INTOSAI Approves the Rio Declaration at INCOSAI XXIV

At the International Congress of Supreme Audit Institutions (INCOSAI) XXIV, following discussions of the two key themes of INCOSAI, INTOSAI adopted the Rio Declaration. The Rio Declaration establishes key INCOSAI outcomes, helps guide INTOSAI’s future, and consolidates the results from the discussions regarding Theme I: The Role of SAIs in Emergency Situations, and; Theme II: Global Voice, Global Outcome, Far-Reaching Impact.  

The Rio Declaration informs guidelines and action of INTOSAI and members SAIs in the upcoming years, while taking into account responsiveness of SAIs during crises, communication of INTOSAI’s values, results and impacts, core principles of SAIs within accountability ecosystems, and collaboration with stakeholders. 

The Rio Declaration outlines SAI and INTOSAI commitments, including:

• Responding to emergencies, changing environments and emerging risks. By identifying lessons learned, implementing best practices, and engaging with INTOSAI and external partners, SAIs can improve their agility and provide oversight to help their governments and citizens with emergency preparedness and response in increasingly complex situations. 
• Strengthening INTOSAI’s global voice. A strategy aimed at strengthening institutional relationships and increasing the effectiveness of communication between INTOSAI and SAIs, international organizations, and broader society will contribute to greater awareness and expanded impact of SAI work. INTOSAI and its regional organizations can identify high relevance themes on the country, regional, and global levels to find commonalities, and support greater accountability, transparency and good governance. SAIs can enhance partnerships with intergovernmental organizations to improve capacities and standards for public administration and management oversight. 
• Emphasizing and recognizing the importance of core principles. The principles established in prior INCOSAI Declarations and other key INTOSAI documents support effectively functioning SAIs. In particular, INCOSAI emphasizes the importance of independence, transparency, and professional output. 
• Improving collaboration with stakeholders: SAIs collaborate through INTOSAI’s bodies and regional organizations, which provide the means to interact, exchange ideas and share knowledge. Through INTOSAI, SAIs work collectively to build capacity, and enhance technological capabilities and resources. INTOSAI also affirms its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. Fostering a more effective global voice and responsiveness to changing environments and emerging risks requires SAIs to enhance collaboration with the public audit community. 

Read the full Rio Declaration in its entirety here.