Director-General/Executive Director
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to address this important event, and I thank our partners at the US State Department and INL, as well as the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes of the US Treasury.
Technology alone cannot provide a silver bullet for corruption challenges. But backed by political will and inclusive partnerships, digital advances hold the potential to transform global anti-corruption action.
I welcome this roundtable, which brings together the public and private sectors with civil society to innovate the fight against corruption.
We need discussions like this one to generate fresh ideas for applying tech solutions to stop corruption. We also need governments to share those solutions with others, especially developing countries, to tackle cross-border illicit flows and to recover and return stolen assets.
Emerging technologies offer opportunities for developing countries to leapfrog to advanced, cost-effective solutions. By leveraging AI, big data and FinTech, they can better manage corruption risks, and improve transparency and the quality of services.
As guardian to the UN Convention against Corruption, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime brings together States Parties to strengthen international cooperation against corruption, including through assistance to harness tech.
With the generous support of INL, UNODC is working to address key issues of beneficial ownership and public procurement.
We are providing training to the anti-corruption commission in Indonesia to build an early warning system using data analytics to identify and investigate corruption risks.
In the Philippines, we are supporting the security and exchange commission to strengthen the beneficial ownership registry. And in South Africa, we are helping to digitalize conflict-of-interest disclosure forms.
UNODC also supports education to empower future generations of integrity leaders.
We have just organized a “Coding4Integrity” hackathon with 200 young developers from five African countries. The winners will present their solutions at the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in December.
Technology as well as engagement with the private sector, young people and other stakeholders will also be the focus of multiple events on the margins of the session.
The Conference is an opportunity to take forward the discussions at this roundtable. I encourage you to join us in Sharm El-Sheikh, in person and online, starting on December 13th. You can find more information on the UNODC website.
My thanks to the State Department and the US Treasury once again. UNODC remains your partner in advancing anti-corruption cooperation through technology, to share solutions for integrity and leave no one behind.
Thank you.
