To carry out their functions and meet citizens’ needs, States engage in contracting goods, services and works – also known as the public procurement process. Public procurement entails the use of taxpayers’ money and therefore it is crucial that governments obtain goods and services transparently, efficiently and at the best possible value.
Public procurements can be highly vulnerable to corruption, especially large procurements as bribes are frequently demanded and paid as a percentage of the public contract’s value. For example, many corruption scandals in recent years were in the field of public work contracts, such as infrastructure projects, the defence industry, the oil and gas sector and in the health-care sector, especially in pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Corruption in public procurement has an enormous negative impact on government spending, undermining competition in the market and impeding economic development. It leads to governments paying artificially high prices, often resulting in substandard goods and services, a lack of accountability and erosion of public trust.
The United Nations Convention against Corruption recognizes an appropriate system of public procurement as a core component of anti-corruption preventive measures, calling in article 9 for transparency, competition and objective criteria in decision-making. A system based on these principles makes public procurement more effective, significantly reduces the risks of corruption and helps improve the quality of public spending.
UNODC has been supporting States in making their public procurement systems more transparent, competitive and resilient to emergency situations in which corruption risks are heightened, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNODC, 2023
This report includes 13 guidelines for all stages of emergencies and crisis response and recovery. It covers national legal frameworks, international cooperation, multilateral and bilateral forums, and cross-cutting principles, including public procurement.
UNODC, 2023
This report collects good practices on gender and public procurement from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and identified through technical dialogues and surveys in the UNODC Anti-Corruption Response and Recovery Project.
UNODC: GRACE, 2022
This practical tool provides an overview of the most common manifestations of corruption in the public sector. It addresses public procurement and state-owned enterprises as two areas of the public sector particularly vulnerable to corruption.
UNODC, 2015
This was a background paper prepared by UNODC, as the secretariat of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption, for the sixth session of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Prevention (31 Aug - 2 Sept 2015).
UNODC, 2013
This document serves as reference material for governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society, outlining good practices in strengthening public procurement systems based on transparency, competition, and integrity.
