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GOPAC is a worldwide alliance of parliamentarians working together to combat corruption, strengthen good government, and uphold the rule of law.
Greater Transparency and Oversight Needed in Defence and Security Sectors to Fight Corruption

Ottawa, Canada – The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) is calling on parliamentarians throughout the world to make oversight of the defence and security sectors a priority in their fight against corruption and ensure that there is a justifiable balance between the need for secrecy and the need for transparency. The call is reflected in GOPAC’s position paper on oversight of the defence and security sectors, Oversight is the Continuation of Democracy by Other Means, launched today.

“Excessive secrecy in the defence sector can allow corruption to run rife and directly challenge the oversight abilities of parliamentarians,” said GOPAC Chair, Ricardo Garcia Cervantes. “It is imperative that parliamentarians find a balance between the two and ensure that citizens are not robbed of their human rights and liberties.”

The paper acknowledges that some secrecy is a necessary part of defence and security work but also emphasises that it is parliamentarians’ responsibility to find a proper balance with their role as overseers of the public purse. The paper provides parliamentarians with recommendations for attaining this balance, including recommendations to:

advocate for internal, independent and impartial resources within parliament that facilitate the role of parliamentarians in the review of defence and security sector issues;
strengthen measures that prevent conflicts of interest, e.g. instituting rules for a moratorium period following involvement in defence and/or security committee related business; and
make effective control of the international arms trade a high priority on the parliamentary agenda and establish a process for ongoing review, sanctions and restrictions.
“The tools to ensure our governments are accountable and transparent, particularly in the defence sector, exists and GOPAC is committed to ensuring legislators use them,” concluded Mr Garcia Cervantes.

GOPAC is a worldwide alliance of parliamentarians working together to combat corruption, strengthen good government, and uphold the rule of law. Based in Ottawa, Canada, GOPAC has 52 national chapters on 5 continents. GOPAC supports its members’ efforts through original research, global anti‑corruption capacity building, and international peer support. Visit GOPAC on the web at gopacnetwork.org, on Twitter at twitter.com/GOPAC_Eng, and on Facebook at facebook.com/gopacnetwork.

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Contact:
Ann Marie Paquet
Communications Manager
GOPAC Global Secretariat
+1.613.366-3164 x 304
annmarie.paquet@gopacnetwork.org

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