The Independent Integrity Unit (IIU) is participating in the 21st International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), held in Vilnius, Lithuania, from 18-21 June 2024. IIU is represented by Head of Unit Karen Ernst and Investigations Specialist Kathryn Ramos. 

The IACC, which takes place every two years, brings together heads of state, civil society, the private sector and more to discuss the latest challenges in anti-corruption and strategies to address these risks. This year’s conference is focusing on uniting stakeholders against a suite of interconnected global threats and developing a set of actions that the world can back collectively. A significant focus is placed on the threat of corruption to the environment. 

IIU Head Karen Ernst spoke on a panel on Tuesday, 18 June, titled “Safeguarding Our Planet: Tackling Corruption and Climate Action.” The panel focused on the role that global development organisations play in shaping the response to climate change and in ensuring that corruption doesn’t undermine our collective response to the intertwined challenges of climate adaptation, mitigation and the green transition. This high-level session built on the momentum at COP28 to advance opportunities for action. 

Karen briefly introduced the GCF and its special role in climate finance and explained what makes corruption different in the climate finance area, noting inter alia the urgency of climate investments, growing demand in access to climate finance and complexity of climate actions. She further shared what the Fund, including the IIU, has been doing to address corruption risks in the response to climate change.   This includes implementing the integrity policy framework, proactively identifying and mitigating integrity risks at the project level, employing innovative technological means like machine-learning, and capacity-building.  A crucial factor is also collective action, in particular the collaboration with international organisations and Civil Society Organizations.  

The panel also featured Roby Sederowitsch from The World Bank, Francine Pickup from UNDP, Tim Steele from UNODC, and Emmanuel Mathias from IMF. The discussion was moderated by Brice Bohmer from Transparency International, which is serving as the Secretariat for the IACC. 

More information about the IACC, including a detailed agenda, can be found here: https://iaccseries.org/ 

Please reach out to the IIU at [email protected] if you are interested in learning about the IIU’s different integrity initiatives and how we collaborate with international stakeholders (MDBs/IFIs, UN organisations and CSOs).