At the invitation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the WCO participated in the Resumed Twelfth Session of the Implementation Review Group, the Fifteenth Meeting of The Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Asset Recovery and the Tenth open-ended Intergovernmental expert meeting to enhance international cooperation under the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). These meetings took place from 06 to 10 September 2021 in a hybrid format.
The meetings were chaired by Dr. Harib Saeed Al Amimi, the President of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of the United Arab Emirates. The key agenda items of the meetings included implementation of asset recovery mandates and practical aspects of asset recovery. The States Parties also discussed the performance of the Mechanism for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention, technical assistance needs and preventive measures against corruption. The IRG Session also featured a panel session on technical assistance.
Under the item on “Technical Assistance”, the WCO informed the UNCAC States Parties on preventive measures and efforts of the International Customs Community relating to combating corruption and promoting integrity in Customs in support of the implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption. The speaker highlighted the WCO’s holistic approach to anti-corruption and integrity-related technical assistance, which included capacity-building activities, updating a Customs Integrity Assessment methodology in line with the UNODC’ approach to corruption risk assessment and distance-learning modules on anti-corruption to support Members during the pandemic.
The platform of the Implementation Review Group centers on assisting the UNCAC State parties in having an overview of the review process to identify good practices and Members’ challenges, detail technical assistance matters and ensure the effective implementation of the Convention. The Working Group on Asset Recovery is a subsidiary body of the UNCAC and is responsible for assisting and advising the Conference of the States Parties in the implementation of its mandate with the return of proceeds of corruption.
For more details, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.