While most of the world celebrates International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December, Peru has kickstarted a new tradition: an entire week dedicated to integrity, transparency and anti-corruption events and celebrations.

The country celebrated its first Semana de Integridad Pública – Public Integrity Week – last December, following the passing of a law that dedicates the second week of December each year to the occasion. The aim is to reinforce the country’s commitment to transparency and ethics in public administration.

Our teams were closely involved in the various events that took place across the country.

Building integrity in public finance management

Members of our Subnational Public Finance Management programme or Programa GFP Subnacional organised and participated in 14 events in nine different regions. In total, the events involved more than 2,000 individuals in person and a similar number online.

Topics included ethical leadership, policies and strategies to mitigate risks and promote transparency in public administrations, and the role of asset forfeiture in fostering integrity and reducing impunity for corruption.

The discussions and workshops underscored the commitment of the Swiss-funded programme to:

• Strengthen capacities: Provide tools and practical knowledge to identify and manage the risks that affect public integrity.
• Promote multi-stakeholder dialogue: Encourage collaboration between different parties, including government, the private sector and civil society, to address ethical and transparency challenges together.
• Inspire action: Promote a culture of integrity and accountability as the basis for inclusive and sustainable development.

Green corruption high on the agenda

Our Green Corruption prevention team, funded by the UK's Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, also participated in 18 separate events, reaching over 6,000 participants in person and more online.

Our team drew attention to the fact that corruption is a key enabler of illegal trade in natural resources. Illegal logging in the Peruvian Amazon, illegal mining or wildlife trafficking pose serious threats to the country’s environment, people and economy. But these complex crimes can’t be addressed without an active focus on corruption prevention.

The prominence of this topic during Integrity Week is an important achievement. It reflects increased awareness and interest in green corruption among Peruvian authorities, specifically from the Ministries of the Environment and Agriculture, as well as the national Secretariat for Public Integrity that led the organisation of the events.

Learn more

• See the press release (in Spanish).
• See photo highlights from events in Loreto.
• Watch a series of three debates about asset recovery law and practice in Peru, released at the same time as Integrity Week.