Sunday 19 / May / 2024
Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman, represented by State Audit Institution (SAI), participates in the Fifth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Arab Convention against Corruption, on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Secretariat General of the League of Arab States in Cairo.
The Conference is held with a wide international participation from Anti-Corruption Authorities in the States signatories to the Convention, Representatives of Supreme Audit Institutions and international organisations as well as civil society institutions, universities and professional institutions.
The delegation of the Sultanate of Oman to the session was headed by Sheikh Ghuson bin Hilal Al-Alawi, Chairman of State Audit Institution, accompanied by specialists from the Institution.
He delivered the Sultanate of Oman’s speech at the Session, through which he expressed his deep thanks and appreciation to the Secretariat General of the League of Arab States for its generous invitation to State Audit Institution to participate in the conference Fifth Session meetings, praising the efforts made by the Secretariat General to implement the decisions of the Fourth Session and their efforts in preparing for this conference.
He highlighted the firm position of the Sultanate of Oman in standing by the brotherly Palestinian people, and to act with all political and legal means to establish justice and peace and halt the bloodshed of innocent Palestinian people. In addition, he stressed the need for achieving a just and lasting solution in order to restore security, stability and comprehensive peace to the entire region.
The Chairman of SAI pointed out the Sultanate of Oman’s keenness to exchange experiences with Arab States to enhance joint Arab cooperation in the field of promoting integrity and combating corruption, as it has a significant impact on achieving comprehensive development at the local and regional levels.
The Sultanate of Oman is also keen to implement the obligations and initiatives resulting from the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention.
He added that the Sultanate of Oman, since its accession to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2013, has been keen to achieve the objectives of the Convention and to promote and strengthen the measures aimed at combating and preventing corruption, as well as promoting integrity and sound administrative accountability for public affairs and properties.
The Sultanate of Oman is also working on the implementation of the National Integrity Promotion Plan 2022 - 2030; Which was prepared by surveying and studying regional and international experiences in the field of national strategies, and guided by publications of competent international organisations.
The Chairman of SAI concluded the Sultanate of Oman’s speech by stressing that the Sultanate of Oman will continue to support all efforts aimed at combating various forms of corruption and limiting its spread in order to achieve justice, equality and decent living for all Arab peoples.
The agenda of the Fifth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Arab Convention against Corruption included many key themes, the most important of which is reviewing the Secretariat General report on the measures taken to implement the decisions issued by the Fourth Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Arab Convention against Corruption and developing views on them.
In addition, the session included reviewing the recommendations issued by the First Session of the team to review the optimal implementation of the Arab Convention against Corruption, held at the headquarters of the Secretariat General of the Arab League in September 2022.
During the session, the States Parties also discussed the recommendations issued by the Second Session of the team to review the optimal implementation of the Arab Convention against Corruption, as well as the recommendations issued by the fifth meeting of the open-ended committee of government experts and representatives of independent bodies in the States parties to the Arab Convention against Corruption, which were held in September 2023.
The session concluded by discussing the drafts submitted by the States Parties, represented in a draft resolution on establishing a mechanism for submitting draft resolutions, a draft amendment of the reference framework of the mechanism for reviewing the implementation of the Convention, and a draft Arab protocol supplementary to the Arab Anti-Corruption Convention related to cooperation in the recovery of funds derived from corruption and smuggled abroad, in addition to a draft mechanism for monitoring integrity indicators in the procedures applied in the public sector by analyzing the information provided by the States parties to the Convention, and a draft decision to establish the Council of Heads of Law Enforcement Agencies concerned with integrity and anti-corruption in the States parties to the Arab Convention against Corruption.
On the sidelines of the Conference, His Excellency Sheikh Ghuson bin Hilal Al-Alawi, Chairman of State Audit Institution, met with a number of heads of peer SAIs in the Gulf Cooperation Council States and some brotherly and friendly States, during which they reviewed topics related to audit aspects, areas of promoting integrity and combating corruption, existing cooperation and ways to develop it to serves common interests and sharing of experiences.
It is noteworthy that the Arab Convention against Corruption entered into force in June 2013, and the Sultanate of Oman ratified the Convention under the Royal Decree No. 28/2014 issued on May 21, 2014, out of its belief in the importance of Arab cooperation to prevent and combat corruption.
The Convention seeks to enforce measures aimed at preventing, combating and detecting corruption in all its forms, and prosecuting all other crimes related to it, in addition to enhancing Arab cooperation in this field and promoting integrity, transparency, accountability and the rule of law, as well as encouraging individuals and civil society institutions to participate effectively in preventing and combating corruption.
