The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and The University of the South Pacific (USP)'s Pacific Centre for Sport and Sustainable Development (PCSSD) have formed a new partnership to conduct research on integrity issues affecting sport in the region. This initiative, Review of Pacific Sport Integrity, supported by the New Zealand Government through UNODC’s Teieniwa Vision Anti-Corruption Project, will provide evidence-based assessments to aid policy-making in the Pacific.

The partnership was announced at the Oceania Sport and Sustainable Development Goals Strategic Partners Forum – Creating a Home Games SDG Legacy Across Oceania, which is being held today in Brisbane, Australia, as part of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) General Assembly.

“The Pacific is not immune to corruption in sport, but the paucity of available data makes it difficult to tailor appropriate actions to reduce the impact of this type of criminality”, said Dr Giulio Masasso Tu’ikolongahau Paunga, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Regional Campuses and Global Engagement). “This new partnership will strengthen the ties between academia and UNODC in this still unchartered and under-researched subject in the Pacific.”  

While the Pacific region has strong governance frameworks for sport at the regional level, there is a lack of dedicated research at national and local levels in many Pacific countries. UNODC´s research project will focus on identifying key integrity priority areas for sport in the Pacific and connect with law and justice agencies to address country-level gaps in legal frameworks.

The project will leverage sport to promote integrity, in line with the 2030 Agenda, and aligned with the USP Strategic Plan 2022-2024 and the Pacific Sport, Physical Activity and Physical Education (SPAPE) Action Plan 2019 - 2030.  

Through its Programme on Safeguarding Sport from Corruption and Crime, UNODC has delivered over 200 activities including awareness-raising, capacity-building and technical assistance to over 9,000 direct beneficiaries from more than 140 countries, since 2017.

UNODC, as the custodian of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), undertakes its 2023 programmes to combat corruption under the theme “UNCAC at 20: Uniting the World Against Corruption” building up to International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December 2023 and the 10^th biennial Conference of States Parties to the UNCAC. In the Pacific, UNODC partners with the Pacific Islands Forum to implement the regional anti-corruption roadmap, the Teieniwa Vision, adopted by the 18 Pacific Leaders in 2021 and devised at the Pacific Unity Against Corruption Leaders Conference in 2020 hosted by the Government of Kiribati and facilitated by UNODC.

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About USP Pacific Centre for Sport and Sustainable Development (PCSSD)  

In 2022, USP’s Senior Management Team endorsed a new Pacific Centre for Sport and Sustainable Development (PCSSD) to support the hosting of the Pacific Regional Sports Taskforce Secretariat the development of a USP Strategy for Sport, based at  USP’s Laucala Campus in Suva with a dedicated Secretariat staff and provide a focal point for sport-related partnerships, global engagement and strategic action in line with the USP Strategic Plan 2022-2024 and the Pacific Sport, Physical Activity and Physical Education (SPAPE) Action Plan 2019 - 2030  

About UNODC

UNODC works to counter drugs, crime, terrorism and corruption. It mobilizes and promotes regional and transnational cooperation to confront these threats. Specific efforts are made to target the world’s most vulnerable regions, where the convergence of these issues threatens regional and global security. UNODC works directly with Governments, international organizations, and civil society in undertaking three key actions: field-based technical cooperation projects to enhance the capacity of its Member States; research and analytical work to increase knowledge and understanding of drugs and crime issues; and normative work to assist Member States in the ratification and implementation of the relevant international treaties and the development of domestic legislation on drugs, crime, terrorism and corruption. More at www.unodc.org or follow at @UNODC.

For more information, or media interviews please contact:

Akara Umapornsakula, Communications Assistant - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, E: akara.umapornsakula@un.org  P: (66) 22 88 1906