Political Will Key to Successful Int'l Cooperation in Fight Against Corruption: Minister
Jakarta. Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly emphasized the importance of political will to ensure success in international cooperation to eradicate corruption, especially in terms of asset recovery.
Speaking during the seventh session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in Vienna, Austria, on Monday (06/11), Yasonna touched on the challenges countries like Indonesia face in the asset recovery process, due to a lack of cooperation and flexibility by other countries.
"Successful cooperation can only be achieved if the countries work with sincere political will to understand the complexity of a given case […] the most important thing is to open effective means of communication," he said, as quoted in a statement issued by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.
The minister said Indonesia has often been placed "in a difficult position" and asked to establish a case without prior information sharing with the countries involved.
He said the international community must consider adopting a pragmatic approach, especially in cases where prima facie evidence is available. He gave Hong Kong and Mauritius as examples of countries that have supported Indonesia through information sharing, the freezing of assets and enforcement of court orders to seize assets.
"These successes show that differences in justice systems should not hinder the effectiveness and success of cooperation in international asset recovery. What's most important, is political will," Yasonna said.
Indonesia is currently undergoing the second round of an implementation review by UNCAC, which is conducted by government experts from Ghana and Yemen, covering preventive measures and asset recovery aspects within the convention.
Indonesia ratified the convention in 2006 after signing the international agreement in 2003.
Yasonna said in the statement that the review would provide helpful recommendations to assist Indonesia in its corruption eradication efforts, especially in terms of legislation and technical support.
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