At the end of February 2024, the 23rd session of the WCO Integrity Sub-Committee (ISC) was held under the chairmanship of Mr Marcelin Djeuwo from the Cameroon Customs and attended by delegates from 111 WCO Members worldwide and other stakeholders. The event was attended by the officials of the State Customs Service, including the representatives of the Department for Specialised Training and Canine Services of the State Customs Service.

An updated version of the ISC Work Programme was presented at the meeting with the key message “Let’s adopt new and innovative tools in combating corruption, including using the WCO’s Performance Measurement Mechanism, and implementing Artificial Intelligence technologies into your ongoing work.

The 23rd session of the ISC also noted the recent joint initiatives between Customs and the private sector aimed at combatting corruption. These initiatives included engagements with the WCO Private Sector Consultative Group and the exchange of specific national experiences among WCO member countries, which provide a different perspective on the global efforts to combat corruption in Customs environment.

The session also delved into how national integrity strategies and best practices on these issues have a positive impact on the activities of customs administrations at various levels.

Viacheslav Suvorov, Deputy Head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, shared the experience of the State Customs Service in this regard in his report “From Action to Impact: Aligning Integrity Actions with Organisational and National Strategic Goals and Expectations in Ukraine”.

The first day of the event was also memorable for the speech of Oleksandr Natiushyn, moderator of the event, Deputy Director of the Human Resources Department of the State Customs Service, who is currently undergoing an internship at the WCO as part of the Career Development Programme, on the stages of implementation of the WCO Anti-Corruption and Building Integrity Programme, as well as the speech of Igor Dankov, Customs Attaché of the State Customs Service.

At the end of the session, Mr Alvaro Fernandez from the Spanish Customs Administration and Mr Michel Lafleur from the Canada Border Services Agency were elected as the Chair and the Vice-Chair of the WCO Sub-Committee on ISC session, scheduled for 2025.