Introduction

The United Nations Convention against Corruptionwas adopted in Merida, Mexico, in December 2003.Ecuador became the thirtieth country to ratify the Convention on 15 September this year, and,as a result, it entered into force on 14 December.As the first legally binding, international anti-corruption instrument, this Convention provides aunique opportunity to mount a global response tothe vast problem of corruption.

Prevention

The Convention dedicates a chapter to prevention,which includes wide-ranging measures directed atboth the public and private sectors.

Measures proposed include model preventive poli-cies, such as the establishment of anti-corruptionbodies and enhanced transparency in the financingof election campaigns and political parties.Furthermore, States must ensure that their publicservices are subject to safeguards that promoteefficiency, transparency and recruitment based onmerit. And once recruited, public servants shouldbe subject to stringent codes of conduct.

In an attempt to prevent the laundering of corruption proceeds, the Convention proposes that States set up mechanisms to review suspicious transactions, analyse financial data and exchange information.

Transparency and accountability in matters of public finance must also be promoted. For example,specific requirements should be established for theprevention of corruption in particularly criticalareas of the public sector, such as procurement.

Citizens have the right to expect a high standard of conduct from their public servants. However,citizens also have to participate in preventing cor-ruption themselves. For this reason, the Conventioncalls on countries to actively encourage and pro-mote the involvement of non-governmental andcommunity-based organizations, as well as otherelements of civil society, and to raise public aware-ness of corruption and what can be done about it.

Criminalization

The Convention requires countries to criminalize a wide range of acts of corruption, if these are notalready crimes under domestic law. For example, itcalls for criminalizing bribery, embezzle-ment of public funds, money-laundering and obstruction of justice.

Moreover, the Convention contains a rangeof provisions to support criminalization.Among these are measures to promote co-operation between law enforcement agen-cies and other relevant bodies, and toencourage the development of standardsand procedures to safeguard the integrity of private entities. The Convention also discusses the issue of transparency in theprivate sector.

Asset Recovery

In a major breakthrough, countries agreed on assetrecovery, which is stated explicitly as “a fundamen-tal principle of the Convention.”

Identifying and recovering stolen assets is a majorchallenge. This is a particularly important issue formany developing countries where high-level cor-ruption has eroded sorely needed public resources.

Reaching agreement on this chapter involved inten-sive negotiations, as the

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needs of countries seeking illicit assets had to be reconciled with the legal andprocedural safeguards of the countrieswhose assistance is sought. Several provi-sions specify how cooperation and assis-tance will take place.

In particular, in the case of embezzlementof public funds, the confiscated propertywill be returned to the State requesting it;

in the case of proceeds of any other offence coveredby the Convention, the property will be returnedprovided that there is proof of ownership or thatthe country where the funds are located recognizesthe damage to the requesting State; in all othercases, priority consideration will be given to thereturn of confiscated property to the requestingState, to the return of such property to the priorlegitimate owners or to compensation of the victims.

Effective asset recovery provisions support theefforts of countries to redress the worst effects ofcorruption while sending a message to corrupt offi-cials that there will be no place to hide their illicitassets.

International Cooperation

Eliminating corruption would be next to impossiblewithout certain laws and practices that apply to countries and governments all over the world.This is where the Convention against Corruptioncomes in.

With this Convention, countries have agreed tocooperate with one another in every aspect of thefight against corruption, including prevention,investigation, asset recovery and the prosecution ofoffenders. The idea is to leave criminals nowhere tohide. Individuals will no longer be able to escapetheir home countries and live without fear of prose-cution. Countries are bound by the Convention torender specific forms of mutual legal assistance ingathering and transferring evidence for use in courtand to extradite offenders. Countries are alsorequired to undertake measures that will support

the tracing, freezing, seizure and confiscation of theproceeds of corruption.

Implementation Mechanisms

A conference of States parties will be established tooversee the implementation of the Convention inareas such as mobilization of technical assistance,training, prevention, criminalization of corruptionand information exchange. The first meeting will beheld in late 2006.

In addition, UNODC's Global Programme againstCorruption (GPAC) will address the anticipatedincrease in demand for technical assistance oncethe Convention enters into force. This need is especially acute because of the broad mandate inthe prevention chapter. The primary goal of theGPAC is to provide practical assistance and buildtechnical capacity to effectively implement theConvention. The GPAC does this through global programmes and specific country projects. Forexample, UNODC acts as a secretariat for the Inter-national Group for Anti-Corruption Coordination,a body made up of multilateral organizations, inter-national financial institutions, oversight bodies andnon-governmental organizations. The GPAC current-ly has country projects in South Africa, Brazil,Colombia, Cambodia, Nigeria, and Kenya.

The International Day against Corruption,9 December, should also be seen as an opportunityto re-dedicate ourselves to fighting this crime. It is a day when we should all recognize that we have apersonal responsibility to help end corruption.

For further information:www.unodc.org

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