LocationsUNDP Pacific’s Mentoring Mission Boosts Anti-Corruption Capacity in Solomon Islands
August 4, 2025
Honiara, Solomon Islands – The UN Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office, through its Anti-Corruption Project and with generous support from the Government of the United Kingdom, successfully organized a week-long operational mentoring mission in Honiara aimed at strengthening the institutional and operational capacity of the Solomon Islands Independent Commission Against Corruption (SIICAC).
The mentoring mission, held from 28 July to 1 August 2025, brought together a broad spectrum of anti-corruption and justice sector partners for a dynamic peer-learning and capacity-building initiative. With participation from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) Fiji, the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), the Solomon Islands Financial Intelligence Unit (SIFIU), and the ODPP Solomon Islands, the mission provided a platform for regional collaboration, inter-agency dialogue, and hands-on technical support.
The initiative was initially designed to support SIICAC in response to their request for mentoring and knowledge-sharing following the recent recruitment of new staff members. With the active engagement of prosecutors, investigators, and prevention officers, the event evolved into a robust multi-agency learning forum – with the support of ODPP Solomon Islands and SIFIU – reinforcing national and regional cooperation in the fight against corruption and money laundering.
Anti-corruption and justice sector partners during the workshop in Honiara, Solomon Islands.
Throughout the week, participants engaged in interactive sessions and practical exercises based on three core handbooks developed by the Anti-Corruption Project in 2023: the Handbook on Intelligence-led Financial Disruption of Corruption, the Handbook on Investigation of Corruption, and the Handbook on Prosecution of Corruption. These resources guided tailored mentoring sessions on investigative techniques, prosecutorial strategies, and intelligence-led financial disruption approaches to corruption.
SIFIU played a central role by sharing insights into the use of financial intelligence in detecting and disrupting illicit financial flows. Their mentoring sessions helped bridge the gap between intelligence collection and prosecution, underscoring the crucial nexus between anti-money laundering and anti-corruption efforts.
The Acting DPP of Fiji led mentoring sessions alongside ODPP Solomon Islands counterparts, highlighting regional case law and collaborative strategies for building strong, prosecutable corruption cases. FICAC experts further enriched the dialogue by presenting real-world investigative challenges and sharing best practices.
Participants engaging in the workshop.
A dedicated component of the mission focused on prevention and integrity-building. Using the Pacific Youth Anti-Corruption Toolkit: Integrity in Action—co-developed by UNDP and UNODC—the mission facilitated practical planning sessions with SIICAC prevention officers to develop outreach campaigns that engage youth and communities in the fight against corruption. FICAC also joined the prevention-focused sessions online, offering valuable insights into institutional integrity-building and awareness strategies, and sharing best practices from Fiji’s experience.
British High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, Paul Turner, remarked that “the approach being followed by UNDP was important in terms of engaging all sections of society in the anti-corruption effort and not just focusing on one government institution. The UK was pleased to support these efforts and hopes the partnership can continue in the future.”
“This mentoring mission reflects the shared commitment across the Pacific to strengthen institutional resilience against corruption,” said Florica Dragomir, Pacific Anti-Corruption Project Manager, UNDP Pacific Office. “Through partnerships, knowledge sharing, and peer learning, we are reinforcing national capacities and promoting whole-of-society responses to corruption.”
The mission concluded with the development of action plans by SIICAC’s investigative, prosecutorial, and prevention teams, setting a roadmap for continued progress. It also marked a significant milestone under the UNDP Pacific’s Anti-Corruption Project, contributing directly to project activities aimed at strengthening financial intelligence, regional cooperation, and institutional readiness across Pacific Island countries.
About the Anti-Corruption Project
The UNDP Anti-Corruption Project, generously funded by the Government of the United Kingdom, aims to strengthen whole-of-society responses to corruption by supporting Pacific Island countries to develop effective anti-corruption policies, institutions, and frameworks. The project focuses on capacity-building, inter-agency collaboration, and promoting accountability through knowledge tools and partnerships.
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