International anti-corruption day puts spotlight on UK bribery BILL and millennium development goals

UK NGOs stress need for strong Bribery Bill to help fight poverty

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF:

CAFOD, Christian Aid, Global Witness, One World Action, Tearfund, The Corner House and Transparency International UK

Development and anti-corruption organisations are calling for the swift enactment of the Bribery Bill and are emphasising the links between corruption and poverty. Today – International Anti-Corruption Day – the Bribery Bill has its second reading in the House of Lords. The Bill has been introduced to update the UK’s antiquated anti-bribery laws, particularly in relation to UK companies operating overseas.

CAFOD, Christian Aid, Global Witness, One World Action, Tearfund, The Corner House and Transparency International UK are calling on all political parties to ensure that the Bill is enacted before the general election. The organisations are warning that if it is to be effective the Bill must not be watered down as it makes its way through Parliament.

In a joint statement, they said:

• “Bribery is not a victimless crime. It disproportionately affects the poor and is a persistent threat to development and democracy, undermining the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. When multinational companies bribe foreign public officials, it undermines the rule of law and the principle of fair competition and entrenches bad governance in developing countries, hindering their efforts to alleviate poverty and often contributing to instability and human rights abuses. Corruption, including bribery, impedes the delivery of vital public services, denying millions of people access to water, health and education across the developing world.
• “Bribery should not be tolerated either at home or abroad. As long as UK companies continue to pay bribes to secure lucrative business deals overseas they perpetuate the problem. We are therefore supportive of the Government’s Bribery Bill, whose provisions must not be watered down as it makes its way through Parliament. A new Bribery Act is vital to stop this supply side of corruption and make sure that UK companies paying bribes are held to account.
• “The Bribery Bill will create a modern, effective legal framework to prosecute bribery and will help the UK put its own house in order and achieve compliance with the 1997 OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Failure to implement fully this international obligation to date has damaged the UK’s reputation and undermined efforts to promote development and good governance in countries that receive UK aid.
• “Strong anti-bribery legislation will also enable the UK to use its influence to encourage major emerging economies to stop their own companies paying bribes.”

For more information please contact:

Emma Smith, Communications Manager 0207 785 6356 or 07968 469436 emma.smith@transparency.org.uk

Spokespeople for interviews and comments

• Chandrashekhar Krishnan, Executive Director, Transparency International UK, tel 0207 785 6357
• Laura Webster, Head of Public Policy, Tearfund, email lxw@tearfund.org tel 020 8943 7994
• George Boden, Kleptocracy Campaign, Global Witness, email gboden@globalwitness.org tel 0207 492 5899

Notes to the Editor

• The UN General Assembly, by resolution 58/4 of 31 October 2003, designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day. This decision was taken in order to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in combating and preventing it. To read more about the United Nations Convention Against Corruption http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/index.html
• Current UK anti-bribery laws date from 1889, 1906 and 1916. For an update on the Bribery Bill, see: http://www.transparency.org.uk/component/content/article/91
• Some statistics on the victims of corruption and the relationship with the Millennium Development Goals:
• In developing countries, corruption raises the cost of connecting a rural household to a water network by as much as 30%, inflating the cost of achieving the Millennium Development Goal on water and sanitation by more than US $48 billion or nearly half of annual global aid outlays. (Transparency International, Global Corruption Report 2008)
• The cost of bribes paid by low-income Mexican homes was 24 percent of household earnings in 2005. (National Index on Corruption and Governance)
• 25% of African states’ GDP is lost to corruption each year - the amount lost to corruption each year totals US $148 billion (this covers the full range of corruption, from petty bribes to inflated public procurement contracts). (U4 Anti-corruption Resource Centre, 2007)
• On 9 December Transparency International UK will host a lecture on the global challenge of corruption. The Rt Hon Lord Robertson of Port Ellen KT GCMG PC Hon FRSE, Former Secretary General of NATO, Former UK Secretary of State for Defence and President of Chatham House will discuss why corruption and weak governance are among the greatest challenges of the 21st century and what needs to be done.