Commemoration of International Day against Corruption

Date: 11 December 2005

Location: Conference facilities of the "Iranian Center for International Conferences", Tehran, I. R. of Iran

On the occasion of the International Day against Corruption, a commemoration ceremony was organized on Sunday 11 December 2005 by UNODC Iran with close collaboration of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Judiciary and the Presidential Administration. This gathering was attended by a number of Iranian officials and experts from:

• Judiciary;
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• Presidential Administration;
• Inspectorate Organization;
• Tehran Courts of Economic Crimes; and
• Universities

Representatives of some of the Mini-Dublin group embassies in Tehran including the Ambassadors of the UK, Switzerland and Norway, as well as representatives of UNDP, and IOM in Tehran also attended the meeting.

Statements were made by participants referring to various aspects of the anti-corruption at international level and in the Iranian context. The agenda of the meeting is attached as Annex 1.

This year's Anti-corruption day coincided with the recent decision of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to ratify the UN Convention against Corruption. Most of the speakers referred to this decision as a major development in the campaign against corruption in Iran, thus paving the way for encouraging international cooperation in this area.

Speakers also refered to the entry into force of the Convention as another important development indicating the attention paid by international community to this global instrument. The Convention would enter into force on 14 December 2005 after the thirtieth instrument of ratification was deposited with the UN Secretary General.

Close cooperation between UNODC and the Iranian authorities on anti-corruption issues was also among the issues raised by the speakers. In this context, reference was made to the ongoing project between UNODC and the Iranian Judiciary funded by the Netherlands and Sweden.

UNODC Iran also subcontracted a publishing company for printing 3,000 copies of the official Persian Translation of the Convention for distribution among interested governmental and non-governmental agencies and institutions.