In September a special summit of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York saw 193 nations agree to seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Their objective was to establish a set of principles that up to 2030 will drive the development policy and programmes of governments and national and multilateral institutions everywhere.
One of these goals, Goal 16, is particularly far reaching and political in its intent. It aim is to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” As with each of the other goals, UN members agreed that within each, there would be a number of specific targets. In the case of goal 16, one of these was to “substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.”
All of what was agreed is now subject to ratification nationally by every government, but addressing corruption has, when it comes to the SDGs, become a particular and immediate focus. The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, for instance in a message to a conference in St Petersburg, Russia, last month emphasised his belief that to achieve the new development agenda, all countries must act to end corruption and bribery. “Let us forcefully convey the message that when bribes are paid, everyone counts the cost,” he said.
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, in particular has been stressing the importance of the issue, having led the discussion at the 2013 G8 summit of the wealthiest industrialised countries which had tax evasion and transparency as its theme. More recently one of his major themes when he addressed the Jamaican Parliament, was working together to eradicate corruption and encourage greater transparency.
It is an issue that is likely to be voiced with increasing frequency at all international fora,
