No jurisdiction walks alone in the fight against corruption. Mutual exchanges and experience sharing allow graft fighters around the world to stay ahead of the game. To this end, the ICAC avails itself of suitable opportunities to share with international counterparts the city’s time-tested anti-corruption strategy.
In mid-December 2019, ICAC Commissioner Simon Peh Yun-lu and other ICAC officials joined the Chinese delegation to attend the Eighth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Apart from attending conference programmes covering corruption prevention, asset recovery and international cooperation, ICAC officials also hosted a special event to introduce to participants Hong Kong’s holistic and effective anti-corruption strategy.
At the special event themed “Effective Control of Corruption through Systemic Prevention and Public Engagement: The Approach of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China”, participants were briefed on the key factors of Hong Kong’s successful fight against corruption, including its three-pronged approach through robust law enforcement, systemic prevention and comprehensive community education.
The audience showed a keen interest in Hong Kong’s corruption prevention and education efforts, including the Commission’s corruption prevention initiatives through promoting good governance and systemic risk management. ICAC officials also expounded on the ICAC’s “Ethics for All” approach in engaging members of the public from all strata to support the anti-graft cause.
Various UNCAC state parties also explored opportunities for cooperation with the ICAC in providing capacity building training and consultancy services to their law-enforcement agencies.
In mid-February 2020, Mr Peh and ICAC officials also attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Symposium on Gender Mainstreaming and Women Empowerment to Fight Corruption held in Putrajaya, Malaysia.
At the conference, Ms Sally Kwan Yee-lan, ICAC’s Secretary to Commission Against Corruption, spoke on “Gender Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption Initiatives and the Way Forward”, recounting Hong Kong’s experience in enhancing participation of females in the anti-corruption work at policy, institutional and community levels.
In Malaysia, Mr Peh and ICAC officials also called on leaders of local and global law enforcement agencies and anti-graft organisations to enhance mutual liaison and cooperation.
Under the UNCAC, the ICAC has been designated by the Central People's Government as the agency to assist other signatories in developing and implementing corruption prevention measures. The ICAC will continue to help uplift anti-graft capabilities of those countries by sharing with them its enforcement and preventive education experience.
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