OSCE Office opens anti-corruption centre in Azerbaijan

BAKU, 8 September 2006 - Fighting corruption and promoting transparency are the main objectives of an anti-corruption Centre that opened in the northern Azerbaijani city of Guba today.

The event is part of a joint programme of the OSCE Office in Baku and the NGO Transparency Azerbaijan, and follows the opening of two other anti-corruption centres in Baku and Ganja.

"As President Ilham Aliyev often said, corruption in Azerbaijan is a threat to economic development and social order. It is a problem which must be addressed with the highest priority," said Ambassador Maurizio Pavesi, Head of the OSCE Office in Baku. "Our Office is committed to providing our host country with all possible support to fight corruption."

A toll-free hotline has been established in the Centre to help victims report corruption cases and receive legal advice on their rights. The Centre will also offer professional legal support to citizens to help them file and pursue their complaints, provide support to the authorities to strengthen their capacity to process complaints, and support the public administration system in enforcing the recently adopted anti-corruption legislation.

The OSCE Office in Baku has been active in fighting corruption since its opening in 2000.

It supports Azerbaijan's commitments to combating corruption through various projects such as an assessment of anti-corruption legislation, and is helping the Government and civil society implement the State Programme on Combating Corruption, adopted in January 2005.