Vienna, 16th May 2018 – Within the framework of the 27th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the Permanent Mission of Italy to the International Organizations in Vienna has organized a special event dedicated to integrity and anti-corruption policies in the private sector.
The initiative is part of a project developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which had previously been presented also in Oslo, Paris(OECD) and Washington DC.
The project aims to promote best practices of organizational models for the prevention of corruption adopted by Italian enterprises which operate also abroad, in compliance with the obligations arising from national laws and international conventions. Particular emphasis is placed on the synergies between public institutions, private sector and civil society, within a path towards the establishment of an economic and social environment ruled by transparency, integrity and fair competition.
The multi-stakeholder approach in the fight against corruption was illustrated, for the private sector, by Transparency International Italia (Virginio Carnevali, President), by the multinational corporations SNAM (Marco Reggiani, General Counsel) and ENEL (Eugenio Vaccari, Head of Compliance) – which participate in the Business Integrity Forum project promoted by Transparency – and by Unioncamere (Flavio Burlizzi, Director Europa), whereas the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Min. Plen. Alfredo Durante Mangoni) and the National Anti-Corruption Authority (Prof. Nicoletta Parisi) participated on behalf of the public sector.
The event was opened by John Brandolino, Director of the Division for Treaty Affairs of UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime), which is also the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and by Ambassador Maria Assunta Accili. In front of representatives of other Governments and international officials, Ambassador Accili presented the important reforms which were adopted by our country in the last years in order to reinforce the legislative and regulatory framework in the fight against corruption, as well as Italy’s high-profile commitment within the competent international organizations and multilateral fora, such as UNCAC, OECD, Council of Europe, G20 and G7.
It is very significant that the initiative took place within the Viennese context of the Crime Commission, which, being the main United Nations forum on crime and corruption, could provide an ad hoc audience. The event also coincides with the 15th anniversary of the UNCAC Convention, which is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument.
The day was further enriched by another similar event that took place at the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), an international organization and post-secondary educational institution based in Vienna. The seminar was also attended by Austrian private sector representatives and participants of the training courses organized by the Academy.
The twofold initiative fits into the broader framework of legal diplomacy, through which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contributes to the international projection of the Italian economic system, that also includes the adherence to the highest standards of legality and ethics.
