By: Osvaldo Rudloff Pulgar

The principle of independence is the cornerstone of credible public sector auditing. Foundational documents, as the Lima Declaration (INTOSAI 1977) the Mexico Declaration (INTOSAI 2007), and landmark United Nations General Assembly resolutions, including A/RES/66/209 (2011), A/RES/69/228 (2014), and the political declaration from the special session against corruption, A/S-32/L.1 (2021), support a global consensus that strong, independent SAIs are essential pillars of democratic accountability and public trust.

The Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions of Portuguese-speaking Countries (OISC-CPLP), with the support of the European Union-Funded United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Multicountry Public Financial Management (Pro PALOP-TL), in collaboration with the Good Financial Governance Programme in Mozambique of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, (GIZ), successfully launched the Coordinated Performance Audit on Gender-Based Violence (CAGBV) on December 2, 2024. Hosted by the Tribunal de Contas de Cabo Verde, the international seminar marked a significant milestone in the collective efforts of Portuguese-speaking Countries: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste (PALOP-TL) Supreme Audit Institutions to address the pervasive issue of gender-based violence.