THE United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is backing a new Pacific journalism initiative aimed at making corruption reporting a more durable force for accountability, as officials say existing oversight bodies are not enough on their own.
Marie Pegie Cauchois, head of the UNODC office for the Pacific, said the Partnership for Journalists for Pacific Anti-Corruption and Transparency is designed to do more than fund workshops or short-term training.
“It is meant to strengthen the region’s media sector so journalists can keep pressure on public institutions long after a single event has passed,” she said.
“The media is recognised as a key stakeholder in promoting good governance,” Cauchois said, linking the effort to the UN Convention against Corruption and Sustainable Development Goal 16.
“Reporting on corruption, public accountability and the implementation of the Tenure Vision requires specialised expertise, technical capacity but also sustainable funding,” adding that those resources are often scarce.”
The new partnership builds on cooperation that began in 2021 and on the creation of the Pacific Anti-Corruption Journalist Network in 2019, which Cauchois described as “one of the first ones in the world.”
She said the latest initiative is the next bold step in this journey and aims to make Pacific media a leading voice for transparency.
That framing was sharpened in a follow-up question when Cauchois said the gap in the region is not simply the absence of anti-corruption agencies, but rather the need to connect those institutions more effectively to public scrutiny.
“It’s important for journalists to be holding the power to account,” she said.
“And from that is about building also the trust between the anti-corruption agencies, the different stakeholders that are working on anti-corruption.”
Cauchois rejected the idea that journalists should be seen as policymakers or investigators.
“The role of the journalist is not to be changing policies. However, they can call out and say there is a challenge in this area. It’s important that this is worked on.”
She added the partnership will be judged by whether reporting leads to real-world consequences, not just media coverage.
“When we see that a piece of article or a piece of investigation can lead to changes, can lead to change in regulation, in legislation, that’s a massive achievement,” she said.
“The relationship between journalists and integrity institutions matters in itself.
“Having this discourse and this relationship built between the integrity institution and the journalist is important.
“You’re part of the same team in this sense. You have a different role to play, but in terms of accountability and integrity, this is teamwork,” she said.
The project is backed by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which Cauchois thanked for its “generous support.”
