Anti-corruption

A government's benign tolerance of corruption undermines its country’s future, as no country has ever become prosperous through crime.

The purposes of the United Nations Convention against Corruption are to:

• promote and strengthen measures to prevent and combat corruption more efficiently and effectively;
• promote, facilitate and support international cooperation and technical assistance;
• promote integrity, accountability and proper management of public affairs and public property.

It applies to the prevention, investigation and prosecution of corruption and to the freezing, seizure, confiscation and return of the proceeds of offences.

The Convention recommends that States Parties adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish a whole series of criminal offences. These are:

• corruption of national or foreign public officials and officials of public international organisations;
• embezzlement, misappropriation or other diversion by a public official of any public or private property;
• trading in influence;
• abuse of functions and illicit enrichment.

The States Parties are recommended to take the necessary measures to:

• provide for the liability of legal persons;
• allow the freezing, seizure and confiscation of assets;
• protect witnesses, experts and victims;
• protect reporting persons;
• tackle the consequences of acts of corruption;
• ensure that entities or persons who have suffered damage as a result of an act of corruption have the right to initiate legal proceedings for compensation;
• establish a body or bodies or persons specialised in combating corruption through law enforcement;
• encourage cooperation with law enforcement authorities;
• encourage cooperation between national authorities and with the private sector;
• overcome obstacles that may arise out of the application of bank secrecy law;
• take account of the previous convictions of an alleged offender in another State for the purpose of criminal proceedings;
• establish their jurisdiction over offences committed in their territory, or against them, or by one of their nationals etc.