On 25 September 2012, the People’s Participation Working Group (PPWG) in collaboration with Towards Transparency (TT) organised a workshop on “Promoting the Role of NGOs in Anti-Corruption in Vietnam” in Hanoi.

Almost 50 participants including representatives of NGOs, the Government Inspectorate Research Institute (GIRI), the Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Committee and the media.

The workshop began with a presentation by GIRI, which emphasised that although the current Anti-Corruption Law specifically outlines the important role and responsibilities of society in anti-corruption, this exact role is not clearly defined. As the result, there lacks a clear legal framework governing NGOs work on anti-corruption in Vietnam.

Towards Transparency (TT), Live & Learn and the Consultancy on Development (CODE) then shared their own work on anti-corruption, which ranged from conducting research and introducing international experiences to mobilising youth participation to enhancing transparency in extractive industries.

Following the presentations, discussions identified four specific areas on how NGOs can best contribute to anti-corruption in Vietnam:

– Raising public awareness;

– Conducting research, surveys and providing empirical evidence;

– Working with responsible state agencies to improve the anti-corruption law, particularly the strengthening of whistleblowers protection; and

– Promoting the role of the media.

The workshop underlined the need for a clear legal framework to guide and develop the role of NGO’s in anti-corruption and feedback from state agencies on the independent studies and surveys conducted by NGOs and civil society.

The workshop was held in preparation for the upcoming Anti-Corruption dialogue between the Government and donors in which PPWG will be a participant.