For information only - not an official document
UNIS/CP/879
4 November 2015
As prepared for delivery
Allow me to begin by thanking the organizers of this special event - the government of Morocco, who also kindly hosted the Fourth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption in 2011.
At the Fourth Session, States Parties adopted the Marrakech Declaration on the Prevention of Corruption, which has proved to be an important impetus to global anti-corruption efforts.
This momentum was continued during the fifth session, when the Conference adopted resolution 5/4, the Follow-up to the Marrakech Declaration on the Prevention of Corruption, and Morocco has renewed its commitment at this Conference by submitting another resolution on the prevention of corruption for the consideration of States Parties.
Public-private partnerships are an essential part of this work. This was first recognized in the Marrakech Declaration and then further developed in a resolution at the Fifth Session in 2013 in Panama on the Private Sector and in the recent Doha Declaration.
By engaging the business community in preventing and combating corruption, we can increase the impact and credibility of actions taken by both the public and private sectors.
The importance of anti-corruption action and multi-stakeholder partnerships to promote sustainable development has also been clearly recognized in Agenda 2030 and its 17 global goals.
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, investment and job creation.
At the same time, companies have increasingly recognized that combating corruption, and working with the public sector to promote transparency, integrity and accountability, is better for their bottom line.
Effective anti-corruption strategies can enhance reputation among consumers and increase shareholder value.
Going forward, we need to encourage more companies to establish and implement anti-corruption ethics and compliance programmes, and to support effective communication and coordination between the public and private sectors.
The Convention against Corruption and its implementation review mechanism offer a solid platform for such collective action.
In the ten years since the Convention came into force, it has achieved near universal ratification with one hundred and seventy-seven States Parties.
Moreover, the Convention's unique peer review mechanism, which will be going into its second review cycle, has helped to strengthen the implementation of the Convention and to identify technical assistance needs.
This can help guide action by the public and private sectors to enhance capacity building support and skills development, and invest in strengthening and sustaining public anti-corruption infrastructure.
Working together, governments and businesses can thus support conditions conducive to investment, economic growth and sustainable development.
This event provides an important opportunity to learn from different national experiences with public-private partnerships.
UNODC also welcomes your views on how we can further support you in these endeavours.
I wish you a fruitful discussion.
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.
