The Regional Vice-Presidency of the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Private Sector Advisory Group organized an event to exchange good practices and motivate customs administrations in the Americas and the Caribbean. The objective was to promote the use of WCO tools in the design of human resource management, which considers the strengthening of ethics and transparency in the actions of the public sector and to promote these principles in the relationship with trade operators and the private sector in general.
The meeting “Ethics and transparency, a commitment for everyone” took place virtually on April 6, 2022.
El Deputy Secretary of the WCO, Ricardo Treviño, opened the event by reflecting on the fundamental role of customs for countries and the importance of addressing the problem of corruption in public service. “In view of this, the WCO is working on its plans to promote integrity in administrations and reduce opportunities for corruption,” he said. He also mentioned the Revised Arusha Declaration as the tool that provides the best practices in integrity. He also referred to the open and transparent relationship with the private sector as a fundamental value for the economic development of countries.
El Regional Vice President of the WCO and head of Guatemalan Customs, Werner Ovalle, emphasized that “ethics is everyone's responsibility.” And he encouraged participants to take awareness of the role of customs to generate initiatives aimed at strengthening the principles of ethics and transparency that involve all actors to strengthen the foreign trade logistics chain in the region.
With over 200 participants in attendance, the event began with a brief presentation on the WCO's tools and instruments related to the fight against corruption. Andrea Hampton, Customs Service Training Center Expert, referred to the Revised Arusha Declaration and the ten principles that a national program on ethics in Customs should have. He mentioned prevention and reaction. He also highlighted the open and transparent relationship with the private sector in order to establish Memoranda of Understanding.
Meanwhile, Francisco Jaime Rey, Vice President of the WCO Private Sector Advisory Group, reflected on the concept of ethics as it relates to the guidelines that guide the conduct of business operations. He stated, in this sense, that ethics must be “systemic.”
Additionally, the event featured another panel moderated by Fermin Cuza, President of the World Organization BASC,with success stories in ethics and integrity of customs and the private sector of Guatemala, Uruguay, Jamaica and Mexico.
The conclusions were made by Alfredo Rojas, President of the Regional Private Sector Group, who highlighted the number of attendees at the event and encouraged people to fight against bad business practices. He argued that the activity is part of the joint work that the WCO Vice-Presidency has been developing with the private sector to strengthen ethics and transparency in the region's customs.
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