During 11th – 13th April 2016, John G. Williams, President Emeritus of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption (GOPAC) has conducted a round of consultations with the political groups in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova regarding the possibility of establishing a national GOPAC chapter in the Republic of Moldova. The purpose of the national chapter is to support the parliamentarians of the Republic of Moldova in promoting accountability and transparency through effective anti-corruption mechanisms and inclusive participation and cooperation between current and former parliamentarians, government and civil society.
The visit of GOPAC founder was organized with the support of UNDP Project “Improving the quality of Moldovan democracy through parliamentary and electoral support” with the financial support of the Government of Sweden.
This activity is part of the reforms efforts initiated by the Parliament to prevent and combat corruption based on international best practices. The national GOPAC chapter is envisaged to play an important role in implementation of the activities proposed under the "Anti-Corruption Action Plan of the Parliament of Moldova". Moreover, the national GOPAC chapter will seek to engage with public at large and provide necessary resources to interested MPs in implementing and promoting anti-corruption measures in the Parliament.
During the visit, John G. Williams met with the Speaker of the Parliament, held individual consultations with interested MPs from different parliamentary factions and groups, as well as attended cross-party group discussions on modalities related to establishment of the national GOPAC chapter in Moldova.
GOPAC was founded in October 2002 at a Global Conference in Ottawa, Canada and became legal entity in the fall of 2003 – a not-for-profit under Canadian law. GOPAC is the only international network of parliamentarians focused solely on combating corruption. Its members represent more than 50 countries in all regions of the world. They are current or former members of the parliament. Their collaboration is non-partisan.
GOPAC’s programming model uses Global Task Forces (GTF) to promote agendas identified by membership through a regionally representative group of parliamentarians that champion each topic. The GOPAC Board and Global Secretariat support GTFs with handbooks, workshops and capacity building among parliamentarians worldwide. Through its GTFs GOPAC can support the introduction of legislative and oversight changes in national parliaments to control corruption, promote good governance and hold the government more accountable to the people.