ethikos 34, no. 4 (April 2020)
According to a March 4, 2020, Council of Europe news release,[1] “Around 80 representatives of Armenian local and national authorities, civil society and international organisations met on 4 March 2020 during the Conference on political integrity of local elected representatives, held in Yerevan, Armenia.
“Participants stressed the need to set higher standards of integrity and to build a strong institutional architecture in Armenia which would allow for regular dialogue between national and local authorities.
“The exchanges led to the establishment of the Community of Practice on Public Integrity and Ethics in Local Governance in Armenia, which will act as a coordinating group for the localisation of national anti-corruption policies and their implementation by local authorities in Armenia. Its members will advocate for a better application of European standards on public ethics, transparent and open governance and citizen participation throughout Armenia, in order to restore citizens' trust in public institutions and local authorities in particular.
“The conference was followed on 5 March by a first meeting of the Community of Practice to discuss relevant tools - guidelines, models and methods - to assess corruption risks at local level, but also to develop local strategies and a model code of conduct for all those involved in local governance in Armenia.”
According to the news release, “[t]o facilitate the work of the Community of Practice,” the following four working groups were created:
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Anti-corruption policies,
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Public integrity,
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Transparency in public procurement, and
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Transparency and openness in government.