The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is convening the global anti-corruption community to discuss effective measures to enhance integrity at the 2016 OECD Integrity Forum, which will take place in Paris, France from 19 to 20 April under the theme ‘Fighting the Hidden Tariff: Global Trade without Corruption.’
The Integrity Forum is the OECD’s premier public event on integrity, and provides a unique platform for all sectors of society to discuss best practices in preventing, detecting, and curbing corruption that affects the many stakeholders involved in global supply chains.
Public and private sector stakeholders, who increasingly acknowledge their responsibility in promoting integrity in global supply chains, have generated a powerful impetus towards promoting good governance in line with the Revised Arusha Declaration, developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO) as part of its approach to increase Customs integrity.
Many Customs administrations continuously review and improve their systems in order to simplify and harmonize Customs procedures, which has important implications for a wide range of stakeholders, such as trade intermediaries and other players involved in international trade.
Moreover, increased accountability and transparency has transformed the relationship between Customs administrations and the private sector, enabling more sustainable and fruitful collaboration in addressing any integrity challenges that may arise.
An indicator demonstrating the crucial value of integrity for all stakeholders involved in global supply chains is the growing number of trade agreements that contain provisions dealing with integrity and anti-corruption in the public and private sectors.
Empirical evidence shows that promoting integrity in Customs and the business community can create numerous benefits for the public and private sector, as well as for society as a whole, as enhanced good governance at borders significantly reduces trade costs for all countries.
Indeed, by reducing information asymmetries, enhancing the enforceability of regulations, and minimizing opportunities for using discretionary powers, Customs integrity provides the private sector with greater confidence that they will receive fair and consistent treatment, thereby enabling them to compete on equal grounds across all markets.
The WCO will be attending the Integrity Forum to showcase its wide array of tools developed specifically to enhance Customs integrity, to share its best practices and expertise in this area, and to engage with other interested stakeholders with a view to further bolstering efforts to promote integrity in the public and private sectors.
More information
2016 OECD Integrity Forum
WCO Integrity Programme