Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications, Mr Paula Ma'u, 

British High Commissioner to Tonga, Her Excellency Ms Lucy Joyce 

New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner to Tonga, Mr Peter Lund

Chief Executive Officer, the Office of the Ombudsman Tonga, Ms. 'Alisi Numia Taumoepeau,

Vice Chancellor for the University of the South Pacific, Dr. Pal Ahluwalia 

Campus Director for the University of the South Pacific in Tonga, Dr. Robin Havea,

University of the South Pacific Students’ Association Tonga President, Ms Tepola Lolohea 

Excellencies, distinguished representatives, ladies and gentlemen,

Malo e lelei and good morning!

On behalf of the United Nations Development Programme, I am delighted to welcome you all to this important workshop organized by our partners at the University of the South Pacific and its Students’ Association. 

Today’s partners’ workshop is convened as part of a week-long dialogue and advocacy on Right to Information organised this week in Tonga coordinated by the USP and the USP Students’ Association, including the students’ learning sessions on the Right to Information on the 17th and the 18th, and participation of youth, from which we just received their positive energy demonstrating youth commitment to the Right to Information and anti-corruption advocacy engagement!

The events address the Right to Information – the principle that in all but a few exceptional cases citizens have a fundamental right to access official information held by public bodies – and it is part of UNDP’s continuous efforts to increase knowledge of the critical role the Right to Information plays especially in relation to addressing corruption across the Pacific.

As background, I’ll mention that the Right to Information is central to the foundational human right to freedom of expression, as recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

It is also a key element of the 2030 Agenda, critical to developing the transparent, efficient, and accountable government institutions that deliver equitable and sustainable economic growth.

The Right to Information is also specifically referred to in the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the only legally binding multilateral international anti-corruption treaty.

The fundamental fact here is that the more citizens know about official statistics, government spending and the processes of legislation, for example, the better citizens can scrutinize government and hold it to account.

Improved access to more reliable official information also means media organizations can report more accurately and more comprehensively and help build trust between government and citizens.

More accurate and more easily available official information also attracts local and international investment and helps boost economic growth.

The fact is that a well-designed and well implemented Right to Information framework keeps governments alert, responsive and honest.

It means better policies for society, the economy, and the environment, and so helps ensure that no one is left behind.

This is one reason why further deepening and scaling up of this work in Tonga through our ongoing cooperation with USP is so welcome, and so important.

A second reason to celebrate the event is that it brings so clearly to the fore the importance of involving everyone in society in promoting right to information and addressing corruption.

Alongside a ‘whole of government’ approach, this ‘whole of society’ approach – which has proven not only to be successful but also to be necessary – is fundamental to UNDP’s approach to anti-corruption in the Pacific region and across the world.

In a nutshell, the ‘whole of society’ approach means that everyone – absolutely everyone – must be aware of the damage corruption causes and fully committed to the fight against it.

The ultimate aim is to make corruption a socially unacceptable way to do business and win unfair favours and to prevent it before it even happens.

It goes without saying that political leaders and public servants must be fully engaged in this, of course.

But we also need chief executives and market traders committed to the fight, for example, just as we need schoolchildren, students, their parents, and their teachers, as well as retirees, doctors, taxi drivers, and farmers.

If the fight against corruption is to be successful, everybody must be prepared to call it out and say ‘no’ whenever they encounter it and in whatever form.

The message is simple. If the poison of corruption is to be countered, everyone must play a part, and ultimately everyone will benefit.

In this, of course, the Right to Information is a key tool.

If citizens have the legal right to demand access to information, which to all effects belongs to them, corruption and all manner of other malfeasance becomes so much more difficult to conceal.

Recognizing this – as you will hear of in the forthcoming sessions led by USP – governments can decide to proactively publish as much information as possible – obviously bearing in mind matters such as national security and personal privacy.

Sunlight, as they say, is a great disinfectant, and when it comes to promoting good governance and addressing corruption, the Right to Information serves as an invaluable spotlight which needs to be available to every citizen.

In this context, I am pleased to acknowledge the presence of the Ombudsman and note a recent UNDP partnership with the Tonga Ombudsman’s Office which supported the upgrade of the public website, along with a system that allows anyone to lodge an official complaint online.

Serving as a good illustrative case, this cooperation brought about benefits not only in speed and ease for citizens, but also in efficiency, accessibility, and reporting for the Ombudsman’s office. For this, I wish to also acknowledge the sustained support from the Government of New Zealand under the ‘United Nations Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Project’ (UNPRAC) in Tonga and elsewhere in the Pacific.

The new systems mean that communications between citizens and government is improved, transparency in government affairs is enhanced, and the means by which citizens can complain about government, if they have good reason, is upgraded.

The bottom line here is that improved efficiency, transparency, and accessibility in government affairs are all critical elements of good governance including in relation to the fight against corruption.

Despite some progress in the Pacific, this remains a complex and persistent challenge, and as I move to close these remarks, I am pleased to have the opportunity to thank you all most sincerely for your presence here today, and your willingness to contribute to the right to information knowledge, advocacy, and development of innovative tools to serve the citizens interests.

I am also delighted to be able to acknowledge, with thanks, the efforts of our partners at USP.

UNDP knows very well how important young people’s energy, knowledge and skills are in building a just, prosperous, and rights-based future for everyone living in the Pacific.

We also know well that it is young people who are most likely to unlock and exploit the benefits of innovation, and I am pleased to see that that topic has such a central position in proceedings.

Finally, I am also pleased to specifically thank the Government of the United Kingdom for its invaluable support to the right to information events happening this week in Tonga, and other right to information and anti-corruption activities across the Pacific under the Strengthening Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Accountability in Pacific Islands Countries’ project, which have helped deepen the impact and broaden the outreach of our ongoing work.

I hope that today’s important dialogue about the Right to Information and your specific inputs, insights and contributions will help steer further positive change and encourage ever more ambitious right to information action in Tonga and across the Pacific.

Thank you all for your attention, and I wish everyone a successful and inspiring event.

Malo.