COI Commissioner: "Calls for canceling IGs Offices are inconsistent with government orientations towards fighting corruption"

Dr. Al-Yasiri: "Calls for cancelling IGs Offices could impact negatively on reputation of Iraq in international forums"

COI Commissioner Hassan Al-Yasiri stressed that calls for concealing IGs Offices are inconsistent with the government orientations in respect of anti-corruption.

In his speech delivered in a scientific symposium entitled ( IG Offices` role in fighting corruption) organized by the Iraqi Anti- Corruption Academy in co-operation with University of Babil within awareness program entitled (Mechanisms of implementing COI Vision in anti-corruption), attended by some; MPs, IGs, number of presidents of universities, deans of colleges, professors, researchers, media professionals and the representative of research centers at the holy shrines, Al-Yasiri has stressed the importance of taking into account reputation of Iraq and its commitments to standards of UN convention in respect of fighting corruption in case of requesting to cancel IGs Offices as such calls impact negatively on Iraq reputation and its international commitments. Iraq is required to follow some established mechanisms under United Nations Convention for fighting corruption. Among those commitments was to establish a competent commission for anti-corruption works through several arms, pointing out to the functions of IGs Offices are different from BSA and COI`s. IGs oversight could be conducted in previous and some time in real-time, whereas a subsequent monitoring is conducted by BSA, in addition, other IGs Offices have their features represented by expertise, presenting in the government institution. IGs Offices function is different from work and competence of COI specified by its enacted law No. 30 for 2011. Oversight bodies` work are complementary. Investigations, which are conducted by the Commission, which are usually under justice supervision when presenting the issue before it are, differ with the investigation of the general inspector which was usually administrative investigations based on Public Servant Disciplinary Code but not Criminal Procedures Code which COI depended on their investigations.

Al-Yasri indicated that transferring the granted authority of Inspector General Offices to the prosecution service, were nonobjective because it considered as merging to the authorities because the latest represented the judicial power, whereas Inspector General Offices represented the ex-ecutive power.

Dr. Al-Yasri refuted the requests to cancel Inspector General Offices stressing that the standards of evaluating the performance of oversight bodies will not depend on the method of recovering assets, where these standers involved the finical institutions only, in spite that Inspector General Offices managed to recover hundred billions as COI experiences with Inspector General Offices of the Ministries of Reconstruction and Housing, in addition to Municipalities and Labors, where we cooperated together to recover many assets of the state amounts when some employees in State Property Registration Office transferred some amounts to persons in contrary to law.

The hold seminar with the program of awareness under the slogan [Implementing COI mechanism in fighting corruption], where the programs included many seminars and it will held with cooperation with Law Faculty/Wast University to discuss the affects of shearing position and spreading corruption in state institutions ,with cooperation with Law Faculty/ Al-Qadesiaa University and the seminar entitled[ The impact of economical committees of political parties in state offices], in addition to cooperate with Law Faculty/Kerbelaa University and the seminar entitled[Establishing judicial and ex-ecutives entities in COI to handle the obstacles and the solutions] in cooperation with Law Faculty/Iraqi University and the seminar entitled[The roll of oversight bodies in fighting corruption], in addition to cooperate with Law Faculty/Al-Neherin University and the seminar entitled[Crimes of corruption before the court] and in cooperation with Law Faculty/Iraqi University and the seminar entitled[The roll of federal general servant to eliminate corruption].

The seminar presented three papers, whereas the first presented paper by Dr.Selam Al-Fetlawi from Law Faculty/Babel University under the entitled [The roll of Inspector General in fighting corruption] and the second presented paper by Dr. Ibrahim Al-Zubedi the inspector general of Ministry of Agriculture under the entitled[How to build positive relation between Inspector General Office and the Ministry], in addition to that the third presented paper by Dr.Bassim Aaluan Al-Aaqabi who hold the position of DG of Iraqi Academy for fighting corruption in COI under the entitled[The existence of Inspector General Offices/the supporters and the objectors].