ICAC chief concludes visit to Europe
2018-10-24
ICAC Commissioner Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu today (October 24) concluded a visit to Croatia, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark to update the international community on Hong Kong’s latest probity situation and foster closer ties in the fight against corruption by exploring opportunities for training collaboration.
On the last leg of the 10-day journey, Mr Peh attended the 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Denmark, a global forum on governance and anti-corruption organised by the Transparency International (TI).
Mr Peh also met with senior executives of the TI, including TI’s Chair, Ms Delia Matilde Ferreira Rubio, TI’s Advisory Council Chairman, Mr Peter Eigen, and former TI’s Chair and IACC Council Chair Ms Huguette Labelle. They all appreciated Hong Kong’s clean environment and ICAC’s effort in creating a probity culture over 44 years.
In her meeting with Mr Peh, Ms Labelle commended the ICAC for leading a sustainable fight against corruption.
In Denmark, the Commissioner also met with the World Bank Group’s Vice President (Integrity), Ms Pascale Helene Dubois, who oversees an independent unit tasked with investigating and pursuing sanctions related to allegations of corruption and fraud in projects financed by the group.
Earlier in Croatia, Mr Peh spoke at a panel of the High-Level Conference of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) on “Strengthening transparency and accountability to ensure integrity: United against corruption”.
Making reference to Hong Kong’s experience, Mr Peh stressed the importance of enhancing connectivity, the sharing of best practices and innovative strategies as well as capacity building to foster international co-operation.
Concurring that anti-corruption education was crucial to shaping responsible citizens of tomorrow, the GRECO conference complimented Hong Kong for stopping corruption at kindergarten stage.
GRECO is established by the Council of Europe to monitor member states’ compliance with the anti-corruption standards of the organisation. Mr Peh was the only Asian speaker of this conference which attracted over 250 senior policymakers and experts from around the world.
During the conference, Mr Peh also held bilateral meetings with about 20 delegations from Eastern/Central Europe and Eurasia attending the conference to initiate talks on collaboration in capacity building training for anti-corruption agencies of these countries.
In Switzerland, the Commissioner briefed senior representatives of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and the World Economic Forum on the latest probity situation in Hong Kong.
During the meeting with the IMD, Professor Arturo Bris, Director of World Competitiveness Centre, praised Hong Kong as a good case study on eradicating corruption.
In Austria, the Commissioner chaired the meeting of the training committee of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA), and met with senior officials of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as the Chinese Ambassador to Austria to exchange views on the latest development of anti-graft work.
The IAACA, of which the Hong Kong ICAC has been a member since 2007, is a non-governmental international organisation set up to promote co-operation in worldwide anti-corruption issues and foster the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Mr Peh, as Commissioner of the ICAC, is an Executive Committee Member of the IAACA and Convenor of its training committee.
On the last leg of the 10-day journey, Mr Peh attended the 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Denmark, a global forum on governance and anti-corruption organised by the Transparency International (TI).
Mr Peh also met with senior executives of the TI, including TI’s Chair, Ms Delia Matilde Ferreira Rubio, TI’s Advisory Council Chairman, Mr Peter Eigen, and former TI’s Chair and IACC Council Chair Ms Huguette Labelle. They all appreciated Hong Kong’s clean environment and ICAC’s effort in creating a probity culture over 44 years.
In her meeting with Mr Peh, Ms Labelle commended the ICAC for leading a sustainable fight against corruption.
In Denmark, the Commissioner also met with the World Bank Group’s Vice President (Integrity), Ms Pascale Helene Dubois, who oversees an independent unit tasked with investigating and pursuing sanctions related to allegations of corruption and fraud in projects financed by the group.
Earlier in Croatia, Mr Peh spoke at a panel of the High-Level Conference of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) on “Strengthening transparency and accountability to ensure integrity: United against corruption”.
Making reference to Hong Kong’s experience, Mr Peh stressed the importance of enhancing connectivity, the sharing of best practices and innovative strategies as well as capacity building to foster international co-operation.
Concurring that anti-corruption education was crucial to shaping responsible citizens of tomorrow, the GRECO conference complimented Hong Kong for stopping corruption at kindergarten stage.
GRECO is established by the Council of Europe to monitor member states’ compliance with the anti-corruption standards of the organisation. Mr Peh was the only Asian speaker of this conference which attracted over 250 senior policymakers and experts from around the world.
During the conference, Mr Peh also held bilateral meetings with about 20 delegations from Eastern/Central Europe and Eurasia attending the conference to initiate talks on collaboration in capacity building training for anti-corruption agencies of these countries.
In Switzerland, the Commissioner briefed senior representatives of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and the World Economic Forum on the latest probity situation in Hong Kong.
During the meeting with the IMD, Professor Arturo Bris, Director of World Competitiveness Centre, praised Hong Kong as a good case study on eradicating corruption.
In Austria, the Commissioner chaired the meeting of the training committee of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA), and met with senior officials of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as the Chinese Ambassador to Austria to exchange views on the latest development of anti-graft work.
The IAACA, of which the Hong Kong ICAC has been a member since 2007, is a non-governmental international organisation set up to promote co-operation in worldwide anti-corruption issues and foster the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Mr Peh, as Commissioner of the ICAC, is an Executive Committee Member of the IAACA and Convenor of its training committee.
In Copenhagen, Denmark, ICAC Commissioner Simon Peh (second from left) updates TI’s Chair Delia Matilde Ferreira Rubio (second from right) on the Commission’s latest anti-graft initiatives.
ICAC Commissioner Simon Peh (right) exchanges views on global anti-corruption development with UNODC’s Executive Director Yury Fedotov (second from left) in Vienna, Austria.
(Left to right) IMD’s World Competitiveness Centre Director Prof Arturo Bris, ICAC Commissioner Simon Peh, IMD’s Chief Economist Dr Christo Cabolis and ICAC Principal Liaison Officer Lawrence Chung meet in Lausanne, Switzerland.