Yesterday was International Anti-Corruption Day. It marks 15 years since the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) was adopted as well as 25 years since Transparency International came into being. UNCAC is the largest international anti-corruption treaty. To date, a total of 186 countries are signatories to the Convention. To commemorate this day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had the following to say:
Corruption robs societies of schools, hospitals and other vital services, drives away foreign investment and strips nations of their natural resources. It undermines the rule of law and abets crimes such as the illicit trafficking of people, drugs and arms.
Tax evasion, money laundering and other illicit flows divert much-needed resources for sustainable development. The World Economic Forum estimates that the cost of corruption is at least $2.6 trillion – or 5 per cent of global gross domestic product. And according to the World Bank, businesses and individuals pay more than $1 trillion in bribes each year.
