By Virna Di Palma, Director of the TRACE Anti-Bribery Specialist Accreditation and Senior Director of Global Strategy and Communications at TRACE International, an anti-bribery business organisation.
By Frederic Wehrlé
Although there is no statutory obligation for companies to engage in anti-corruption Collective Action, there are references to it in guidance documents that have been issued by governments in relation to laws prohibiting bribery. These guidelines are used by companies when developing or reviewing their anti-corruption compliance programs, as well as when defining the scope of internal policies and procedures.
Comments from the Basel Institute on Governance Conference on Anti-Corruption Collective Action to address corporate and multi-stakeholder initiatives against bribery and extortion:
On 12 May 2014 the government of Ukraine took a step to help encourage much needed foreign investment into the country by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and several business associations, addressing bribery and promoting transparency and accountability.
The Collective Action Initiative for the Metals Technology Industry (MTI) brings together the three leading companies in the metals technology industry Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche SpA, Primetals Technologies Limited and SMS GmbH.
The International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) at the Basel Institute has accompanied the MTI since its inception in 2013, and has been working with the group to improve and develop their anti-corruption programs. The ICCA acts as the chair and facilitator to the MTI group and supports this important step.
The Global Fund is an international financing institution that seeks to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. The Geneva-based organisation has selected the Basel Institute on Governance to serve as Integrity Monitor for the procurement of long-lasting insecticide nets (LLINs) financed by the Global Fund.
The Basel Institute on Governance and its International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) will host for the second time an international conference on anti-corruption Collective Action entitled Evidence, Experience and Impact on October 20-21 2016 in Basel. The conference is part of the G20/B20 anti-corruption agenda aimed at identifying mechanisms that may effectively prevent bribery of public officials and support companies’ efforts to resist bribery and extortion.
The Basel Institute on Governance and its International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) hosted for the second time an international conference on anti-corruption Collective Action, entitled Collective Action: Evidence, Experience and Impact on October 20-21 2016 in Basel.
For the first time, the Basel Institute on Governance, in partnership with C5, is inviting the Swiss anti-corruption and compliance community to discuss cutting-edge risk mitigation strategies at the Anti-Corruption Switzerland Conference in Zurich from 28 February to 1 March 2017.
This premier anti-corruption and regulatory compliance event has been developed by leading industry professionals and aims at providing all attendees with the best platform for networking as well as sharing and discussing new strategies in the field of anti-corruption and compliance.