States perceived to be highly corrupt are at the same time those with a poor human rights record. International institutions have therefore assumed a negative feedback loop between both social harms. They deplore that corruption undermines the enjoyment of human rights and, concomitantly, employ human rights as a normative framework to denounce and combat corruption. But the human rights-based approach has been criticized as vague and over-reaching.

By the very nature of their activities, Customs administrations are vulnerable to various sorts of corruption – from the payment of a bribe to large-scale fraud. Since the adoption of the Arusha Declaration in 1993, which was later revised in 2003, the World Customs Organization (WCO) has developed several tools to help its Members identify or monitor corruption risks, implement relevant measures, and develop anti-corruption strategies.

Moreover, the WCO also carries out various types of missions at the request of its Members, such as:

This article illustrates an early example of corporate Collective Action, the Wolfsberg Group, and charts its development from its inception, in 1999, up to 2012. The Wolfsberg Group is an association of eleven banks that took its name from the Château Wolfsberg where the banks held their first meetings and where they continue to hold their annual forum.

The paper sets out opportunities for Collective Action in a number of areas where a concerted approach seems essential if the multiple risks associated with corruption are to be successfully managed.

It proposes specific actions to be taken by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) to help donors move forward with this agenda.

There has been limited private sector engagement in OGP to date. This discussion paper commissioned by the OGP Support Unit seeks to explain why this is so and suggests some options for promoting increased private sector engagement going forward.

Corruption, particularly bribery of government officials, inflicts substantial damage on people, society, and the world, and warrants control. Collective efforts to control corruption tend to focus on rules and compliance with those rules. This paper suggests that collective action also consider the creation of strong ethical cultures in business firms. Implementation of such programs is impeded by the difficulty in prescribing a course of action and by the difficulty in measuring the strength of an ethical culture.

The Banknotes Ethics Initiative (BnEI) is an anti-corruption collective action initiative founded in 2013. It addresses the internal compliance standards of its members combined with a rigorous accreditation process administered by an external accreditation council.

The objectives of BnEI are also supported by 38 central banks, and now, some five years after its inception, the BnEI is picking up on one of its driving themes – ensuring fair competition in the procurement of banknotes.

This document addresses the High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM) and its contributions to fairer market conditions in Colombia, where it is being piloted in connection with the public procurement process for the 4G Road Project. Using a Public Private Partnership approach, the 4G Road Project will be carried out over the course of seven years, completing 8,000 km of roads at an investment of US$25 billion.

The role of the HLRM will be to ensure that the program is less vulnerable to corruption and bribery risks.

This paper argues that for Collective Action to be effective, it requires a multi-stakeholder strategy that includes key international actors; enforcement agencies, policy makers, civil society, the development community and international business. It uses the maritime industry as a case study, explaining the challenges that can arise in an industry-led Collective Action and how a multi-stakeholder strategy can support such initiatives.

Information sheet on the Public Finance Management programme for subnational governments in Peru

Improving public services for citizens. The programme seeks to strengthen the capacities of public servants to provide efficient and effective services to citizens, with quality, integrity and transparency.