Vinnytsia, 15 November 2016 – The National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) and UNDP are jointly launching a Ukraine-wide information campaign: "Conflict of Interest: Need to Know", to promote standards of integrity and raise awareness of the existing legislation governing conflicts of interest and other regulations aimed at preventing corruption.

The campaign, which will be rolled out through a series of workshops organised in 13 Ukrainian oblasts, is expected to enhance the knowledge of sub-national public servants and civic leaders on the regulations governing conflicts of interest in Ukraine.

Driven by the Ukrainian law on Prevention of Corruption, the NACP - now fully operational – will introduce mechanisms and tools for the implementation of a comprehensive and systematic approach to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts of interest in the public sphere. This approach will include prohibitions and sanctions against officials who violate them, as well as a set of rules they must follow to prevent such situations to occur, and to settle them eventually.

"Corruption often stems from conflicts of interests; it is not a new phenomenon in Ukraine. The NACP with UNDP support has developed substantial methodological recommendations to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest. It is now crucial to ensure their dissemination so that those most exposed to such situations understand how it can affect their decision's objectivity and impartiality while performing their official duties, and what they risk if they choose to overlook such conflicts," commented Ivan Presniakov, Team Lead of UNDP project for Enhanced Public Sector Transparency and Integrity.

The campaign's inaugurating workshop held today in Vinnytsia has already provided guidelines and educational materials to over 100 officials from authorized units to prevent corruption within executive bodies (Oblast and Rayon State Administrations), MPs, and municipal officials, as well as some 15 civil society representatives and activists as potential whistle-blowers.

The campaign is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, within the UNDP project for Enhanced Public Sector Transparency and Integrity.