Vienna. (PR). On the International Day against Corruption, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, urged the private sector to make more effective use of the United Nations Convention against Corruption - the world's strongest legal instrument to build integrity and fight corruption. The Convention, which came into force in December 2005 and has 148 Parties, includes strong measures to prevent and fight corruption in both the private and public sectors.
While corruption threatens the transparent and fair conduct of business, the Convention can help companies to build oversight and curb financial crime such as bribery andother forms of economic crime.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that the private sector’s contribution in fighting corruption is essential: “Corruption acts as a hidden overhead charge that drives up prices and erodes quality without any benefit to producers or consumers. Preventing corruption makes good business sense.”
Importantly, the Convention includes guidance for the private sector, which can make it part of the solution rather than merely a victim of corruption.“The private sector plays a key role in fostering development, but it is lagging behind the public sector in its efforts to stop corruption. In the past year, a number of countries have stepped up enforcement of anti-corruption laws, and we have seen high-level prosecutions of major companies, but many of these cases have ended in plea bargains. Companies have been fined billions, but that money has stayed in the States where the settlements were reached, it hasn’t gone back to the countries from which it was stolen. Ordinary people are the losers. We need to address this integrity deficit. I encourage the Working Group on Asset Recovery to look into this.” said Mr. Fedotov.
But the economic impact of graft is no less damaging. Corruption is a threat to development, hampering democracy and undermining stability. It distorts markets, curbs economic growth and discourages foreign investment. It erodes public services and trust in officials.
There is every incentive for the private sector to act since stronger economies and more prosperous societies are good for business. “Increasingly, investors are factoring not only environmental, social and governance considerations into their decision-making, but sound ethical performance as well” said the Secretary-General.
Anti-corruption is now firmly established as one of the principles of the United Nations Global Compact – the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world and one of the Organization’s main interfaces with the business community. UNODC and the UN Global Compact are helping “equip” the private sector to face its challenges and to deepen its understanding of the UN Convention against Corruption. The anti-corruption e-learning tool that both agencies launched in New York today is a practical example. The interactive tool shows how the Convention and the Global Compact’s anti-corruption principle can contribute to corporate integrity polices and actions.
The private sector is taking steps to ensure transparency.Companies may increasingly be required to prove that they are responsible and reliable. Citizens are waking up to the fact that impunity for corrupt practices has gone on too long. The Convention has effectively scrapped secrecy laws, which are no longer an obstacle to money-laundering investigations and international cooperation. More private companies are establishing ethics and compliance programmes to build the foundations of an accountable work-force.
But much more needs to be done. “I call on business leaders worldwide to denounce corruption and to back their words with strict prohibitions against it” said the Secretary-General. “They should adopt anti-corruption policies in line with the United Nations Convention and put in place the necessary checks to strengthen integrity and transparency”.
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL’S MESSAGE ON INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY
ISLAMABAD, 9 December 2010 (UN Information Centre) – On 31 October 2003, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption and requested that the Secretary-General designate the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as secretariat for the Convention’s Conference of States Parties (resolution 58/4).
The Assembly also designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day, to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it. The Convention entered into force in December 2005.
The UN Secretary-General issued the following message on this Day:
“Corruption is a threat to development, democracy and stability. It distorts markets, curbs economic growth and discourages foreign investment. It erodes public services and trust in officials. And it contributes to environmental damage and endangers public health by enabling the illegal dumping of hazardous waste and the production and distribution of counterfeit medicines.
The United Nations Convention against Corruption has helped the public sector to make progress in deterring these crimes. Last year, the Convention’s States parties, which now number 148, established a peer review mechanism to identify gaps in national anti-corruption laws and practices -- a major breakthrough that can help governments halt bribe-taking and the embezzlement of public funds.
The private sector’s contribution is also essential. Corruption acts as a hidden overhead charge that drives up prices and erodes quality without any benefit to producers or consumers. Preventing corruption makes good business sense. Increasingly, investors are factoring not only environmental, social and governance considerations into their decision-making, but sound ethical performance as well.
I call on business leaders worldwide to denounce corruption and to back their words with strict prohibitions against it. They should adopt anti-corruption policies in line with the United Nations Convention and put in place the necessary checks to strengthen integrity and transparency. I also urge corporations to work more closely with the United Nations on this issue. In particular, they should consider joining the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, which provides participants with tools to fight all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery.
What we urge upon the public and private sectors, we at the United Nations must practice ourselves. An ethical organizational culture is one of the best antidotes to corruption. The United Nations Ethics Office promotes accountability, integrity and transparency. A thorough policy protects staff against retaliation if they report misconduct or participate in audits and investigations that may expose unethical behaviour.
The United Nations is also working to combat corruption in the conduct of its activities, including procurement, by ensuring individual accountability, collaborating with law enforcement officials, and investigating all possible instances of corruption that may arise. On 8-9 December at UN Headquarters in New York, the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services is bringing together organizations from around the world for a conference aimed at strengthening the role of internal investigations in combating corruption.
On this International Anti-Corruption Day, let us all do our part to foster ethical practices, safeguard trust and ensure no diversion of the precious resources needed for our shared work for development and peace.”
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