UN Global Compact and International Road Transport Union (IRU) Join Forces on Global Anti-Corruption Drive on Road Transport

(New York, 11 December 2013) – Following International Anti-Corruption Day, the UN Global Compact and International Road Transport Union announced the Global Anti-Corruption Initiative (GACI) to fight extortion and corruption across borders.

Beginning January 2014, the GACI will analyze anti-corruption in the transport and logistics industry along major international trade routes in Eurasia, Africa, and Latin America. A questionnaire completed by road transport companies and truck drivers will help to identify the areas of business and administrative activities, as well as geographic location, that are most vulnerable to extortion and bribery. A report on the outcomes of the survey with recommendations on anti-corruption activities in the sphere of the international road transport will be presented on International Anti-Corruption Day 2014 and shared with Governments.

The UN Global Compact’s 10th Principle Against Corruption calls on business not only to avoid bribery, extortion and other forms of corruption, but also to develop policies and concrete programmes to address corruption. Companies are challenged to join peers, Governments, UN agencies and civil society to realize a more transparent global economy.

As a global organization representing 170 member associations from 74 countries, the International Road Transport Union (IRU) upholds the interests of the road transport industry, in order to meet the demand for the sustainable mobility of both people and goods. IRU members are affected by lengthy border crossing procedures and over-regulation – the main causes of corruption on the roads. According to a recent report published by IRU, over 40 percent of the time en-route between Europe and Asia is spent by truck operators in long lines at the borders, with up to one-third of the freight cost constituting illegal payments.

UN Global Compact Executive Director Georg Kell said, “We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with IRU to fight corruption through the Global Anti-Corruption Initiative. This can go a long way to eliminating extortion in the road transport industry, which remains a major barrier to sustainable development throughout the supply chain.”

At this week’s UN Global Compact Working Group Meeting on the 10th Principle Against Corruption, Igor Runov, IRU Under Secretary General and the Head of the IRU Permanent Mission to the UN, emphasized, “The road transport industry is committed to work closely with the UN Global Compact and Governments to address corruption. The positive practical results of this initiative will benefit international road transport operators in many countries”.

About the International Road Transport Union

International Road Transport Union (IRU) is an umbrella non-governmental organization that has been working towards facilitation of international road transport worldwide for the last 65 years. It was established by 8 founding members in 1948 in order to stimulate the reconstruction of the post-war Europe. Today IRU’s 170 members represent associations of road transport business community from 74 states on five continents. The main task of the IRU is to be a spokesman and promote globally the interests of international road transport - cargo and passenger. www.iru.org

About the UN Global Compact

Launched in 2000, the United Nations Global Compact is both a policy platform and a practical framework for companies that are committed to sustainability and responsible business practices. As a multi-stakeholder leadership initiative, it seeks to align business operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals. With 8,000 corporate signatories in 145 countries, it is the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative. www.unglobalcompact.org

Media Contacts

Juliette Ebélé
Head - Communications
IRU
press@iru.org
+41 22 918 27 07

Kristen Coco
Public Affairs and Media Relations
UN Global Compact
cocok@un.org
+1 917-367-8566

Contact - Anti-Corruption

Olajobi Makinwa
Head, Anti-Corruption & Transparency Initiatives
UN Global Compact
makinwa@un.org