Key coalition formed to fight private sector corruption on Anti-Corruption Day

In order to increase their combined impact, the four parties committed to disseminating good practice and guidance materials and to supporting each other’s implementation and compliance tools.

To demonstrate their collaboration, the four parties are jointly issuing the following statement on this global anti-corruption day, which falls on 9 December every year:

“The fight against corruption is one of the biggest challenges of our time for business. If this fight is to succeed, all anti-corruption efforts need to be embraced and coordinated. 

The addition in 2004 of a 10th Anti-Corruption Principle to the United Nations (UN) Global Compact underlines the importance of coordination between the principal codes on anti-corruption now in existence. These are:

• the  International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Rules of Conduct to Combat Extortion and Bribery ;
• the  Transparency International (TI) Business Principles for Countering Bribery ; and
• the  World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption (PACI) Principles for Countering Bribery. 
  

While these codes are not identical, there exists a large degree of convergence in substance between them. In recognition of this fact, discussions have now taken place between the UN Global Compact, ICC, TI and PACI to explore how the three codes can be supported by the business community.   

As a result of these discussions, the different bodies confirm their support to use each other’s or jointly prepared good practice guidance materials and implementation tools in the expectation that this will enhance their combined impact on the fight against corruption. 

Signatories of the UN Global Compact will be able to record their support to these codes in their Communication on Progress on adopting the Global Compact’s 10th Principle on Anti-Corruption.

Signed by   

United Nations Global Compact

Commission on Anti-Corruption of the International Chamber of Commerce

Board of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative

Transparency International”

Earlier this fall, representatives of the four parties came together for the first time and agreed that closer collaboration would add value to all initiatives. In that spirit they decided to focus on the commonalities among the initiatives and work on synergies. As a result, work is now being undertaken on joint projects and efforts to raise awareness.

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC):

ICC is the world business organization, a representative body that speaks with authority on behalf of enterprises from all sectors in every part of the world. ICC issued in 2005 a newly revised version of its Rules and Recommendations to Combat Extortion and Bribery, which were first published in 1977. The ICC Commission on Anti-Corruption brings together anti-corruption experts from a wide range of business sectors and national backgrounds. It acts to promote self-regulation by enterprises in confronting issues of extortion and bribery, and provides business input into international initiatives to fight corruption.

For more information on ICC’s anti-corruption work, please contact Julian Kassum.

Transparency International:

Transparency International, the anti-corruption NGO, working with a multistakeholder and international Steering Committee of companies, business associations, academics, union representatives and NGOs, published in 2002 an anti-corruption code entitled “Business Principles for Countering Bribery”. This code formed the basis for the PACI Principles developed together with members of the World Economic Forum. Since 2002 the insights gained from many workshops around the world have permitted the development of a suite of tools to support companies in developing anti-corruption policies, in implementing them in their organizations, in monitoring their effectiveness and in public reporting on their anti-bribery programmes.

Information can be freely accessed at www.transparency.org or from Susan Cote-Freeman.

UN Global Compact:

On 24 June 2004 at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, the addition of the 10th Principle against corruption was announced. This was adopted after extensive consultations and all participants expressed overwhelming support, sending a strong signal worldwide that the private sector shares responsibility for the challenges of eliminating corruption. Specifically, the principle states: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery. The adoption of the 10th Principle commits the 2,500 UN Global Compact participants not only to avoid bribery, extortion and other forms of corruption, but also to develop policies and concrete programmes to address corruption.

For more information, visit www.unglobalcompact.org or contact Birgit Errath.

World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI):

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.  Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests.

Driven by the private sector, the World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) helps to consolidate industry efforts in fighting bribery and corruption and shaping the evolving regulatory framework. The multi-industry and multinational PACI, initiated by leading CEOs from World Economic Forum member companies, was officially launched at the Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2004. Since then the PACI has created the PACI Principles for Countering Bribery and received CEO commitment through signatures to the PACI Principles from more than 90 companies, representing an annual turnover of more than US$ 400 billion and over 1.4 million employees worldwide.

For more information on the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, please contact Christoph Frei or Valerie Weinzierl.