Brasilia, 19 March 2024 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Brazil held a technical feedback meeting on the survey "Perception of Institutional and Government Relations Professionals regarding the Regulation of Lobbying". The event was held on Tuesday 19 March at the UNODC office in Brasilia.
Developed as part of the UNODC Global Action for Business Integrity (GABI) project, with the support of the Siemens Integrity Initiative, the activity was attended by representatives the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), the Institute of Institutional and Government Relations (IRELGOV), the Brazilian Association of Institutional and Government Relations (ABRIG), the Association of State Courts of Auditors (ATRICON), the National Council for Internal Control (CONACI), the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), and the law firm Britto Brandão Minc Adv.
As part of its mandate as guardian of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), UNODC promotes research, analysis, and evidence-based technical assistance to improve international cooperation and encourage transparency and democratic control of interactions between these sectors in Brazil, thus helping to encourage the prevention of conflict of interest and possible other corruption offenses.
The meeting aimed to present the main findings of the social perception survey of institutional and government relations professionals regarding the regulation of lobbying in Brazil, which was completed by 123 institutional and government relations professionals and 25 organizations acting in the area. Anchored in SDG 17, the unprecedented survey in the Brazilian context was conducted with technical support from Breno Marisguia, researcher at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).
In her opening speech, UNODC Brazil Representative Elena Abbati highlighted the Office’s mandate as the guardian of important international conventions, such as UNCAC. "Within the framework of UNCAC, this technical study seeks to strengthen communication and broaden the knowledge of the public and private sectors on this issue. It aims to encourage transparency and democratic control of the interactions between these sectors in Brazil, thus contributing to encouraging the prevention of conflict of interest and possible other corruption offenses, in the light of international best practices," she commented.
Andréa Gozetto, UNODC’s consultant for this applied research, highlighted the innovative nature of the initiative, noting that "we have the first survey on the regulation of lobbying in Brazil. We managed, in an unprecedented way, to mobilize the country's institutional and government relations professionals, with the broad support of the sector's representative entities."
For the president of the National Council for Internal Control (CONACI), Edmar Camata, "Understanding how lobbying should be better regulated in Brazil requires scientific analysis and dialogue. This feedback from UNODC to the partners delivers an important product that addresses priority agendas for the country and for CONACI: transparency and integrity."
The Global Action for Business Integrity project - implemented by UNODC since March 2021 in Brazil and other countries around the world, the project aims to encourage progress in preventing corruption by improving and qualifying transparency and integrity. In addition, the project aims to improve communication between the public sector, the private sector, civil society, and universities, promoting a common means of dialogue and knowledge sharing, by offering guidance to small and medium-sized companies on adopting anti-corruption and integrity systems and programmes.
