There are hopes a United Nations Convention on Corruption, starting today in Samoa, will give Pacific countries more idea of what they have to do to tackle the issue.
13 Pacific nations are in Apia for the three-day meeting.
The convention, a global consensus on tackling corruption, was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2003, but only three countries in the Pacific region have so far ratified it - Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and Palau.
The regional governance advisor of the United Nations Development Programme's Pacific centre, Ernesto Bautista, says the purpose of the meeting is to raise awareness of the convention.
"At the very least what we would hope is for the Pacific Island countries to have a better understanding of the specific provisions, and for them to think about what kinds of steps, in terms of their current legislations or current efforts, to strengthen their own anti-corruption initiatives."
Ernesto Bautista.
