More than 1,300 participants are expected in the United Arab Emirates this month for one of the largest anti-corruption gatherings in the world.
The eighth session of the Conference of the States Parties, COSP8, to the United Nations Convention against Corruption will be held in Abu Dhabi from 16th to 20th December 2019, said a press release issued by the UN Information Service, UNIS.
The United Nations Convention against Corruption is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument. Adopted sixteen years ago, the Convention has reached almost universal adherence, having been ratified by 186 States parties.
Every two years, the States parties to the Convention meet to review the implementation of the Convention and to discuss how States can better tackle corruption. Among the topics to be discussed at the eighth session are prevention, asset recovery and international cooperation, as well as the preparations for the special session of the General Assembly against corruption, to be held in 2021.
The Convention came into force in December 2005 and has been ratified by most United Nations Member States. The newest States parties are Samoa, Equatorial Guinea and Chad in 2018.
The Convention covers many different acts of corruption, such as bribery, trading in influence, abuse of functions, as well as various acts of corruption in the private sector. Under the Convention, States are legally obliged to prevent and criminalise corruption, to promote international cooperation, to recover and return stolen assets, and to improve technical assistance and information exchange in both the private and public sectors.
It requires States to criminalise a wide range of acts of corruption, including not only classic acts of corruption such as bribery and the embezzlement of public funds, but also trading in influence and the concealment and laundering of the proceeds of corruption. Private sector corruption is also covered.
On the margins of the Conference in Abu Dhabi, there will be various special events taking place on a range of topics, including safeguarding sport from corruption, transnational bribery, corruption as a major obstacle to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, corruption linked to wildlife, fisheries and forestry crime and exploring the gender dimensions of corruption.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, supports States in the implementation of the Convention and provides technical assistance and training. Together with the World Bank, UNODC has established the joint Stolen Assets Recovery, StAR, Initiative, which aims to facilitate the systematic and timely recovery and return of assets stolen through acts of corruption.
The UNODC also actively contributes to the implementation of the 10th principle of the UN Global Compact, which states that ‘Business should work against corruption in any form, including bribery and extortion.’
