Matters pertaining to corruption and current mechanisms to address them were discussed when Attorney General Dale Marshall and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Regional Representative for Central America and the Caribbean, Sylvie Bertrand, met during a recent courtesy call.
Mr. Marshall shared that Government had put in place some initiatives and supporting structures to keep corruption at bay, including passing various pieces of legislation. He noted that Barbados ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption last year.
During the wide-ranging discussions, the Attorney General said the Integrity Commission was yet to be set up. “We are still to put in place our Integrity Commission, but that is not a waving a magic wand exercise. We actually have a road map for that which is being worked on. We know all the steps that we have to take and cross over before it could be fully implemented. The Prime Minister and I are committed to its establishment,” he stated.
Mrs. Bertrand outlined some of the areas in which the UNODC could give technical assistance and expressed a keenness to do so. During the talks, she also stressed the importance of preventing corruption and fixing cracks in the systems. She pointed out that investment in prevention was critical to making systems efficient.
She spoke about the great work being done in Barbados and commended the island for its progress on AIRCOP, one of the UN projects implemented in 41 airports in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, South-Eastern Europe, and South-East Asia.
AG Marshall expressed appreciation for UNODC’s technical assistance. Those attending the courtesy call included Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Attorney General, Timothy Maynard; Special Advisor to the Attorney General, Nicole Thompson; and UNODC’s Programme Officer (Barbados), Bo Harris.