Justin Addison (UK Delegation to the OSCE) says, in the shadow of Russia's brutal war, there is a window of opportunity for significant reform in Ukraine.

We are here again at another Economic and Environmental Committee (EEC) meeting that takes place in the shadow of Russia’s brutal, illegal and unjustified war in Ukraine. The breadth of destruction wrought by Putin’s forces is so great that there is no topic under the remit of the second dimension that is unrelated to this disastrous war.  

Ukraine had made significant progress on anti-corruption since Russia’s illegal invasion of Crimea in 2014. There is currently a window of opportunity for significant reform in Ukraine, with unprecedented national consensus and international support.  

The Ukrainian Government recognises that there is more to do; and the UK will be at the forefront of the international efforts needed to help rebuild Ukraine and support the Ukrainian Government with the capacity needed to ensure good governance for Ukrainian citizens.  

The purpose of the EEC is to share best practice on the topics under discussion. To that end, I would like to draw the committee’s attention to a document, a Standard for the Counter Bribery and Corruption Professional,published by the UK Government in May.  

The document contains Professional Standards and Guidance on the individual level of knowledge, skills and experience required to prevent, detect and respond to bribery and corruption. It describes what good quality Counter Bribery and Corruption products look like. It suggests recommended processes for organisations to adopt to implement an effective approach. And it contains guidance on how organisations can deal with those who commit fraud. Photo by UK Government, Wikimedia commons.