The Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC) in cooperation with the European Union (EU) launched today their Twinning project aimed at supporting National Institutional efforts in Jordan to strengthen Integrity and corruption prevention, which are managed by the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission, which is the competent authority to manage all of the programs related to creating an anti-corruption environment.
This project, funded by the European Union (EU), seeks to review the application of the National Integrity Standards in the public sector to guarantee the implementation, compliance with, and activation of these standards with related institutions in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
In addition, the project focuses on creating mechanisms that enable the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission and its specialized directorates to assess effectively corruption risks within sectors that are selected from public sector institutions, as they are the target institutions of the project in general.
The Chairman of the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission, Dr. Muhannad Hijazi stressed during the opening ceremony the depth of the relationship and friendship between the Jordan and the European Union (EU) Member States and their role in providing support to the Commission, noting that the project will be a valuable addition that provides the Commission and its specialists with ideas and mechanisms that help to further specialize and institutionalize programs and projects of the Commission. Dr. Hijazi also praised the role that the implementing partners will play in both the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Austria to make this project a success, noting that the project team in charge of implementing the program started its work in the time frame agreed upon and despite the pandemic conditions that the world is still suffering from.
The European Union’s (EU) ambassador to Jordan, H.E Maria Hadjitheodosiou, stated that they are proud to be in position to support Jordan. Everyone is aware that corruption in the public sector impedes the efficiency of public services, undermines confidence in public institutions and increases the costs of public transactions, and at the same time integrity is essential for building strong institutions resistant to corruption. The EU and Jordan’s cooperation on integrity and corruption prevention has progressed over the years. To reaffirm and strengthen this cooperation, the EU in Jordan is launching this Twinning project, which aims to revise the National Integrity Standards in the public sector, and increase JIACC's capacity to assess and manage corruption risks in several sectors. She also stated that, this Twinning project will run in parallel and synergize with another programme on integrity and accountability that OECD should start implementing soon for an amount of € 6,8 million.
The Austrian ambassador to Jordan, Mr. Oskar Wüstinger, emphasized the role of the Republic of Austria in anti-corruption. In 2010, the Federal Bureau for Anti-Corruption, the Austrian anti-corruption agency, were established. Austria is also hosting in Vienna the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). UNODC serves as the Secretariat of the UN Convention Against Corruption, the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument.
Mr. Ernestas Grabažis - Charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Lithuania to Jordan emphasized his country’s role in implementing joint programs with Jordan, such as the already implemented Twinning project in Jordan “Capacity Building of Public Security Directorate / Borders and Residence Department”. He also said that the current (EU) Twinning project is the sixth Twinning project where the Special Investigation Service of Lithuania has been engaged in. Lithuania’s institutions have widely recognized competence in democratic governance, as well as many experts from government agencies, international organizations and civil society organizations.
H.E Sami Salaita, JIACC board member, talked about the importance of the Twinning project, which aims to enhance the capacities of specialized departments of the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission in assessing and managing corruption risks in selected sectors. This will be done through the exchange of experiences between the JIACC staff and the Lithuanian and Austrian institutions. The importance of this project implementation lies in strengthening the capabilities of the staff in the JIACC and raising the awareness of the public and private sector and civil society organizations of the values of integrity and principles of transparency.
Mr. Jovitas Raškevičius – Lithuanian Project Leader and First Deputy Director of the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania (STT), emphasized the role of the Special Investigation Service in anti-corruption activities such as criminal investigation and criminal intelligence of high-level corruption-related crimes, preventing corruption, spreading anti-corruption awareness-raising, and providing analytical anti-corruption intelligence.
This Twinning project, which will be implemented over a period of 21 months with the amount of 1.5 million Euros, will contribute to building the capacity of the Jordanian Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission through the application of best practices within the standards adopted by the European Union and relevant international organizations, and in accordance with Jordanian context, which will be implemented in cooperation with experts and specialists from the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania (STT), Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania (PD), Chief Official Ethics Commission (COEC), Central Project Management Agency (CPMA), and the Austrian Agency for European Integration and Economic Development (AEI) in cooperation with the Jordanian Integrity & Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC).
To achieve the project’s objectives, the project includes training programs, specialized missions, workshops, and study visits, which will develop the work of the competent directorates of the JIACC and upgrade the competences and professionalism of its staff.
