Representatives of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, Department for Specialized Training and Canine Services (Department), recently participated in the 24th session of the Integrity Sub-Committee of the World Customs Organization (WCO). This event brought together WCO members, global experts, practitioners, and representatives from the private sector to discuss innovative strategies for strengthening integrity and combating corruption in customs administrations, which are critical for economic development and building trust in government institutions, as well as the role of quality data management and the implementation of advanced technologies for the automation of customs processes.
Key discussions and presentations included:
- the opening address by Mr. Ricardo Treviño, Deputy Secretary-General of the WCO, who emphasized the critical role of integrity in customs operations, and a report by the representative of the International Monetary Fund on the challenges and opportunities in managing corruption risks, as well as the macroeconomic impact of corruption on customs authorities;
- a review of the work completed over the past three years under the WCO Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion Program. In particular, participants became acquainted with: the WCO Customs Integrity Perception Survey (CIPS), piloted by the Customs Service of Argentina in 2024, the Performance Measurement Mechanism (PMM), accreditation materials, and WCO methodological recommendations on the pros and cons of staff rotation in accordance with certain key points of the revised Arusha Declaration of the WCO on Good Governance and Integrity in Customs. Also presented were the newly created e-learning module “Risk Management: Internal Risk” and the WCO Corruption Risk Mapping Guide, both available on the WCO CLiKC! platform, access to which is provided by the Department as the national coordinator from Ukraine;
- reports from representatives of the customs authorities of the Philippines, Spain, Tanzania, and others on the practical application of WCO tools;
- an active discussion on the role of rewards and sanctions in combating corruption.
The materials from the event will be used by representatives of the Department to update training modules on integrity issues.
