Director General/Executive Director
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I regret that I cannot join you in person for this important occasion.
Last year, we marked fifteen years of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. 2018 was the African Anti-Corruption Year.
I welcome your efforts to build further on this momentum with the first-ever African Anti-Corruption Forum.
The high level of this meeting and its focus on key areas such as capacity-building, intergovernmental coordination and the relationship between corruption and development, reveal your strong commitment to the fight against corruption.
Corruption is clearly a barrier to realizing the sustainable development agenda.
While Sustainable Development Goal sixteen focuses explicitly on tackling corruption and money laundering, corruption also hinders efforts to achieve all SDGs.
Reducing poverty and hunger, and meeting targets on health, education, gender equality, and clean water, all require a foundation of trust and accountability.
Shared challenges require joint responses. The UN Convention against Corruption, which enjoys near-universal ratification, is an invaluable global instrument supporting countries in criminalizing corruption and enabling the recovery and return of stolen assets.
Progress is further advanced through a peer review process assisting implementation. This has helped to identify technical assistance needs, and make sure these needs are met. The second cycle of the review mechanism currently underway focuses on exactly the key challenges of prevention and asset recovery.
UNODC is supporting you to make the best use of the Convention and its review mechanism.
We work in close coordination with partners across the UN system to build capacities and institutions capable of tackling corruption, to promote peace and security, enable sustainable development and safeguard rights.
UNODC is also partnering with regional organizations, for example in support of the African Union Agenda 2063, which has a focus on the fight against corruption and complements the 2030 Agenda.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In December this year, the world will come together in Abu Dhabi at the eighth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption.
I know that Africa will speak with a strong voice on this occasion.
I look forward to meeting you there, and in the meantime, I wish you very fruitful discussions.
Thank you.