President of Colombia launches the world’s first High Level Reporting Mechanism, a concept developed by the Basel Institute and the OECD
A high-level conference in Bogota, Colombia, on 2 April saw the launch by the President of the Republic of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, of the world's first 'High Level Reporting Mechanism' (HLRM).
This mechanism, the concept of which was developed by the Basel Institute on Governance and the OECD (see concept note) offers a prevention-oriented approach to address demand-side issues of corruption. It aims to provide companies with an opportunity to constructively handle solicitation and extortion, as they may come across these in the context of public procurement or other interactions with the public sector. In his address to the conference (see English translation), President Santos described why the mechanism was developed and how it will work in practice. He stressed the importance of political will and collaboration between business, government, and civil society in fighting corruption.