An international conference on managing conflicts of interest took place at the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December in Tunis, Tunisia.
The International Conference on Identifying and Managing Conflicts of Interest in the Public Sector: A Comparative Perspective brought together nearly 100 public officials from over 75 different institutions and the private sector to discuss their main challenges in identifying and managing conflicts of interest in Tunisia.
Most of the participants represented the cellules de gouvernance which are good governance units established in most public institutions in Tunisia to promote good governance and prevent corruption. The conference was an opportunity for participants to develop a common understanding of what constitutes a conflict of interest and how to act when faced with one.
The conference brought together Tunisian and international experts, as well as regional experts from Jordan, Morocco and Palestine*, who shared the experiences and practices of their own anti-corruption agencies with regard to asset and interest disclosure, and conflict of interest management.
Despite the diversity of practices across the region and beyond, the conference highlighted some relevant issues common to all jurisdictions. These include the need to reconcile data protection with disclosure requirements, the role of whistleblowers in bringing forward potential cases of conflicts of interest; the use of IT in analysing declarations of assets and interests; or the importance of risk assessments in effectively allocating resources to manage conflicts of interest.
The conference marked the first activity of a new project in Tunisia on Improving Economic Governance by Fighting Corruption in Tunisia (Amélioration de la Gouvernance Economique par la Lutte Anti-Corruption, AGELA). This is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe to support economic transition by strengthening economic governance and improving the business and investment climate in the country.
To this end, the project aims to strengthen the capacity of Tunisian institutions to apply anti-corruption legislation; support the improvement of asset and interest disclosure system, as well as the conflict of interest framework; and strengthen the capacity of the oversight bodies to implement anti-corruption policies.