- December 13, 2017
- Posted by: admin
- Categories: RAI News, SEE News
Regional Anti-corruption Initiative (RAI), in cooperation with the Anti-Corruption General Directorate within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Romania, with support of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) organized a Regional Workshop on Integrity and Professional Standards in Law Enforcement, held in Bucharest, Romania, on 13 – 14 December 2017.
The objective of the Workshop was to strengthen regional cooperation in the field of integrity and professional standards in law enforcement and enable participants to have better understanding of the modalities and mechanisms in the field of integrity and professional standards applied in the region, to increase awareness about available legal and practical solutions, but also to identify main challenges in this field..
Day 1:
In his opening remarks, Mr. Vladan Joksimovic, Head of RAI Secretariat stated that this workshop would bring an added value, through reviewing anti-corruption efforts, policies and mechanisms in law enforcement bodies, but also learning and dissemination of good practices from RAI’s member countries. Furthermore, he stated that the workshop will contribute to building relationships and cooperation among the institutions.
Mr. Ionita Alexandru Catalin, Director of Anti-Corruption General Directorate, stated that the workshop aims at enabling participants to exchange experience at regional level and discuss examples of best practice by being offered presentations and discussions with anti-corruption experts who have thorough knowledge in this field.
Participants were presented a regional overview of achieved results, current activities and key challenges by representatives of International Organizations and Networks.
Mr. Paulo Costa, Head of Police Programme, DCAF, first gave an overview of activities implemented by DCAF in this field, with special focus on Police Integrity Building Programme and Knowledge Products and Tools available and offered by DCAF. Mr. Costa continued his intervention by giving a special attention to Human Resources Management and Development as a key to Police Integrity, with focus on recruitment, training and workplace induction, career system, management and leadership, working conditions and support mechanisms, and gender dimension.
Mr. Dennis Cosgrove, Head of Border Security and management Unit, OSCE, gave a brief overview of the OSCE, and area of work of the Border Security and management Unit. A special focus was given to a Training Programme for Border Guards, Customs Services and Anti-Corruption Authorities of Moldova and Ukraine, implemented by OSCE. According to gained experiences from the Programme:
- the training concept with real life case scenarios was experienced as a practical and motivating learning methodology;
- By utilizing national experts as core trainers, the curriculum and training delivered was really tailored to the actual needs of both countries and brought local ownership.
- third phase of the programme will be delivered independently by national authorities in their countries, and it is expected that the project will bring tangible results.
Ms. Anela Duman, Expert on integrity in public procurement, Centre for Integrity in Defense Sector (CIDS) presented the work and area of expertise of CIDS. Special attention was given to the advisory role of CIDS while working bilaterally with countries of the region. All activities are demand driven, locally owned, evidence-based and tend to use a participatory approach. Ms. Duman also presented some of the deliverables of the CIDS bilateral interventions, including Analytical basis publications and guides to good governance.
Mr. Michael Ocvirk, Risk Management Expert, Federal Bureau of Anti-corruption (BAK), Austria, gave an overview of the work of Bureau, with special focus on department for Prevention, Education and International Cooperation. He presented the Network of Integrity Officers (NIO), developed and managed by BAK on the basis of its legal mandate and years of expertise in the field. NIO, as a key element of National Anti-corruption Strategy proved to have many advantages, including synergic use of resources of all sectors involved, transfer of know-how, institutionalization of a nationwide integrity management system, etc. Mr. Ocvirk also presented education platforms developed for youth and implemented by BAK, including mobile application available in German and English whose target group is adolescents and young adults; and Anti-Corruption Training for Students of 14-19 years.
Mr. Tomislav Curic, Anti-corruption Expert, RAI Secretariat, presented the RAI Work Plan for 2018-2020, with special focus on activities related to building capacities of law enforcement agencies and improving their regional cooperation. Mr. Curic stressed out that the event in Bucharest would be used as a starting point to development of new activities and projects with other partners and donors. He reiterated the importance of sharing regional experiences and strengthening the cooperation in this field.
Second part of the day was dedicated to overview of achieved results, current activities and key challenges by the ministries of interior. Participants were given an opportunity to present the work of their respective institutions, with focus on successful cases and best practices related to corruption prevention (i.e. corruption risk identification and integrity plans, conflict of interest prevention, codes of ethics etc.) but also related to repressive measures and tools for addressing police corruption and misconduct.
Mr. Christophe Spechbacher from the GRECO Secretariat gave a presentation on prevention of corruption in law enforcement from the perspective of GRECO’s 5th Round of evaluation. After giving and overview of first four evaluation rounds, Mr. Spechbacher focused on framework and the questionnaire used for evaluations in the 5th round. He stated that the questionnaire includes: Organisation and accountability of law enforcement/police authorities; Anti-corruption and integrity policy, regulatory and institutional framework; Recruitment and career; Rules of conduct incl. specific restrictions, Conflicts of interest and declaratory obligations (assets, occupations, income etc.); Supervision, enforcement; and Awareness and training.
Day 2:
Second day of the workshop was dedicated to common challenges and priorities in building integrity in law enforcement. The participants had an opportunity to be part of interactive sessions and share their experiences, problems, challenges and priorities.
The Session on Integrity planning and Management was facilitated by Mr. Paulo Costa, while the final Session on identification of regional needs and priorities was facilitated by Mr. Dennis Cosgrove.
It has been concluded that the organizers will use all ideas shared during the workshop as a basis for development of new activities, and will take into consideration identified priorities and challenges that the law enforcement agencies are facing.
Final Agenda can be found here.
List of Participants can be found here.
Photo Gallery
20 December 2017
RAI Secretariat