December 9 - International Day against Corruption
Every year since 2004, December 9 is celebrated as the International Day against Corruption. In 2003, at the political conference of the countries of the world in Mexico, one of the most important official documents of the UN "Convention against Corruption" was opened for signing, adopted by the UN General Assembly on November 1, 2003, resolution of November 21, 2003 No. A / RES / 58/4 https : //docs.cntd.ru/document/901922914. The signing of the convention in the Russian Federation was carried out on December 9, 2003, and the ratification took place on May 9, 2006.
More than 100 states, including the Russian Federation, which have signed the convention, have recognized bribery, bribery, abuse of office and other abuse of office as “Criminal Crimes”, and have also decided to cooperate for a large-scale suppression of corruption in all its manifestations.
The purpose of the establishment of the International Day Against Corruption, as stated in the UN General Assembly resolution, was to enhance understanding of the problem of corruption and the role of the Convention in preventing and combating corruption. The resolution does not contain the usual calls in such cases to widely celebrate this day and hold appropriate events, however, today events timed to coincide with the International Day against Corruption are held annually in all countries that have signed this convention.
At the moment, 172 states have joined the Convention, which have undertaken obligations to introduce anti-corruption measures in the field of legislation, state institutions and law enforcement. Each of the parties to the Convention is called upon, in accordance with the principles of honesty, responsibility and transparency, to develop and implement policies to combat and prevent corruption, improve the efficiency of existing institutions, anti-corruption measures, and develop cooperation in combating corruption at the international and regional levels.
From 2 to 4 June 2021, New York hosted a UN General Assembly Special Session against Corruption for the first time.
As a result of the Special Session, the Political Declaration “Our Common Commitment to Effectively Addressing Problems and Implementing Measures in the Field of Preventing, Fighting and Enhancing International Cooperation” was adopted (Resolution No. A / S-32 / L.1 https://undocs.org /ru/A/S-32/L.1). The document underlines the commitment of the member states of the Convention to the implementation of sustainable development for the period up to 2030 (Resolution No. 70/1 https://undocs.org/ru/A/RES/70/1) and the achievement of its goals.
The Political Declaration notes the central role of the Convention as a key international agreement in the field of combating corruption, and the Conference as the main format of international interaction in this area. At the same time, the document also touches on other issues related to combating corruption that are not directly regulated by the Convention, but have developed in recent years, including: taking measures to disclose information about beneficial owners, identifying channels for concealing, moving and laundering illegal assets, development of international interaction, both formal and informal, including through the creation of networks of law enforcement agencies, out-of-court settlement of disputes in corruption cases, anti-corruption education and research, including with the participation of the International Anti-Corruption Academy, the use of information technology for the purpose of combating corruption , combating corruption in sports, improving approaches to collecting and studying statistical data, and others.
In addition to discussing the draft Resolution, the agenda of the Special Session provided for about 40 different side events organized by the UNCAC member countries, UNODC, and civil society organizations. One of such events on the theme “International Cooperation on Corruption Prevention Matters” was organized by the Russian Federation with the participation of Brazil, India, China, as well as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Anti-Corruption Academy. The Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE Network) has been officially launched to become "a fast, flexible and effective tool to combat cross-border corruption offenses."
Additional Information:
Official Corruption page on the UN Office on Drugs and Crime website https://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html
Official page of the day on the UN website
https://www.un.org/ru/observances/anti-corruption-day
Official website of the UN Campaign "Break the Chain of Corruption" http://www.anticorruptionday.org
Information on ratification of the UN Convention
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/c orruption / ratification-status.html
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
https://www.mid.ru/ru/home
Anti-Corruption Center National Research University Higher School of Economics