On Monday 26th November 2013, representatives from the World Economic Forum's Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), the OECD, the Basel Institute on Governance, and Siemens discussed the need for businesses to use Collective Action in the fight against corruption.
This was addressed on the occasion of the Fifth Conference of the State Parties (CoSP) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, held in Panama City, Panama.
The B20 Task Force on Anti-Corruption and Transparency has awarded the establishment of the B20 Collective Action Hub to the Basel Institute on Governance, which will work on this in close partnership with the UN Global Compact. This comes at the same time as leading global companies from the energy and transport sector have agreed to establish a Working Group on Integrity to collaborate with the Basel Institute on anti-corruption Collective Action initiatives in those sectors.
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).
At the recent celebration of the 10th anniversary of the UN Global Compact's 10th principle on anti-corruption in New York, the Basel Institute and UNGC have formally launched their partnership to develop and maintain the B20 Collective Action Hub.
The Basel Institute on Governance, through its International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA), has been commissioned by the International Forum on Business Ethical Conduct for the Aerospace and Defence Industry (IFBEC) to conduct a comprehensive study on global offset practices, in conjunction with a working group of offset experts and practitioners within IFBEC’s membership. Offsets refer to arrangements whereby government purchasers of aerospace and defence industry goods and services request a form of industrial compensation when purchasing from non-domestic sources.
In recognition of the Basel Institute on Governance having received the mandate from the B20 Task Force on Anti-Corruption and Transparency in June 2013 to host the B20 Collective Action Hub, working along with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the two organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), further reinforcing their collaboration in this endeavour.
TRACE named the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), a global business network of companies and associations involved in the maritime industry, the winner of its second annual Innovation in Anti-Bribery Compliance Award. The MACN was recognized for its efforts to create an industry-wide compliance culture through collective action.
The Government of Panama will evaluate the implementation of a High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM), through a pilot project in collaboration with the Basel Institute on Governance and the British Embassy in Panama.
Mark Pieth and Gemma Aiolfi of the Basel Institute met with Vice President Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado and several government ministers on Wednesday, 11 February 2015, to discuss the HLRM and its corruption prevention capacities, overall function and potential application within the Panamanian context.
Gemma Aiolfi, Head of Compliance and Corporate Governance / Collective Action, discussed anti-corruption Collective Action and High Level Reporting Mechanisms in Vol. 36, Issue 5 of the Thai Institute of Directors' (IOD) Boardroom Magazine.
The Basel Institute on Governance, together with its partners, the United Nations Global Compact and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developement (OECD), has been awarded a three-year funding of nearly USD 4 million under the second funding round of the Siemens Integrity Initiative.
The funding will support the continuous development of the B20 Collective Action Hub as well as the High Level Reporting Mechanism in G20 countries in a project entitled "Scaling up anti-corruption Collective Action: B20 Hub on Anti-Corruption Collective Action."