International Conference “Time to Act: The Reality of Anti-Corruption Policies” (TI BiH) Held in Sarajevo

An international conference entitled “Time to Act: The Reality of Anti-Corruption Policies” was held today in Sarajevo at the Swissotel Hotel with the support of the Swedish Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conference brought together international and regional experts to discuss burning challenges in the fight against corruption from the perspective of academics and practitioners, and addressed conference guests including representatives of embassies, international organizations, domestic institutions, civil society and academia.

Kthe conference was opened by N.E. Johanna Strömquist Ambassador of Sweden to Bosnia and Herzegovina, She emphasized that: “Corruption undermines the trust of the population in the state and is the enemy of democracy and economic development. There is a clear link between declining democratic space and growing corruption. Sweden therefore supports projects that increase transparency and accountability. They are essential for the fight against corruption and for the functioning of the social contract between the state and its citizens. ”

Srđan Blagovčanin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH), said: “The main goal of this conference is to try to answer the key question why success in the fight against corruption is often lacking. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that the fight against corruption cannot be treated as a technical process, new laws, new institutions alone will not bring success. All reforms, including the fight against corruption, are political processes par excellence that must be based on strong demand and demand for reforms in the direction of establishing the rule of law.

After two panels, the main conclusions of the conference were presented, which are also recommendations for further action: It was emphasized that the fight against corruption is a political process in which it is important to articulate views on the goals we want to achieve. First of all, it is important to promote integrity and establish the mobilization of social groups in a way that expands the areas of anti-corruption and at the same time strengthens integrity. Also, on the key question of the conference: “How to free the state from captivity?”, The panelists agreed that prevention of corruption is not enough and that repression of corruption is needed and the establishment of vertical responsibility, ie the responsibility of elected officials to citizens.