Opening statement
by Pino Arlacchi
Under-Secretary-General
Executive Director
to the
Meeting of the Intergovernmental Open-Ended
Expert Group to Prepare
Draft Terms of Reference for the
Negotiation of an International Legal Instrument
Against Corruption
Vienna
30 July- 3 August 2001
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Corruption is not new. It is safe to assume that it dates from the very beginnings of organized human society. Over the intervening millennia, corruption has served countless times as a means of achieving wealth and obtaining privilege of securing power and sustaining that power.
So it is tempting to say that corruption is simply a part of the landscape of human society. By concluding that corruption has always been there and will always remain with us, it becomes easy to avoid dealing with it.
There have been other reasons to keep the corruption issue off the agenda. International cooperation and diplomacy tended to stay away from it because they did not want to offend. Companies preferred to treat it as part of the price of international business. Individuals who lived in highly corrupt societies had to remain quiet out of fear for their own safety and that of their families.
Yet the failure to address corruption does not make it go away. On the contrary, it reinforces the hand of those who seek profit and power outside the law.
Corruption is not limited to any one part of the world. It is as much a reality in industrialized countries as in countries in transition and developing countries.
In recent times we have seen a growing number of cases of large-scale corruption in various regions. And we have seen the amounts involved increase to levels that defy imagination. Accurate figures are hard to find, but reports mention as much as five billion dollars stolen by one head of state. In another case, a reported seventeen per cent of the national budget was devoted to the salary of the head of state, not to mention personal allowances that exceeded the total combined national expenditures on education, health and social services.
These are extreme cases. They seize our attention because of their volume, but they are not isolated. And they have provoked calls for intensified efforts to return these funds to their rightful owners, the state and public.
Large-scale theft of public money is not the only form of corruption. Millions of people live in places where they must pay bribes to obtain services that are considered a right under the law. A place in school, a drivers license, a fair trial, a telephone line, a building permit. The list can go on and on.
Over time, corrupt practices reinforce poverty by making services available only to those who can afford them. The poor fall even further behind.
A process of change began some ten years ago. Public resistance began to solidify against the more outrageous forms of corruption. It gradually became possible to discuss the subject in diplomatic circles and in connection with economic assistance programmes. Political consensus began to form, along with a deeper understanding of the links between corruption and poverty.
In 1989, the forerunner of the UN Crime Centre organized a first expert group on corruption. As open discussion of the issue became more common, the first steps towards international standards began. Inspired by the work of the Eighth Crime Congress, the UN General Assembly adopted in 1996 a "Code of Conduct for Public Officials". At the same session, the Assembly passed a "Declaration against Corruption and Bribery in International Commercial Transactions". The OECD Convention followed, as did several regional initiatives.
In the development aid field, the mid 1990s saw a rethinking of priorities. Investments in good governance took centre stage. The UN Development Programme, for example, now points out that over half its resources go to projects aimed at enhancing the quality of governance. A desire to do something about corruption was an important part of this shift in thinking.
We can also see a shift in public opinion. This may ultimately be the most important single development. A generalized movement towards more democratic government enabled the voice of the people to be heard. And the voice of the people was clear corruption needed to be rooted out and punished. Accusations of corruption have been central to a rapidly growing list of popular movements that brought about changes of government.
Political opinion, development policy, and public opinion have converged. Although they started from different points, the motivation behind the change is remarkably similar the law must apply to everyone. It must be a law based on shared values and mutual respect. In other words, it has become clear that human development becomes difficult in the absence of the Rule of Law.
The challenge lies in converting this grand consensus into action that will lead to real change change that will be permanent, change that will put an end to corruption in high places, in business and in everyday life.
The Tenth Crime Congress last year took up the challenge. It adopted what is called the multidisciplinary approach. Corruption must be approached simultaneously from several sides. This approach serves as the base for the Global Programme against Corruption, which the Centre for Crime Prevention operates in a growing number of countries that have sought UN assistance.
The signature last December of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was a major step forward. It is tempting to refer to the Palermo Convention as a political achievement. But it is much more. It requires the criminalization of the act of corruption of public officials. This also applies to accomplices. With its provisions on liability, on the independence of anti-corruption work, on prevention, on the elimination of bank secrecy and on a wide range of practical measures for cooperation among states, the Palermo Convention lays the ground for a serious global effort against corrupt practices.
The Convention was negotiated in a relatively short period of time. Participation in the Ad Hoc Committee was broad in geographical terms. One hundred twenty-six countries participated over the course of the meetings.
The General Assembly has now thrown the ball to you, with a call to set the stage for negotiation of a global instrument against corruption that will build on the solid base of the Palermo Convention.
That solid base is not only the text of the Convention. It also includes the spirit that prevailed throughout the process. The exercise began with a convergence of political and public opinion on the need for action. This remains the case with regard to corruption. The challenge was met
Your success in finding a formula that enables this spirit to continue will help ensure the equally successful negotiation of a global instrument against corruption. This will move us one important step further in the dynamic process which has in only a few years changed corruption from the secret that everyone knew about into the public enemy that we are determined to defeat.
I wish you every success.
Thank you for your attention.