Director-General/Executive Director
Your Excellency Mr. Liu Jinguo, Chairman of the National Commission of Supervision of China
Distinguished participants,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is an honour to join you today at this thematic forum on the Clean Silk Road.
While this is not my first time in China, it is my first visit as Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Government of China and to the National Commission of Supervision for inviting UNODC, and for hosting us in beautiful Beijing.
Thousands of years ago, the Silk Road began here in China and extended across nations and continents, connecting people and building trust.
Today, China’s Belt and Road Initiative stands on this very legacy.
It is a strong example of the powerful role that China can play in the world, building on its rich history and capitalizing on its large economy, vast experience, and proven capacities.
By expanding and connecting infrastructure across borders, by boosting trade and strengthening industrial capacity, by fostering cooperation in different sectors, the BRI can contribute greatly to sustainable development at a time of global need.
As we cross the halfway mark of Agenda 2030, the indicators show a world falling behind.
Last year, as many as 780 million people faced hunger.
As of May of this year, over 110 million people were displaced globally.
By 2030, 570 million people are expected to still be trapped in extreme poverty, if current trends continue.
Most of those affected are in developing countries, which are too often suffocated by debt.
Meanwhile, conflict, violence, and hate threaten to engulf our world in darkness.
Yet hope is not extinguished.
At the SDG Summit last month, Member States of the United Nations re-affirmed their commitment to the Global Goals.
In tandem with global commitments, this is a time for bold and substantial investment; for global cooperation and solidarity; for connectivity and trust.
It is a time to leverage the power of a clean Silk Road.
Excellencies,
To preserve the BRI’s potential for positive impact, it is necessary to protect its integrity with accountability.
Corruption can undermine all our efforts by diverting resources from their intended use, prioritizing narrow private gain, eroding efficiency at every turn, and hampering environmental sustainability in projects.
Corruption also enables trafficking and organized crime and allows them to infiltrate licit markets and supply chains.
Given the huge investments involved in the BRI, safeguarding the Initiative from corruption is an absolute priority.
Anti-corruption authorities must be engaged at every stage.
Supreme audit institutions must play their essential oversight role.
And the private sector must remain an accountable partner.
Fortunately, we have a powerful international tool to work towards this goal: the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the UNCAC.
The Convention enshrines the near-universal vision of 190 Parties on countering corruption, including in large infrastructure projects and when foreign direct investment is involved.
As 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, this year also marks the 20th anniversary of the UNCAC, presenting an opportunity to take a global stand against corruption.
Here, I would like to note China’s commitment to both the UNCAC and to a Silk Road free from corruption, and to commend China’s collaboration with UNODC.
Over the past two years, UNODC carried out a project on UNCAC implementation in countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt, covering 16 countries in Asia and Europe and benefiting over 300 practitioners.
The project established a network to tackle corruption in international investment projects under the BRI, and the network is still going strong.
UNODC also developed several knowledge products on integrity, anti-corruption, and compliance in investment and infrastructure projects, to provide BRI practitioners with useful guidance.
Now, our Office stands ready to expand this cooperation and develop networks in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, to connect practitioners and create a network of networks capable of sharing knowledge and successful practices.
We are eager to take ambitious steps forward in partnership with China, for a clean Silk Road.
Distinguished participants,
Corruption is a global phenomenon, but its impact often hits developing countries the hardest.
Corrupt acts within any developing country can hold that country back, while corrupt acts abroad can facilitate the exploitation of that same country’s people and resources.
The BRI, and all our efforts for sustainable development, can only succeed in the broader context of a world that is resilient to corruption.
A world where strong, accountable, and inclusive institutions work for and with the public, and with all stakeholders, to uphold the rule of law.
A world where young people are empowered as champions of integrity, and where the perspectives and contributions of women are central in the fight against corruption.
And a world where countries cooperate to end impunity and leave no gaps for corruption.
UNODC is working to achieve such a world.
As the Guardian of the UNCAC, UNODC is supporting the Convention’s global peer review mechanism, to identify and address technical assistance needs and implementation challenges.
To bring our technical assistance closer to our Member States, we have decentralized our anti-corruption advisory services by establishing 3 anti-corruption hubs in Latin America, Asia and Africa. We have also created 8 regional anti-corruption platforms to connect practitioners from different countries.
As the Secretariat to the Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities – the GlobE network – UNODC facilitates direct contact and cooperation between 169 member authorities from 97 countries, and this community is growing fast.
I thank China for its support of the GlobE network and for offering to host its next plenary meeting in 2024, and I invite all countries present here - who have not yet done so - to join this agile network.
To address the lack of reliable data on corruption, we are developing a statistical framework to measure corruption that proposes common definitions and sources.
Endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission, we will present the framework to the 10th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC, to be held in Atlanta in December of this year.
The Conference will be an opportunity to reflect on 20 years of UNCAC and to galvanize global anti-corruption action.
I invite you all to engage actively with the Conference to promote integrity in the BRI, in large investment projects, and in our societies at large.
Ladies and gentlemen,
A Silk Road clean of corruption can be a pathway to greater global prosperity, and a shining example of South-South cooperation.
By standing united against corruption, we protect the promise of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the integrity of all global efforts for sustainable development.
I once again thank the Government of China for the opportunity to address you today, and I wish you a fruitful event.