Tonga accedes to UN Convention Against Corruption

Tonga has acceded to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, becoming the 14th and final Pacific Island country to do so, and the 187th signatory in the world.

Minister for Trade and Economic Development, Samiu Vaipulu made the announcement during the Pacific Regional Conference on Anti-Corruption held in Kiribati on 5-6 February.

The gathering is the region’s first ever Leaders’ Anti-Corruption summit aimed at establishing a network on anti-corruption in the Pacific region with countries sharing best practices and lessons learned in combatting corruption.

The summit concluded with Pacific leaders and representatives endorsing a ground-breaking Teiniwa Vision, which recognises the importance of strong leadership and building political will to tackle corruption.

The UN Convention against Corruption is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument.

It covers five main areas including preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange.

Forms of corruption include bribery, trading in influence, abuse of functions, and various acts of corruption in the private sector....