Geneva, Dec 9 (UNI) As the world marks International Anti-Corruption Day on Monday, UN Office on Drugs & Crime highlighted the menace of corruption which has been affecting people in their daily lives.
“Corruption affects people in their daily lives”, said Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in his statement for International Anti-Corruption Day, which is commemorated annually on 9 December.
Mr. Fedotov maintained that corruption prevents accessing resources and opportunities, while eroding trust in public institutions and compromising the social contract.
In doing so, “corruption thwarts our attempts at building a better world”, he stated.
“To win the fight against corruption is to create the conditions necessary to effectively combat poverty and the inequalities that stem from it”, the UN anti-crime chief said.
He credited “the almost universally-ratified” UN Convention against Corruption for 15 years of notable progress on criminalizing corruption and the recovery and return of stolen assets. ‘We must listen to the voices of young people’ – UN anti-crime chief.
For ten years now, implementation of the Convention has benefited from a unique peer-review mechanism, serving as a trigger for countries to launch legislative action, strengthen their institutions and increase cooperation.
UNODC helps the international community to translate the Convention into action and advance the global anti-corruption agenda.
UNI XC JAL 0745