UNIS/NAR/903
8 June 2005
UNODC Applauds Swift Ratification of UN Convention against Corruption at IVth Global Forum
Calls on Member States to Help Developing Countries Fight Threat
VIENNA, 8 June (UN Information Service) -- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the custodian of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, is participating in the IVth Global Forum against Corruption, held in Brasilia from 7-9 June. The Forum is being organized by the Government of Brazil.
The United Nations Convention against Corruption has been signed by 123 Member States, and 25 of these countries have already ratified it. UNODC expects the Convention to enter into force before the end of 2005, an achievement UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa attributes to a growing push across the world for honest and transparent governance. The Convention’s distinguishing characteristics include broad prevention measures, support for asset recovery, anti-money-laundering provisions, and international cooperation in criminal matters, in particular mutual legal assistance and extradition.
“I salute the people of Brazil and the citizens of the other countries who have already ratified this UN Convention,” said Mr. Costa. “Their commitment to establishing higher standards and to raising the bar for good governance reflects the growing insight of citizens everywhere into the workings of a global economy and a world facing common threats and opportunities.”
UNODC will assure participants in the IVth Global Forum against Corruption that the Convention’s imminent entry into force will set into motion its implementation mechanisms through the establishment of the Conference of the States Parties, which will guarantee appropriate review and follow-up.
“We take great pride in the fact that UNODC has brokered ‘five for five’ -- five instrument in five years,” said Mr. Costa. “The UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols on trafficking in human beings, smuggling of migrants and trafficking of firearms, as well as the UN Convention against Corruption have moved from abstract concepts to living instruments of international cooperation in amazingly short time, given the complex mechanics of parliamentary approval by so many countries. People all over the world are demanding accountability and responsibility from their leaders and institutions, and governments are listening, ” he added.
The Global Forum against Corruption is held every two years, the last being in Seoul, South Korea. More than 1,000 participants are attending this year’s event in Brasilia, with workshops and panel discussions that focus on issues ranging from e-commerce and good governance to money-laundering and asset recovery, public procurement, measuring corruption, conflict of interest, the involvement of civil society and the role of the media. UNODC will also emphasize the responsibility of affluent countries to reach out to poorer nations with funding and other resources for capacity building and strengthening of the institutional machinery to more effectively fight corruption.
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For more information, contact:
Kathleen Millar
Deputy Spokesperson, UNODC
Tel: +43 1 26060 5629
