UN Treaty to Fight Corruption Worldwide Should Be Ready by Autumn

UN treaty to fight corruption worldwide should be ready by autumn

11 August – A United Nations treaty to combat corruption worldwide should be 
ready by the autumn following major breakthroughs in negotiations on the 
return of assets obtained through bribery and embezzlement to the country of 
origin and on a broad series of preventive measures, the UN office in Vienna 
announced today.

The progress came at the sixth session of the Ad Hoc Committee for the 
Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption in Vienna from 21 July to 9 
August. The panel is scheduled to meet again on 22 September to settle 
several elements of the draft that still need to be elaborated before the 
treaty is submitted to the UN General Assembly for final approval.

"We are very close to an agreement,” said Antonio Maria Costa, Executive 
Director of the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “Indeed, 
the session achieved major breakthroughs on the most politically sensitive 
issues: a clear sign that Member States – all of them, rich and poor 
countries, whether having a history of corruption or not – want this 
Convention, and they want it very badly.

“That gives us grounds for optimism that the negotiations will be 
successfully completed in September, so the Convention will be presented to 
the General Assembly this fall, and subsequently to the Ministerial Signing 
Conference to be held in Merida, Mexico, from 9 to 11 December," he added.

The requirement for Member States to return assets obtained through bribery 
and embezzlement to the country of origin represents a new fundamental 
principle in international treaties. In a number of countries, corruption has 
led to the depletion of national wealth. Some of those countries, whose 
former dictators have stolen hundreds of millions, or even billions, of 
dollars, have made a great contribution in the search for new rules, 
including the Philippines and Nigeria.

The agreement on preventive measures includes norms of conduct for public 
officials, greater transparency based on public access to information on 
government businesses, and stricter procurement regulations and measures 
against money laundering.

Progress was also made on other outstanding issues, including dual 
criminality – whether a particular action has to be considered a crime in 
both countries in order for the latter to cooperate, and differences over the 
definition of "public official."

Once adopted, the treaty will enhance cooperation between governments and 
help standardize the way in which individual countries deal with corruption 
in their national legislation.


SOURCE: United Nations, New York