OSCE holds seminar on fighting customs corruption in Kazakhstan
ASTANA, 6 May 2009 - A two-day seminar for Kazakh customs and law enforcement officials to discuss strategic anti-corruption methods and international good practices in this field ended in Astana today.
The seminar, organized jointly by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, the OSCE Centre in Astana and the World Customs Organization (WCO), brought together some 100 national participants, including department heads from the customs service and representatives of law enforcement agencies and the private sector, as well as international experts from the World Bank, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and USAID and representatives of national customs authorities.
"The seminar has helped to identify more effective methods to combat corruption and will result in constructive recommendations to improve anti-corruption work in customs," said Kozy-Korpesh Karbuzov, Chairman of the Kazakh Customs Committee.
Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana, said: "The presence of corruption in customs seriously undermines the economic and political security of the country and reduces opportunities for economic, social and overall national development. The present event is especially important in light of Kazakhstan's OSCE Chairmanship in 2010, and its results can contribute to further dialogue on developing efficient and less cumbersome transit transport in the OSCE region."
"Customs administrations around the world play a key role in trade facilitation, revenue collection, community protection and national security. As such, the lack of integrity in customs can distort trade and investment opportunities, undermine public trust in government administration and ultimately jeopardize the well being of all citizens. Integrity is a prerequisite for the proper functioning of a customs administration," said Patricia Revesz, Executive Officer, World Customs Organization.
Seminar participants learned about Kazakhstan's National Customs Integrity Strategy Plan and formulated a set of recommendations to improve it, and also explored the usefulness of public-private partnerships in the fight against corruption. In addition, the seminar focused on the economic and commercial benefits of strengthening anti-corruption policies, as well as the importance of developing a code of conduct based on the provisions of the WCO's Revised Arusha Declaration on Integrity in Customs.
The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the support of the WCO is compiling a Handbook on Best Practices at Borders, expected to be ready by this summer The publication will address, among other challenges, the need to maintain the highest possible level of integrity in customs as a necessary pre-condition for sustainable economic development.