OSCE, Anti-Corruption Academy agree to co-operate on fighting corruption

The OSCE Secretary General, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, and the Chair of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) International Transition Team, Martin Kreutner, signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalizing co-operation between the two organizations on 28 March 2011 at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna.

“This is one of the areas in which the OSCE participating States are eager to co-operate,” de Brichambaut told Kreutner. “In joining forces, we look forward to relying on your network, your expertise and also to the co-operation between our staff.”

Kreutner added: “I see a big potential for our two organizations to share experiences and co-operate more closely in the future to fight corruption, prevent corruption and make our countries safer and more prosperous, not only in the economic but also in the social sense.”

The IACA, based in Laxenburg, Austria, is a newly founded institution that offers training and academic degree programmes to promote knowledge and practice in the field of anti-corruption. It was established as an international organization on 8 March 2011.

The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) within the OSCE Secretariat and OSCE field operations assist participating States in combating corruption by helping them to implement international commitments, such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and to improve good governance.

The fight against corruption is closely linked to combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as well as to the fight against human trafficking, and the OSCE strives to address these threats comprehensively. The IACA takes a similarly inter-disciplinary approach, offering professional training not only to anti-corruption specialists, but also to legal practitioners, journalists and students in a wide variety of fields.