On 13 November 2019, the WCO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Ricardo Treviño Chapa, visited the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) in Vienna, Austria, where he met with its Officer-in-Charge, Ms. Christiane Pohn-Hufnagl.

The IACA is an international organization with a global outreach specifically dedicated to anti-corruption education and research, as well as to the delivery of anti-corruption training based on technical support and assistance for practitioners from the public sector and various other stakeholders.

During the meeting, the WCO and the IACA discussed topics of common interest and explored areas of collaboration and partnership on integrity development, education and training specifically focused on Customs, as the latter is one of the key public services with respect to trade facilitation, revenue collection, community protection and national security.

Deputy Secretary General Treviño Chapa informed IACA management about the integrity development efforts made by the international Customs community, explaining that integrity was one of the nine priority areas of work for the WCO, as endorsed by the WCO Council at its June 2019 session.

During his visit, the WCO Deputy Secretary General also gave a presentation to IACA students on the WCO Integrity Development Programme, and familiarized them with the tireless efforts by Customs administrations to combat corruption, develop professional standards and deliver technical assistance and capacity building programmes. The students were encouraged to conduct their own research on various topics related to anti-corruption efforts in the Customs field.

For more information, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org