The World Customs Organization (WCO) is delighted to introduce this 19th Edition of the Integrity Newsletter. We wish to thank all Members having contributed news articles on their Integrity promotion and corruption prevention efforts.
Integrity is a prerequisite for the proper functioning of Customs administrations. Indeed, Integrity within Customs administrations, other government agencies and private sector entities is essential for a country’s growth and economic prosperity, while a lack of Integrity in Customs can seriously distort trade and investment opportunities, undermine public trust in the government and ultimately jeopardize the well-being of all citizens. A perceived lack of Integrity and/or presence of corruption can destroy the legitimacy of a Customs administration. In some countries which depend heavily upon the revenue collected by Customs, issues relating to Integrity, including corruption, reduce the revenue available for development and thus compromise the ability of the government to invest in its future.
Therefore, Integrity must remain a key priority area for the international Customs community until corruption is totally eliminated, and the WCO is making this one of its own key priorities. Over time, different WCO strategy documents have emphasized the importance of Integrity in Customs. Key messages have been very clear about the critical need to fight corruption, safeguard Integrity and enhance good governance measures in order to ensure modern, effective and efficient Customs administrations.
This edition features new initiatives, measures, practices and Integrity/anti-corruption programmes implemented to promote Integrity and fight corruption in the Customs Administrations of Algeria, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Lithuania.
Readers also have an opportunity to learn about the new internal control strategy of the Angola Customs Administration, the enactment of the Code of Ethics in the Azerbaijan Customs Administration, and “From Being to Doing”: the Integrity Strategy of the National Tax and Customs Authority of Colombia.
Moreover, this edition contains interesting articles on strengthening leadership and commitment within the Guatemalan Customs Administration, a comprehensive plan for combating corruption in the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, and the Hungarian NTCA experience with managing conflicts of interest as a prevention element:. In addition, readers can learn about effective human resource management (HRM) as an important tool for combating corruption in the Turkish Customs Administration.
The Integrity Newsletter offers an ideal opportunity to share details of measures taken and practices adopted by WCO Member administrations around the world in order to foster Integrity and fight corruption in the Customs environment.
You are kindly reminded that the success of this Newsletter depends very much on your voluntary contributions, and that the articles published in the Integrity Newsletter are provided by WCO Members and, therefore, reflect their own personal views.
We trust you will enjoy reading this latest edition of the Integrity Newsletter!