Central Province (Papua New Guinea), 10 May 2023 - On Europe Day - 9 May - corruption investigators and prosecutors in Papua New Guinea were the first in the world to participate in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) advanced training program. The intensive program is delivered by UNODC and co-organised by the Department of Justice and Attorney-General with support from the European Union.
Building on the introductory UNODC training delivered last year in Lae, the advanced training from 9-11 May in Central Province will further boost skills and enhance the cooperation between key integrity agencies to conduct more effective investigations of corruption, money laundering and other financial crime.
“As criminals get smarter and adopt new methods to conceal their conduct, corruption fighters need the best available techniques and skills to respond effectively. UNODC is delighted to be delivering as a world first the second and more advanced phase of our training program to Papua New Guinea. Effective enforcement of anti-corruption laws is critical to Papua New Guinea’s Vision 2050 by supporting effective systems and processes to bring corrupt actors to account,” said Mr Graeme Gunn, UNODC Officer-in-Charge and Anti-Corruption Adviser, Papua New Guinea.
The Department of Justice and Attorney General, Financial Analysis and Supervision Unit, Auditor General’s Office, Investment Promotion Authority, interim Independent Commission Against Corruption, Office of the Public Prosecutor, Ombudsman Commission and the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary are participating in the training.
Mrs Josephine Pitmur, Deputy Secretary, Department of Justice and Attorney General, said: “While anti-money laundering laws and proceeds of crime powers are recent concepts in our legislation, we need to ensure these laws are used to their full effect.”
“All public agencies engaged in the fight against corruption need to work together – this is what the people of Papua New Guinea expect. I commend all the agencies attending this training and encourage all of us to adopt good practices to help destroy corruption,” said Mr Thomas Eluh, Chair of the interim PNG Independent Commission Against Corruption.
This workshop is supported by the Project on Preventing and Countering Corruption in Papua New Guinea, implemented jointly by UNODC and the UN Development Programme PNG, and funded by the European Union. It is also supported by the Australian Government.
UNODC, as the custodian of the UN Convention Against Corruption, undertakes its 2023 programmes to combat corruption under the theme “UNCAC at 20: Uniting the World Against Corruption”, building up to International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December 2023 and the 10th biennial Conference of States Parties on UNCAC. In the Pacific, UNODC partners with the Pacific Islands Forum to implement the regional anti-corruption roadmap, the Teieniwa Vision, adopted by the 18 Pacific Leaders in 2021 and devised at the Pacific Unity Against Corruption Leaders Conference in 2020, hosted by the Government of Kiribati and facilitated by UNODC.
