At the invitation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Customs Organization (WCO) participated in the “First Resumed Tenth Session of the Implementation Review Group” which was held in Vienna from 2 to 4 September 2019 and the Open Ended Intergovernmental Working Group on the Prevention of Corruption, also known as called the " Working Group on Prevention” from 4 to 6 September 2019.

The platform, or overall goal, of the Implementation Review Group is to provide the State parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) with an overview of the review process for the purposes of identifying good practices and Members’ challenges.  The Group also aims to inform the Parties on technical assistance matters and ensure the effective implementation of UNCAC. This group also facilitates the exchange of experiences and information among the Parties.

The other meeting, the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group, was established to advise the Conference on the implementation of its mandate on the prevention of corruption.  The key agenda items of the Group included the implementation of the conference resolution 7/5, entitled “Promoting preventive measures against corruption” and 7/6, entitled “Follow-up to the Marrakech declaration on the prevention of corruption.”  Topics of discussion during the session also included the performance mechanism on the review of the implementation of the Convention, technical assistance needs, and preventive measures against corruption.  There was also a panel session on challenges and good practices.

During discussion of the item on “Technical Assistance”, the WCO highlighted its integrity program and activities related to promotion of integrity and preventive measures against corruption in Customs, on-going implementation of the WCO Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion project for Customs administrations as well as recent integrity missions and technical assistance provided to Members. The WCO stressed how UNODC and WCO shared the same values and views on the importance of international cooperation in the fight against corruption.

For more information on the WCO’s Integrity Program you may contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.