Director-General/Executive Director
Thank you Jennifer.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to join you, and to be part of such a distinguished panel of leaders, and I am especially pleased to note the gender diversity of the panel, and also the geographical diversity.
We have Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, and Asia all represented here today, and we have the Caribbean online.
I am equally pleased to see young voices represented on this panel, with Salaheldin Alazaizeh from Jordan.
And I am very pleased to be here to speak about this topic that is dear to my heart and that is cross-cutting to all sustainable development efforts.
The diversity of our panel speaks to a strong, shared belief that gender equality and anti-corruption are strongly linked.
Fighting corruption helps the fight for gender equality, and empowering women helps champion integrity.
Excellencies,
Gender inequality is one of the most stubborn and pervasive injustices worldwide.
According to UNDP data, more than 90 percent of women live in countries characterized by a large gender divide.
And women’s contribution to the economy is always underestimated.
Furthermore, not enough women hold leadership positions in the public and private sectors.
The World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report for 2023 showed that the share of women in senior leadership positions in the workforce is less than 35 per cent, while less than 25 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide are women.
The under-representation of women is striking in law enforcement and justice systems worldwide.
UNODC data covering 52 countries showed that in 2021, the rate of women in the police force in most of those countries stood between 15 and 20 per cent
And data cited by UN Women in 2020 showed that women account for less than a quarter of constitutional court justices, while 28 countries have no female justices at all.
These numbers reflect long-standing and deep-seated power imbalances, imbalances that also make women and girls significantly more vulnerable to corruption and its consequences.
They are more likely to be extorted for bribes or denied public services like healthcare or public safety, and are especially vulnerable to sexual exploitation, harassment, and abuse.
And they are more likely to fall victim to human trafficking, which is facilitated by corruption, with women accounting for a larger share of detected victims than men in 2020 and three times more likely to suffer extreme levels of violence.
But amidst these challenges, we also recognize that women themselves are key to disrupting these trends.
Data shows that inclusive societies, institutions, and organizations are less corrupt.
More women in leadership positions, whether it is in the boardroom, the courtroom, or the corridors of power, enhances transparency and accountability.
They bring new perspectives, help uncover gaps or gender biases in rulings and legislation, and contribute to fostering a culture of integrity.
Introducing diversity also helps break and disrupt existing networks of collusion.
And greater representation of women in the justice sector means women are more likely to report crimes, and it also means better justice outcomes.
So more women in justice is not about being good for women, it is about justice for all.
Distinguished participants,
To ensure that the voices of women are heard, we must ensure that they are an integral part of the fight for justice and against corruption.
UNODC helps advance gender equality and fight corruption with programming that empowers female practitioners at all levels of the criminal justice system.
Our Women in Justice for Justice initiative seeks to increase the numbers of women judges and other leaders in justice systems worldwide.
We are also supporting the institutions of justice to protect women.
Last year, we provided capacity-building and training to over 18,000 criminal justice practitioners in preventing and responding to gender-based violence in 10 countries globally.
In Mexico alone, we trained over 17,000 police officers and first responders on the prevention, detection, and referral of cases of violence against women and girls, and to promote early detection of gender-based violence.
And in Pakistan, in 2021, we trained the first ever group of female police officers to help improve responses to gender-based violence.
We must also prioritize access to quality education for all women and girls.
Statistics by UN Women show that every additional year of primary school for girls increases their opportunities in the workforce and reduces their vulnerability to violence.
And we need to equip young women and men with the tools and support to change cultures of corruption.
UNODC’s GRACE initiative for anti-corruption education seeks to nurture tomorrow’s leaders and promote environments that reject corruption, to turn the next generations into guardians of integrity.
Moving forward, we must ensure that the UN Convention Against Corruption is viewed through a gender-sensitive lens and a youth-inclusive lens.
Excellencies,
Both corruption and gender disparity are impediments to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, hampering global progress on the full range of SDGs.
As we pass the halfway point of Agenda 2030, there is no time to waste.
We must redouble our efforts to mainstream gender equality across the board in anti-corruption legislation, policy development, research, and programming.
UNODC’s Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment is setting standards and strengthening gender-sensitive data and research, while improving gender balance across all sectors of our mandate.
Governments must stand by the commitments made at the UN General Assembly Special Session against corruption, to improve understanding of the ways in which corruption can affect women and men differently.
I am encouraged by the work initiated by the Group of States Against Corruption and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum towards these goals.
I would also like to acknowledge the efforts made by the BRICS and G20 this year to incorporate gender considerations into anti-corruption working groups.
These are important first steps and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
This year’s session of the UNCAC CoSP includes a resolution, tabled by Ghana, on Addressing Gender Inequality to Counter Corruption.
Let us continue to advocate for gender equality as we strive to live up to the aspirations of the UNCAC to eradicate corruption, for a world where everyone can thrive.
When women are empowered and involved, corruption’s shadows fade, giving way to a brighter future for all.
Thank you.