Is this email not displaying correctly? Try the web version. Attendance Soars at Fifth Global Conference Anti-corruption fighters gathered in Manila at the end of January, joining together to lead the way towards a corruption-free society. The Fifth Global Conference of Parliamentarians Against Corruption was the most successful and well-attended conference since GOPAC’s inception. Over 500 legislators, representatives from NGOs and civil society actors assembled for the event at the Philippines International Conference Center in Manila, Philippines from 31 January to 2 February. The three days were packed with insightful dialogs and GOPAC Members returned to their countries energized with new ideas to strengthen their fight against corruption. The GOPAC Manila Secretariat will shortly release a full conference proceedings book. For a copy of the Declaration and Resolutions, please visit the GOPAC website. We are also posting photos from the event on the GOPAC Facebook page and on Flickr. We invite everyone to browse the photos and tag themselves where appropriate. GOPAC Welcomes Senator Angara as New Chair of Board of Directors Prior to the opening of the Fifth Global Conference of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, GOPAC held its biennial Board of Directors meeting. The Board of Directors elected a new Chair, Senator Edgardo Angara, who previously sat on the Board as Vice-Chair. Sen. Angara has been a strong advocate for the fight against corruption for over a decade and in addition to his dedication to the GOPAC Board, he is the Chair of the Southeast Asia Parliamentarians Against Corruption and GOPAC Philippines. Hon. Given Lubinda’s term as Vice-Chair has come to an end but his strong commitment to GOPAC and the fight against corruption will continue. Mr. Ricardo Garcia Cervantes from Mexico will continue in his role as Vice-Chair and Mary King from Trinidad and Tobago will remain as Secretary. GOPAC would like to thank outgoing Chair Dr. Naser Al Sane who has been a strong leader for the organization over the past four years. His hard work and dedication have laid a solid foundation for the organization, ensuring GOPAC is a sustainable and strong leader in the anti-corruption fight. Dr. Al Sane will remain on the Board of Directors as a Member-at-large of the Board of Director’s Executive Committee. He was also appointed Chair of the GOPAC Management Committee. Visit the GOPAC website to read more about our Board of Directors. Examining Constituency Development Funds in Zambia GOPAC partner and fellow anti-corruption leader, Tearfund, joined us for the Fifth Global Conference of Parliamentarians Against Corruption where they unveiled their research report Constituency Development Funds: Transparency in grassroots development or political patronage. The report, which examines the constituency development fund in Zambia, was a joint effort between Tearfund and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ). During the launch of the report, EFZ and Tearfund called on parliamentarians to: Enhance transparency, ensuring that information is useful and understandable at the local level; Promote meaningful community participation throughout the process, from the decision making to the monitoring of projects; and

Reduce the level of influence that the Parliamentarians have over decisions on the use of CDFs.

The report shows that these aspects can make a difference to the outcome of local development projects. At the closing ceremony of the Global Conference the African Parliamentarian Network Against Corruption (APNAC) noted their intention to work to reform CDF practices. Click here to read the full report. GOPAC Founder Appointed

Chairman Emeritus At the Board of Directors Meeting held following to the Fifth Global Conference of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, the GOPAC Board of Directors unanimously resolved to appoint GOPAC Founder John Williams to the role of GOPAC Chairman Emeritus. The appointment comes in recognition of Mr. Williams’ extensive contributions to the organisation and ensures that GOPAC does not lose his advice and experience. He will represent GOPAC as special envoy in certain occasions when needed. Mr. Williams came to the conclusion of his tenure as our Chief Executive Officer at the Global Conference in Manila, Philippines, which closed on 2 February. Mr. Williams founded GOPAC in 2002 as an international organization of parliamentarians dedicated to improving parliaments as institutions of oversight. He built the organisation up for ten years, first as chairman and then as CEO. GOPAC exists because of his vision and determination, and we are all thankful to him. We look forward to working with Mr. Williams in his new role as we all join together to fight against corruption and foster an even stronger and successful GOPAC over the next decade. New GOPAC Chapters in Mongolia and Peru GOPAC welcomed a new national chapter in Mongolia this past month. Twelve members from across party lines in the Parliament of Mongolia joined together to officially launch GOPAC Mongolia. The announcement was made on 14 January during a press conference by the Chair of GOPAC Mongolia, Mrs. Burmaa Radnaa, at the State Great Hural of Mongolia. A second new national chapter was founded during the Fifth Global Conference of Parliamentarians Against Corruption. Legislators from Peru gathered at the conference and committed to fighting corruption and promoting good governance in their country and around the world. GOPAC Peru is the sixth chapter for the GOPAC América Latina y el Caribe regional chapter. Open Government Partnership Meeting in Santiago de Chile GOPAC Global Task Force (GTF) Advisor Vicki Baxter Amade attended an Open Government Partnership (OGP) meeting in Santiago, Chile on 10-11 January. The OGP has grown from 8 to 58 countries during its first years, and the meeting in Chile provided an opportunity for the Organization of American States countries to discuss progress. Ms. Baxter Amade spoke on a panel on open parliament, where she discussed the plans of GOPAC’s Participation of Society Global Task Force (GTF-PoS) in addressing the need for parliamentarians to become more engaged with their constituents. She called on civil society to ensure that this is a two-way process, encouraging them to actively demand action from parliamentarians to combat corruption. In addition to representatives from the Americas, the final plenary included the Hon. Nick Hurd, United Kingdom’s (UK) Minister for Civil Society and the new co-chair of the OGP. Hon. Hurd stated the UK aims to shift the focus of the OGP from quantity to quality and also commented that the UK intended to place transparency, good governance and combatting corruption at the very top of the international agenda during the UK chairmanship of the G8. GOPAC’s Vision, Mission and Core Values GOPAC’s vision is to: achieve accountability and transparency through effective anti-corruption mechanisms and inclusive participation and cooperation between parliamentarians, government and civil society. To achieve this vision, GOPAC’s mission is to: assist and support parliamentarians in their advocacy and legislation to make governments accountable and transparent. Our vision and mission are built upon GOPAC’s commitment to certain core values. These values guide our programs, projects and our day-to-day business of promoting good governance and the rule of law around the world. The set of core values are: Integrity

Integrity is at the heart of the anti-corruption agenda. GOPAC is committed to conducting itself with the same honesty, openness, and principle it seeks to instill in governments.

Accountability

Accountability and transparency are the essence of good government. GOPAC is committed to leading by example, by ensuring we are accountable to our members, our partners, and our funders. We demand the same of all governments, by ensuring that accountability is a fundamental objective of all our initiatives. Collaboration

GOPAC recognizes that the fight against corruption is a fight by all of us, for all of us, and can only succeed when we work together. We work in collaboration with legislators, civil society, non–governmental organiza-tions, and the private sector, and seek to build a strong coalition against corruption across sectors and across society. Diversity

GOPAC is an inclusive and diverse organization. We are committed to ensuring that our network is open and non–partisan, and welcomes members who believe in the same core values GOPAC holds, from all over the world regardless of age, race, religion, gender, or political affiliation.