For information only - not an official document
UNIS/CP/877
3 November 2015
I would like to start by thanking UNODC's partners in this important event, including the Department for Economic and Social Affairs, IACA, UNDP, the UN Global Compact and OECD.
As I said at the opening of the Sixth Session yesterday, this conference comes at an opportune time, just one month after the agreement on Agenda 2030.
UNODC very much welcomes the international community's recognition that Goal Sixteen on justice and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions is cross-cutting in its scope and impact.
Countering corruption has been identified as a target of Goal Sixteen, and indeed, the prevention of corruption and bribery is essential to achieving many of the other targets under this and other goals, and realizing the whole of the post-2015 development agenda.
Reducing corruption and bribery, as well as addressing illicit financial flows and recovery of stolen assets, are critical if we want to promote economic growth and investment.
Such action is also necessary if we want to confront organized crime and violence; stop the exploitation and trafficking of children and women; preserve the environment; ensure sustainable consumption and production; reduce inequality; and build resilient infrastructure.
The Convention against Corruption and its implementation review mechanism provide us with a much-needed basis to fight corruption and make a significant contribution to achieving these goals.
It is exactly ten years since the Convention came into force, and in that time we have nearly achieved universal ratification, with one hundred and seventy-seven Parties.
This is a success worth highlighting, as we cannot successfully combat corruption, nor indeed implement Agenda 2030, without effective means to support international cooperation.
The Convention's unique and well-established peer review mechanism, which will be going into its second cycle, has helped to identify the technical assistance needs of developing countries so that targeted anti-corruption support can be provided.
The Convention, furthermore, provides a platform for engaging the private sector and others in multi-stakeholder partnerships, as called for by Goal Seventeen.
Goal Seventeen of the SDGs also urges States to enhance capacity-building support to developing countries to increase the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data, as well as build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development.
Here too, UNODC's work as secretariat to the Implementation Review Mechanism, as well as our long-standing research expertise on all aspects of crime, including surveys on the experience of bribery, can help to support implementation of Agenda 2030.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our event today is a chance to share good practices and strategic approaches, as well as discuss how the full and effective implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption can promote sustainable development, and how work towards implementing the SDGs can be integrated into the work of the Conference.
The Sixth Session provides many further opportunities to explore ways concrete anti-corruption measures can be integrated into strategies and action plans that are currently being elaborated for the implementation and achievement of Agenda 2030.
This includes participation in the plenary sessions of the Conference, as well as important side events addressing the challenges in illicit financial flows, trafficking in cultural heritage, the role of the private sector, the promotion of open data and the recovery of stolen assets.
I encourage you all to take part. UNODC stands ready, as always, to work with our partners and support you in these efforts.
Thank you.
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Conference website of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/CAC-COSP-session6.html
Conference website of the Host Country: http://www.uncorruption.ru/en/
For further information for the media go to:
http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/events/2015/cosp6_2015.html
For further information contact:
Martin
Nesirky
Spokesperson for the 6
th Session of the Conference of the States Parties
to the UN Convention against Corruption
Mobile: +7 921 437 8894 or +43 699 1459 5676
Email: martin.nesirky[at]unvienna.org
or
David
Dadge
Spokesperson, UNODC
Mobile: +43 699 1459 5629
Email: david.dadge[at]unvienna.org
Follow @UNODC and @UN_Vienna on Twitter and join the conversation using #NoToCorruption.
