news room/in focus/2009/ACD 2009

09 December 2009

Facing the challenge:

International Anti-Corruption Day 2009

Fighting corruption today

From an idea that began percolating two decades ago, and which was quickly dismissed by the establishment, Transparency International (TI), and the anti-corruption agenda, have grown in influence and scope. TI began its work in 1993 by raising awareness about corruption, conducting research to diagnose the problem in its different forms, and proposing measures that lead to structural change. Such reforms are necessary in the public and private sectors in order to effectively prevent this crime and sanction corruption once it happens.

Fighting corruption means, in some cases, a trade-off between political costs and social achievements. It requires conviction and the rejection of abuse of power. Major changes do not happen overnight. But the benefits are so numerous that we all have an obligation to try. Together civil society and business together with governments, could change the entrenched practices that limit productivity, efficiency and ultimately, growth and progress in our societies.

When most of the countries ranked in the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index score lower than five, it is clear that corruption is an undeniable challenge. As the Group of 20 adopts economic and financial sector reforms, it is essential to address corruption as a significant threat to a sustainable economic future. The G20 should keep its commitment to seek public support for key reforms and ensure civil society input.

Preventing corruption efficiently requires, at a minimum, a well-functioning judicial system, transparency in the flow of public funds, and a private sector that conducts business with integrity. Nationally and globally, institutions of oversight and legal frameworks that are actually enforced, coupled with smarter, more effective regulation, will ensure lower levels of corruption. This will lead to a much-needed increase of trust in public institutions, sustained economic growth, and more effective development assistance. Most importantly, it will alleviate the enormous scale of human suffering in too many countries.

This is a condensed excerpt of a statement by TI Chair Huguette Labelle, the keynote speaker at an official event on UN International Anti-Corruption Day at Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Labelle is on a working visit in coordination with Transparencia Mexicana . The full speech, which highlights the key role of emerging economies in the global agenda to tackle corruption, is available in English.

Commemorating Anti-Corruption Day 2009

The European Community is the only regional economic integration organisation to have signed the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). To mark International Anti-Corruption Day in 2009, a cross-party group of European parliamentarians will host a public hearing on corruption challenges for the private sector and how these can be addressed to improve economic development. Transparency International (TI) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will be co-organising the event.

Among the key issues to be discussed in Brussels are: to what extent European Union (EU) Member States have implemented existing EU foreign bribery laws, and how EU-based companies comply with corporate governance standards and anti-corruption regulations. For more information, contact TI’s EU office.

On 9 December 2009, International Anti-Corruption Day, the OECD celebrates the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

The centrepiece for the event will be a high-level roundtable debate, ‘Foreign Bribery: Who Pays the Price?’ followed by a two-part colloquium on the fight against foreign bribery. TI founder Peter Eigen, and TI Vice-Chair Akere Muna, will represent the anti-corruption movement at this event. For further information, please click here.

TI Chapters around the world are also focusing attention on corruption on 09 December. To find an event in your country, click here.

Climate change: the new governance challenge

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Corruption is a major stumbling block to mitigating climate change, yet it has not been recognised as part of the climate change debate. Undermining oversight and enforcement, corruption contributes to water and air pollution, to unsustainable bio-fuel projects and exploitation of mineral resources, to illegal logging and to the poaching and trade of protected species.

TI continues to urge the G20 to take into account the corruption risks in climate change governance and consider integrity measures suitable for corresponding frameworks. It is increasingly clear that there is a need for mechanisms to ensure accountability, transparency, and reduced corruption risks in decision-making processes and financial flows, in efforts to reduce global warming and climate change.

In an effort to contribute analysis and constructive solutions to the challenge of climate governance, in 2010, TI’s Global Corruption Report will focus on corruption and climate change. The report is a yearly comprehensive assessment of corruption advances and challenges worldwide with a focus on current issues in corruption.

download the

GLOBAL CORRUPTION REPORT 2010 Flyer

on Climate Change

Forests require good governance

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Nearly ninety per cent of the world’s poorest citizens depend on forests for their livelihood, but when profit and exploitation take priority over environmental conservation efforts then lives and livelihoods are put in jeopardy. Research shows that where the perceived level of corruption is endemic, deforestation is widespread, and deforestation has reached unprecedented levels in the Asia Pacific region.

In the Asia Pacific region Transparency International has launched its regional Forest Governance and Integrity Programme which aims to secure sustainable management in the forestry sector by addressing corruption and governance risks. Beyond the damage directly associated with illegal logging, it is worth bearing in mind that 25 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions are generated through deforestation.

As part of a TI delegation at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, our organisation will participate in Forestry Day.

A bit of history while looking forward

Six years ago, the UN General Assembly designated International Anti-Corruption Day, in the same resolution adopting the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). The designation was made to raise awareness of corruption and the convention’s role in combating and preventing it. The annual Anti-Corruption Day of 09 December was originally the opening date of the conference where the convention was signed in 2003.

Has the UN Convention fulfilled its promise to provide a global framework for fighting corruption since then? Only recently, a review mechanism was adopted to assess government progress in implementing the convention. This was a landmark breakthrough--but a flawed one. The mechanism participating states agreed on in November 2009, not only offends the convention’s own standards of transparency and inclusiveness, but also threatens the credibility of the convention and its review process. Transparency International, a co-convenor of the UNCAC Civil Society Coalition, calls on all governments signed up to the UNCAC to demonstrate their commitment by making clear and public, their intent to choose the options of transparency and inclusiveness when they are up for review.

Convening to fight corruption

Many of these issues, and the overall state of anti-corruption globally, will be assessed at the biennial International Anti-Corruption Conference – considered the world's leading anti-corruption forum. Royalty, heads of state, civil society, business and government representatives, academics, and compliance experts come together to explore the roles of good governance and accountability.

Select articles and resources

	Peter Eigen, président d'une ONG pour la transparence : "La corruption n'apporte rien sur le long terme" Interview with Peter Eigen, Le Monde. Published: 10 December, 2009 Who Should Monitor Corruption? OP-ED by Huguette Labelle, International Herald Tribune, Published: 5 November, 2009

	Interview with Jon Lane (WSSCC) and Teun Bastemeijer (Water Integrity Network) on corruption in sanitation www.waterintegritynetwork.net/