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International Conference on Building Foundations of Integrity
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ransparency International Nepal organized a two day International Conference to facilitate information-sharing on national and international experiences on integrity. The International Conference on Building Foundations of Integrity: National and International Experiences was held in Kathmandu in Hotel Annapurna from December 12-13, 2013.
The event was opened by Bharat Bahadur Thapa, Secretary General of TIN. He started with a brief introduction of TIN, which was established in 1996 and has been a part of global coalition against corruption in more than 100 national chapters and chapters-in-formation led by Transparency International. Ri g h t Ho n o r abl e K h il R a j Regmi, Chairman, Council of Ministers, Government of Nepal inaugurated the event by lighting the oil lamp. He stated that the conference would be a good stage to ponder upon multiple issues of integrity and accountability in relation to anti-corruption laws, bringing national and international participants to a common forum. He noted that there may be differences in the form of governance mechanism among countries, but the ultimate objectives of the countries are to serve the people at large. He
scored 63 in Corruption Perception Index, the main focus of Bhutan has been on the GNH (Gross National Happiness) and global well being. Mohan Bodhathoki stated the fact that the more t h e r e h a v e b e e n e ff o r t s against corruption, the more it has become a complex issue and thus, efforts need to be concentrated in this burning issue. HE Kjell Tormod Pettersen, Ambassador, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Nepal, delivered his remarks on the Royal Norwegian Embassy's involvement in anticorruption activities in Nepal since 2010. The Norwegian government allocates funds to promote and ensure that the rule of law is in place with high priority for the general citizen. Pema Lhamo, Former Chair, Public Accounts Committee, Bhutan made special remarks by focusing on how Bhutan has prioritized the anti-corruption movement. She was of the view that although corruption is prevalent in Bhutan, with the formation of a National AntiCorruption Commission six years back, it has been well equipped to fight against corruption. She mentioned that though Bhutan
J. C. Weliamuna, TI Board Member, TI Sri Lanka Chair, a human rights activist for the last 24 years in South Asia, stressed on the need to concentrate on historical facts to correlate with the current scenario. He was of the view that corruption has been prevalent in history whereby rulers took the issue of corruption as their own matter only. According to him, under the current circumstances of the Arab Spring, the anticorruption campaign in New Delhi, Nelson Mandela's activism against apartheid are some of the examples of the fight against corruption. Bishnu Bahadur KC, President, TIN, opined that Integrity is observed, seen and felt where the rule of law, good governance and ethical conduct and relations thrive. He stated that TI Nepal has been fighting against corruption for the last 18 years. He reiterated that there is no dearth of standard laws, rules and regulations in Nepal but the core issue is their strict enforcement. Dr. SumaiyaKhair, Deputy ED, TI Bangladesh made a brief introduction on the