The WCO was invited by the African Union (AU) Commission to participate in the 1st AU Seminar on Integrity and Ethics in Customs, held in Kigali, Rwanda from 28 – 30 May 2014. The objective of the Seminar was to take stock of Integrity and Ethics programs in AU Member States Customs Administrations and to critically examine implementation challenges. The seminar provided a forum for the exchange of integrity best practices among Member States to enable formulation of a continental strategy to address the issues.
Prior to the seminar, the WCO had collaborated with the AU Commission to conduct a survey on the integrity situation of AU Member States Customs Administrations. The WCO informed the seminar of the outcome of the survey and also shared some global perspectives on best practices in integrity and ethics. In attendance were 40 participants that included representatives of 14 AU Customs Administrations, Regional Economic Communities and International Organizations, namely COMESA, EAC, ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD, PACCI, UNECA and the WCO.
A "Draft Brazzaville Declaration on Integrity and Ethics in African Customs Administrations" and a report of "Final Conclusions and Recommendations" were derived at the end of the three-day seminar which would be submitted to the 6th Ordinary Meeting of AU Sub Committee of Directors General of Customs for consideration in September 2014.