During the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) held in Vilnius (Lithuania), 25 representatives of anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies and five representatives of international organizations signed a joint statement on coordinating efforts to combat corruption. Among the participants of the meeting and signing of the joint statement are Interpol, Eurojust, the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the European Union, Europol, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and other organizations and institutions. Ukraine is represented at the IACC by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.
The signatories commit to cooperate in strengthening high-level investigative capacities for corrupt practices; to promote international cooperation and information exchange for the effective detection and investigation of corruption; to invest in ongoing training, skills development and innovative technological tools to fight corruption; to protect whistleblowers and create a safe environment for reporting corruption; and to cooperate with civil society and the private sector to strengthen transparency and integrity.
The high-level meeting of law enforcement and anti-corruption leaders provided an opportunity to exchange views on the fight against corruption and discuss potential solutions to overcome it. Given the current global challenges, any country may face the risk of varying degrees of grand corruption in both the public and private sectors. Corruption at the highest levels of government and business violates human rights, undermines the rule of law and public trust, distorts economic markets, hinders sustainable development efforts, and can threaten the security and stability of states or regions.
During the discussion held at IACC-2024, participants focused on high-level corruption and its impact on global and regional events, and discussed what skills, resources and strategies are needed to identify hidden corruption schemes and related financial flows. The parties paid special attention to the problems of bringing corrupt officials and private sector representatives to justice and combining the efforts of law enforcement, prevention, administrative bodies, civil society and business in fighting corruption.
"Corruption has long been a global problem. We are actively overcoming these challenges through concerted and coordinated efforts. Ukraine's experience in building anti-corruption infrastructure from scratch is unique. The NACP was established with a clear mandate: to develop and implement effective anti-corruption policies, to closely monitor the lifestyle of public officials, and to promote a culture of integrity in all spheres of life. The NACP's preventive activities also include risk assessment, monitoring compliance with the law, and providing recommendations to both public institutions and private enterprises. By taking a proactive approach, we can eliminate potential vulnerabilities before they are exploited. Through education, information campaigns and constant monitoring, we strive to build a system of anti-corruption policy that is resistant to corruption," emphasized NACP Head Viktor Pavlushchyk in his speech.
In Vilnius, the NACP Head also took part in the discussion of corruption risk management in the reconstruction process at the OECD Anti-Corruption Task Force meeting and a number of other events.
