in preventing and fighting corruption, and in achieving sustainable development for future generations in a world that is witnessing rapid and radical changes.

The two-day conference culminated in the issuance of the "Doha Declaration", which urged parliaments and parliamentarians to strengthen the role of legislative institutions and intensify their efforts in implementing the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Among the highlights of the declaration is the call to develop public transparency and accountability through the promotion of open, reliable, participatory and creative systems and policies that guarantee to peoples the right to free access to information and participation in public affairs, and partnership with civil society organizations and individuals working to enhance integrity.

The statement urged parliaments to take measures and tools to develop parliamentary integrity, including engaging citizens, enhancing digital communication with them, making data related to all transparency, and the right to free access to information.

With this declaration, the organization finds itself, its structures and all its branches on a more comprehensive and robust ground in fighting corruption worldwide, and it also places the parliaments of the 165 countries that sign up to its basic agreement, before a broad and detailed set of anti-corruption measures and its effects.

Prioritize
In a statement to Al Jazeera Net regarding the priorities that will start at the head of the organization, Al Mahmoud said that there is a plan outlined for the next stage, and there are some additions that will be worked on in order to develop its role and expand its work with responsibility and honesty.

He considered that parliamentarians are at the forefront of those who tackle corruption because they have the authority to legislate and amend laws, otherwise the alternative is to take people to the streets to fight corruption instead of governments, and we do not want to reach this limit because corruption is a great scourge and needs multifaceted efforts and treatments.

The Global Association of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) was established in October 2002 after a world conference in Ottawa, Canada, bringing together more than 170 representatives and 400 observers to fight corruption and promote good governance.

The organization is distinguished as the only international network of parliamentarians whose efforts are focused on fighting corruption, and its members are either current or former lawmakers, or those who have been denied their right to hold official positions.

Since its inception, the organization has worked to activate its efforts in the fields of information exchange and analysis and control of international standards applicable in the fight against corruption. It has also improved the level of public awareness on issues related to it and activated ways to address it, including strengthening mechanisms for pressure on governments and officials, and calling for the activation of oversight bodies.

The organization also supported the demands of legislative and oversight changes in national parliaments to control corruption, promote good governance, and hold governments accountable to their people, among its specialized task forces are the Anti-Money Laundering Team, the United Nations Convention against Corruption team, the Parliamentary Oversight Team, and the Ethics and Ethics Team Parliamentary, and Community Participation Team.

Corruption index
According to the Transparency International Corruption Watch 2018 report, Denmark was the least corrupt country, followed by New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland.

In the Arab world, most of the Arab countries are at the bottom of the list of perceptions of corruption, including some countries that are currently supposed to implement a wide range of economic reforms aimed at creating an environment conducive to investment.

According to the organization’s report, political corruption is considered the main challenge in the Middle East and North Africa region, despite the efforts of governments to combat corruption, and its losses in the Arab countries are estimated at between 2% and 3% of the gross domestic product, that is, between 60 and 90 billion USD.