General Assembly Session 58 meeting 50

The President

Members will recall that at its 28th plenary meeting on 13 October 2003, the General Assembly decided that agenda item 108 would also be considered directly in plenary meeting for the sole purpose of taking action on the draft United Nations Convention against Corruption.

I now give the floor to Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The Secretary-General

Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish.

This evil phenomenon is found in all countries -- big and small, rich and poor -- but it is in the developing world that its effects are most destructive. Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a Government's ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment. Corruption is a key element in economic underperformance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development.

I am therefore very happy that we now have a new instrument to address this scourge at the global level. The adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption will send a clear message that the international community is determined to prevent and control corruption. It will warn the corrupt that betrayal of the public trust will no longer be tolerated. And it will reaffirm the importance of core values such as honesty, respect for the rule of law, accountability and transparency in promoting development and making the world a better place for all.

The new Convention is a remarkable achievement, and it complements another landmark instrument, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which entered into force just a month ago. It is balanced, strong and pragmatic, and it offers a new framework for effective action and international cooperation.

The Convention introduces a comprehensive set of standards, measures and rules that all countries can apply in order to strengthen their legal and regulatory regimes to fight corruption. It calls for preventive measures and the criminalization of the most prevalent forms of corruption in both public and private sectors. And it makes a major breakthrough by requiring Member States to return assets obtained through corruption to the country from which they were stolen.

These provisions -- the first of their kind -- introduce a new fundamental principle, as well as a framework for stronger cooperation between States to prevent and detect corruption and to return the proceeds. Corrupt officials will in future find fewer ways to hide their illicit gains. This is a particularly important issue for many developing countries where corrupt high officials have plundered the national wealth and where new Governments badly need resources to reconstruct and rehabilitate their societies.

For the United Nations, the Convention is the culmination of work that started many years ago, when the word corruption was hardly ever uttered in official circles. It took systematic efforts, first at the technical, and then gradually at the political, level to put the fight against corruption on the global agenda. Both the Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development and the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development offered opportunities for Governments to express their determination to attack corruption and to make many more people aware of the devastating effect that corruption has on development.

The Convention is also the result of long and difficult negotiations. Many complex issues and many concerns from different quarters had to be addressed. It was a formidable challenge to produce, in less than two years, an instrument that reflects all those concerns. All countries had to show flexibility and make concessions. But we can be proud of the result.

Allow me to congratulate the members of the Bureau of the Ad Hoc Committee on their hard work and leadership, and to pay a special tribute to the Committee's late Chairman, Ambassador Héctor Charry Samper of Colombia, for his wise guidance and his dedication. I am sure all here share my sorrow that he is not with us to celebrate this great success.

The adoption of the new Convention will be a remarkable achievement. But let us be clear: it is only a beginning. We must build on the momentum achieved to ensure that the Convention enters into force as soon as possible. I urge all Member States to attend the Signing Conference in Merida, Mexico, in December, and to ratify the Convention at the earliest possible date.

If fully enforced, this new instrument can make a real difference to the quality of life of millions of people around the world. And by removing one of the biggest obstacles to development it can help us achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Be assured that the United Nations Secretariat, and in particular the Office on Drugs and Crime, will do whatever it can to support the efforts of States to eliminate the scourge of corruption from the face of the Earth. It is a big challenge, but I think that, together, we can make a difference.

The President

I call on Mr. Muhyieddeen Touq, Acting Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption, to introduce the report of the Ad Hoc Committee and the draft United Nations Convention against Corruption.

Mr. Touq (Jordan)

It is indeed a great privilege and honour for me to be here today and to address the Assembly in my capacity as Acting Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption. I am here as the Acting Chairman because, sadly, the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Ambassador Héctor Charry Samper of Colombia, has prematurely passed away. The Ad Hoc Committee, its Bureau and I personally owe a great debt of gratitude to Ambassador Charry Samper, and we mourn his absence on this momentous occasion.

The momentum for a convention against corruption started building during the negotiations on another very important international legal instrument: the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which the Assembly adopted three years ago and which entered into force last month. Those negotiations produced a profound understanding among countries that the time had come to deliver to the world a broad, comprehensive and effective instrument to mark the determination of the international community to take joint action against the scourge of corruption.

The General Assembly reaffirmed those qualities in its resolution 56/260, adopted less than two years ago, by which the terms of reference for the negotiation process -- the marching orders of the Ad Hoc Committee -- were agreed upon. The General Assembly decided at the same time to follow the successful experience of the negotiation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols. Therefore, it set a deadline for the completion of the negotiation of a draft Convention against Corruption and asked the Ad Hoc Committee to be inspired by the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as well as by regional instruments that had set the stage in recent years.

The Ad Hoc Committee began its work with an informal preparatory meeting that was graciously hosted by the Government of Argentina, to whose commitment and generosity I should like to pay special tribute. In Buenos Aires in December 2001, we were pleasantly surprised: 26 countries came forward with proposals for the new Convention, making the work of the secretariat quite demanding but rendering the endeavour of the Ad Hoc Committee very rich in ideas and substance.

As the report indicates (A/58/422), the Ad Hoc Committee held seven sessions between January 2002 and October 2003. It complied fully with the mandate given to it by the Assembly and has delivered to the Assembly a new Convention that is practical, pragmatic, enforceable and comprehensive. It is also characterized by a carefully crafted equilibrium, which is designed to reflect the reality that corruption is a broad phenomenon that has many facets and that demands a multidisciplinary approach at both the national and international levels.

The Ad Hoc Committee's success in the very short time of less than two years was certainly not due to the simplicity of the task or to an absence of political differences in opinion or objectives. Our success was the product of unwavering commitment by all delegations, a highly participatory process -- we had an average of more than 125 countries participating in the negotiations -- and the spirit of cooperation and compromise that prevailed throughout the process. All delegations were intent on concluding a Convention that would benefit the international community and enable it to make inroads against corruption.

Compromise was not easy. All delegations had to revisit and reassess their objectives and their positions. All delegations had to give up something and to make concessions. But all delegations were adamant about one thing: while the new Convention needed to fully reflect all concerns and to make sure that it did not impinge on essential principles and values that the entire international community holds dear -- such as respect for national sovereignty -- it was of paramount importance to safeguard the high quality and innovative nature of the final product. In the end, it was sustained political will that animated the Ad Hoc Committee's work and forged this new instrument out of the good faith and talent of all delegations.

In that light, the Ad Hoc Committee complied with its mandate and is presenting to the Assembly today the United Nations Convention against Corruption, annexed to a draft resolution for its consideration and action. I hope that the Assembly will accept the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee and adopt the new Convention. I also hope that all States will make every effort in their power to be represented at the Signing Conference -- which will take place at the highest possible level in Merida, Mexico, at the beginning of December -- and sign the Convention.

Before concluding, I should like to express my sincere gratitude to all delegations that took part in the negotiations. I was particularly impressed by their knowledge, expertise and professionalism. I was especially impressed by the dedication and stamina of the delegations from the many developing and least developed countries that made valuable contributions. I owe a debt of gratitude to the members of the Bureau, some of whom are here with us today: the representatives of Austria, Hungary, Mauritius, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines and the United Kingdom, and the representative of Poland, who served as Rapporteur. Their indefatigable participation -- coupled with their strong commitment and their impressive diplomatic skills -- was a major reason for the Ad Hoc Committee's success. Let me also express my heartfelt thanks to the Secretary-General for the support given to our Committee by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and its able secretariat.

The Ad Hoc Committee has laid the first building block. The Assembly's action today will continue the construction of a strong system of national action and international cooperation against corruption. However, we still have a long way to go. We must make sure that the political will that made the negotiation of the Convention possible is sustained and strengthened and that it manifests itself in the expeditious ratification and subsequent full implementation of the new Convention.

Mr. Romero (Mexico)

At the outset, I should like to pay tribute to the memory of Ambassador Héctor Charry Samper, who unfortunately is no longer with us. The swift entry into force of the United Nations Convention against Corruption will undoubtedly be the best way to honour appropriately the work carried out by Ambassador Charry Samper. We regret the loss that his death has meant for the Government and the people of Colombia, and we express our most heartfelt condolences to the family.

I am particularly pleased to speak on behalf of Mexico at the current General Assembly session, which has received the report of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption (A/58/422 and Add.1) in response to the desire of the highest United Nations body for an effective international legal instrument to fight corruption. The Assembly's adoption of the Convention will open up new horizons and enable us to establish mechanisms of cooperation to fight one of the problems that most afflict institutions and society in general: corruption.

It is very clear to us that corruption is a scourge that obstructs the development of nations, deepens inequality in societies and diminishes countries' competitiveness. Carrying out resolute action to fight it is a concern not only of advanced countries, but of each and every United Nations Member.

For that reason, the implementation of far-ranging public policies against corruption is today an overriding need around the world. In the struggle against this evil, we need the participation of those who govern and those who are governed and we need to join efforts at the international level. This would make it possible for us to consolidate institutions and society as a whole and to promote living together, side by side, in democracy.

In Mexico, the administration of President Vicente Fox Quesada has designed and implemented a comprehensive programme to combat corruption and to promote transparency and administrative development. The programme's objective is to transform the public administration into a modern service-oriented organization responding closely to the needs, interests and demands of society.

We have appealed for transparency in the public sector so that society can receive information that was previously kept from it. We have laid down judicial bases to professionalize public service, to give priority to the training and value of its members and to thus make it a fundamental element in the smooth functioning of the State.

The approval of laws on the transparency of and access to public and governmental information and on the career professional service are examples of the progress we have made. Similarly, we have adopted measures to promote citizen participation in the fight against corruption. We are modernizing public service through information technology and by generating assistance and cooperation among nations. For that reason, Mexico is actively participating in international organization mechanisms aimed at reaching those goals.

The adoption of the draft United Nations Convention against Corruption will be the result of the international community's conviction that the fight against corruption requires a common effort and a concerted and immediate response. The members of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption went beyond their differences and sought formulas for consensus and demonstrated firm political will, which today is bearing fruit. The text adopted reflects the concerns of all countries, and we are convinced that it will make it possible to make progress towards eradicating corruption.

The comprehensive approach to corruption, the emphasis on prevention both in the public and private sector and the measures provided for in the area of extradition and mutual legal assistance, including the handling of property and assets obtained illegally, will make the Convention an effective instrument.

My country has given special attention to the fact the General Assembly will decide to open the Convention to signing in the city of Merida, Mexico. We thank States for their support of Mexico's offer, and we would join in the appeal of Secretary-General Kofi Annan that they come to Merida, Mexico, to sign the Convention. We are convinced that the Merida conference will open new paths of understanding and will help uphold the spirit of the struggle against corruption that characterized the negotiations in Vienna. We invite all States to be represented at the highest level at the conference, which will be held from 9 to 11 December 2003.

Simultaneously with the conference, there will be exchanges through round-table meetings in which experts will offer their opinions on how to ensure the effective implementation of the Convention. The round tables will emphasize the role of civil society and communications media in the struggle against corruption, legislative measures to achieve that goal, preventive action in the public and private sectors and measures to combat corruption in financial systems.

This afternoon in Conference Room 4 Mexico will hold an informal meeting on the Merida conference; interested delegations will be given detailed information of an organizational and logistical nature and on formal matters regarding their stay in Mexico for representatives and those accompanying them. We sincerely hope that the political will that has been a constant in this discussion will be reflected in the participation of States in the Merida conference and in the signing of the Convention. We would urge all delegations to participate and to sign this most important instrument during the conference.

Mr. Gayan (Mauritius)

Allow me first to thank the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, for his very inspiring address this morning on the need for the international community to deal effectively with the scourge of corruption, and also for his continued support in that regard. I would also like to express to Mr. Muhyieddeen Touq, the Acting Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption, our profound appreciation for the quality of the work he and his team have done in so short a time. They deserve our sincere gratitude.

It is with a sense of great satisfaction and pride that Mauritius expresses its support for this new draft Convention against Corruption. Mauritius has been closely associated with the preparation of this new instrument. As a member of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of the Convention and also as a Vice-Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Mauritius is delighted that the international community is being presented with an additional instrument in the overall architecture of good governance.

When the General Assembly adopted its resolution 55/61 in December 2000, recognizing that an effective international legal instrument against corruption, independent of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, was desirable, it could not have foreseen that "desirable" was a gross understatement. The fact that the draft Convention is ready for adoption only two years after work started on it is indicative of the international community's eagerness to take urgent collective measures to undo the havoc which corruption wreaks on our countries. We are happy that the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption has fulfilled its mandate with remarkable speed. The experts and all those who participated in the drafting of this comprehensive and multidisciplinary instrument deserve our congratulations and gratitude.

Article 1 of the Convention stipulates that the purposes of the Convention are: first, to promote and strengthen measures to prevent and combat corruption efficiently and effectively; secondly, to promote, facilitate and support international cooperation and technical assistance in the prevention of and fight against corruption, including in asset recovery; and third, to promote integrity, accountability and proper management of public affairs and public property.

We admire the fact that it has taken only 71 articles to deal with: prevention, investigation and prosecution of corruption; freezing, seizure, confiscation and return of the proceeds from offences established in the Convention; protection of sovereignty; public reporting to enhance transparency in public administration, particularly with regard to decision-making processes; bribery and embezzlement of property in the private sector; bank secrecy; international cooperation; extradition; mutual legal assistance; mechanisms for recovery of property through international cooperation and confiscation; and information exchange. This is drafting of an exceptional quality, which will become a model and which will be acknowledged as a work of art.

In 2000, we in Mauritius decided to modernize our legislation in order to deal more effectively with the scourge of corruption. We set up a select committee of our Parliament, which proposed a new, modern, comprehensive and results-oriented law. The Prevention of Corruption Act set up an independent anti-corruption commission with a three-fold objective: to educate and to prevent and prosecute corruption. The new commission is already operational and is gradually gaining in stature. While the Government of Mauritius is determined to wage a relentless war against corruption, we also believe that, in the performance of its functions, the commission should respect the fundamental principles of human rights and guarantee due process and the rule of law in accordance with the principles of our domestic legislation, because we believe that failure by the institution entrusted with the prevention, investigation and prosecution of corruption to observe the principles of the rule of law would render that institution itself guilty of corruption.

Mauritius is convinced that limiting the definition of corruption to the classic offences of bribery would be unwise, especially as those who in modern times are bent on blazing new trails in corrupt practices are endowed with extraordinary ingenuity and creativity. We are happy to note that the Convention, which is couched in a language sufficient to address corruption in a meaningful manner for present purposes, will be reviewed in five years. The review process is necessary to keep pace with new trends in corruption and to improve the legal framework in the light of experience gained.

International and uniform norms of conduct for public affairs and the management of the private sector will supplement the legal arsenal we have to deal with corruption. In Mauritius, we shall review our own legislation in order to bring it in line with this Convention.

In addition to the Prevention of Corruption Act, my country has also created legislation on financial intelligence and a campaign against money-laundering. A financial intelligence unit not only oversees internal cooperation among national law enforcement agencies but also provides international cooperation and mutual legal assistance in cases of suspected money-laundering. We are proud that many aspects of our legislation are reflected in this multilateral instrument.

Mauritius, which has a thriving banking and financial services sector, is anxious to preserve its impeccable image. Mauritius maintains constant vigilance for attempts to introduce the illicit proceeds of crime into its financial circuits.

As a member of the African Union, Mauritius is extremely sensitive to the havoc which corruption has caused in many of our countries. Millions of our people are suffering today on account of corrupt practices, which have diverted scarce resources from development to bank accounts in non-African countries. Although the state in which Africa is in today cannot be attributed to any single cause, still we have no doubt that corruption was a major contributor to that state. No wonder then that corruption is viewed in Africa as our own weapon of mass destruction.

We know that business in Africa can no longer be business as usual. We have decided to take our destiny in our own hands, and we are committed to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Good governance is making significant progress all over Africa. We are committed to upholding human rights, democracy, the rule of law and the fight against corruption. We have also decided to adopt the African Peer Review Mechanism. We are determined to live up to those norms, not because they are being imposed upon us by others but because our people deserve nothing less. On 12 July 2003, the heads of State and Government of the African Union adopted the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. There are other regional initiatives that complement the United Nations Convention. A worldwide effort to combat corruption in all its forms and aspects is in our collective interest as corruption has become transnational. The prevention and eradication of corruption is the responsibility of all States, big and small.

International cooperation is critical for a successful campaign against corruption. No country is really immune to the ravages of corrupt practices. Like the war against terrorism, this war against corruption must enjoy the widest possible international consensus. We hope that many States will attend the signing ceremony in Merida, Mexico, and we are reassured by the interest that this Convention is generating: the required number of ratifications for the Convention to enter into force will be reached in less time than our experts took to finalize the Convention. May I add that Mauritius will be an immediate signatory of the Convention.

The fight against corruption cannot be won by relying only on repressive measures. This Convention has the merit of having gone beyond what is usually contained in such multilateral instruments by offering to the international community an exhaustive range of levels of intervention to combat corruption in all its known forms.

Transparency, good governance, sound management of public affairs and respect for the rule of law are preconditions for fighting corruption. Corruption thrives when public affairs are shrouded in secrecy. Corruption cannot coexist with transparency and good management.

Mauritius wishes to echo what is contained in the preamble to the Convention. We are concerned about the seriousness of the problems and threats posed by corruption to the stability and security of societies; undermines the institutions and values of democracy, ethical values and justice and jeopardizes sustainable development and the rule of law. We are also concerned about the links between corruption and other forms of economic crime and organized crime.

The Ad Hoc Committee was well inspired to provide for measures which States must take to address the consequences of corruption. In that context, States parties may consider corruption a relevant factor in legal proceedings to annul or rescind a contract, withdraw a concession or take any other remedial action. In our view, that is an essential element in the armoury the international community needs to effectively combat corruption. The fight against corruption concerns all of us, and we must do whatever it takes not to lose that fight.

In conclusion, I would be failing in my duty if I did not express our grief at the passing away of Mr. Hector Charry Samper of Columbia, who chaired the Ad Hoc Committee until very recently. The only comfort we have is that his name will be forever associated with this landmark Convention.

Mrs. Borzi Cornacchia (Italy)

I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia and the associated countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey align themselves with this statement.

Allow me to join previous speakers in expressing on behalf of the European Union our great debt of gratitude to Ambassador Charry Samper of Colombia, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee. We deeply mourn his absence today on this special occasion.

Corruption impoverishes national economies, undermines democratic institutions and the rule of law and has a negative impact on economic and social development. For this reason the European Union attaches particular importance to preventing and combating corruption at all levels.

While the European Union continues to implement its own comprehensive anti-corruption policy, at the same time it believes that -- in an increasingly connected world -- the United Nations needs to take stronger action in the increasingly urgent fight against corruption. In this context, the European Union wholeheartedly looks forward to the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, an instrument that can effectively contribute to our common aim.

The European Union expresses its satisfaction on the outcome of the negotiations on this Convention, held in Vienna, in which the Union played an active role. The text to be adopted today provides States with an instrument of high standard and with a wide range of universally acceptable provisions that will strengthen States' ability to combat corruption at the national and international levels. The European Union also applauds the comprehensive nature of the Convention, which includes both prevention and law enforcement measures, as well as innovative legal provisions or the transfer of funds of illicit origin and their restitution.

The European Union reiterates its high appreciation for the offer made by the Government of Mexico to host a high-level political conference for the purpose of signing the convention in Merida from 9 to 11 December and sincerely hopes the maximum number of States will sign the convention on that occasion. Such a response would be an important first step towards the speedy entry into force and implementation of the Convention, to which the European Union is committed.

The European Union also believes that adequate support for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on Vienna is needed, including for its Global Programme against Corruption, so as to enable it to promote the entry into force of the Convention against Corruption and to support the implementation of related activities and initiatives.

The President

I now give the floor to the representative of Rwanda, on behalf of the African Union.

Mr. Kamanzi (Rwanda)

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate to both you, Mr. President, and to your Office, our profound congratulations for the excellent way in which you continue to guide the work of the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly.

I would also like to express the great appreciation of the African Group for having included on the agenda the item on crime prevention and criminal justice.

The Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption has just presented its report to the General Assembly. Its goal was to produce an effective international juridical tool to combat corruption, and I should like to express my sincere congratulations to the Committee for the excellent work it has done, which is an ample reflection of the outstanding capacity of its members.

Like previous speakers, I would also like to pay tribute to the late Ambassador Héctor Charry Samper for his commendable work in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee. May he rest in peace.

The proposed convention gives Member States a way to overcome the major political and legal obstacles that have frequently hampered development efforts in various countries, particularly the poorest ones. It will also help to counter the danger of the proliferation of armed conflicts that affect the poorest countries -- conflicts often underpinned by multinational structures operating through political regimes controlled by a nucleus of corrupt leaders. In this regard, the instrument the General Assembly now has before it is a real shot in the arm for the efforts to institutionalize the rule of law and good governance initiated by a number of African States, which are determined now more than ever to assure a better socio-economic future for their citizens.

I hardly need to dwell on the importance of this mechanism for the international community in its efforts to combat terrorism, which is often strengthened by the existence of networks forged with the aid of commercial and political systems maintained by illegal funds.

To have an effective mechanism is one thing, but to use it is another. So I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the international community to provide their unreserved support for this draft convention. From the time of its conception, through its preparation, the proposal has now reached the stage where each country has to commit to making this proposed mechanism its own by adopting it.

In this connection I would like to encourage all nations of the world to make an overwhelming show of acceptance for the invitation to the Merida, Mexico signing conference, from 9 to 11 December, to mark the formal adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. This will be one more opportunity for the nations of the world, both rich and poor, to voice their firm support for justice, peace and the prosperity of humankind.

Mr. Negroponte (United States)

Ten years ago, bribes were still tax deductible in some countries and no international anti-corruption treaties existed. Today's resolution is therefore a milestone achievement in the global effort to ensure transparency, fairness and justice in public affairs.

This is vital not only to the rule of law, but to the fundamental confidence citizens must have for representative government and private enterprise to succeed. Corruption and democracy are incompatible; corruption and economic prosperity are incompatible; and corruption and equal opportunity are incompatible.

As a consequence, I am pleased to say that the draft convention we consider for adoption represents the first globally negotiated anti-corruption treaty and will likely be the first anti-corruption treaty applied on a truly global level. It is more comprehensive than any existing anti-corruption treaty and provides the first agreed multilateral framework for Governments to cooperate in the recovery of illicitly obtained assets. An important chapter of the text creates a conference of States parties that will be responsible for follow-up. We expect that body to play a prominent role in promoting implementation, and we believe it is not too soon for us informally to share our visions of how it can be most effective.

Like other anti-crime treaties before it, the new Convention will establish commitments to criminalize certain undesirable and harmful conduct -- in this case, corrupt actions such as bribery, embezzlement and money-laundering. But the Convention does not stop there. It will also require Governments to take action in a number of areas -- for example in public procurement, public financial management and the regulation of public officials -- so as to help prevent corruption from happening in the first place.

The international fight against corruption has long been a priority for my country, beginning with our efforts in the 1980s to rally international attention to bribery in international business transactions. In fact, President Bush considers anti-corruption efforts to be so central to development that he has made progress on fighting corruption an essential element for participation in the Millennium Challenge Account, which we expect will add $5 billion to our core development assistance and thereby increase it 50 per cent by fiscal year 2006.

Experts from approximately 130 countries spent countless hours over the past two years developing this Convention. The United States was pleased to participate actively in those long and highly technical negotiations. Our experience convinces us that the draft United Nations Convention against Corruption is the product of a true partnership among most of the countries represented in this Hall. We think this is crucial. A successful fight against corruption requires action on many fronts; clearly, our efforts will be effective only to the extent that we maintain the partnership we have forged over the last two years.

Now -- as with all treaties -- the end of negotiations marks the real beginning of engagement. The words of this Convention must be translated into action, or else the hard work of the Ad Hoc Committee will be for naught. Numerous compromises had to be made in the negotiations; no country obtained everything it sought. But with an agreed text before us, the time has come for all countries to move as quickly as possible in their national processes to consider signature and ratification, to engage civil society and the private sector and to work to promote the implementation of the innovative and helpful approaches that we have developed together.

In closing, we thank the members of the Bureau of the Ad Hoc Committee and its secretariat from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, in particular Eduardo Vetere and his staff, including Dimitri Vlassis, for their tireless dedication during the two years of negotiations.

Our Acting Chairman, Ambassador Muhyieddeen Touk of Jordan, deserves special credit for his wise leadership following the sad and untimely death of Ambassador Charry Samper of Colombia. We also want to recognize the contributions of the late Ambassador Samper, who believed wholeheartedly in our efforts and, we believe, would be pleased with the finishing touches to his work.

Thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me to take the floor, and congratulations to our colleagues who participated in the important work of the Ad Hoc Committee.

Mr. Garcia (Philippines)

First of all, I would like to express my satisfaction at being able to attend this particular meeting of the General Assembly to deliberate on the adoption of the draft United Nations Convention against Corruption.

It is widely recognized that corruption is a universal phenomenon and that it knows no boundaries. No country is immune to its pernicious effects. Indeed, all societies and economies are affected by that transnational phenomenon. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that the total amount of money laundered on an annual basis is equivalent to 3 per cent to 5 per cent of the world's gross domestic product. A significant portion of that activity involves funds derived from corruption.

It is precisely for that reason that the draft United Nations Convention against Corruption should be hailed as a landmark achievement by the international community. For the first time, the scourge of corruption is being addressed in a comprehensive and multidisciplinary manner. For the first time, the members of the international community have broken new ground and have been able to forge a consensus on measures to prevent and combat corruption more efficiently and effectively, as well as on measures to promote, facilitate and strengthen international cooperation and technical assistance in the prevention of and the fight against corruption, including in asset recovery. These are complex issues requiring cooperation, flexibility and creativity.

We do not need to be reminded of the fact that the Philippines is among those countries which in the past have been damaged by high-level corruption committed with impunity by high-level officials and their high-powered cohorts and cronies in the private sector. The Filipino people are still paying for the sins of those to whom they had entrusted their fate -- those who had sworn to uphold and protect their interests. Since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed leadership in 2001, significant accomplishments have been made in the fight against corruption in my country, the Philippines. Despite these gains, the Philippines realizes that international cooperation and technical assistance are vital elements in the campaign against corruption, especially as regards funds that have been illicitly transferred, hidden or invested in other countries beyond the jurisdiction of our legal system.

Viewed against this backdrop, it is not surprising that the Philippines welcomed from the outset the negotiations on the draft United Nations Convention against Corruption. The Philippines was actively engaged in this multilateral process from the very beginning and was elected a Vice-Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption. The Philippines had even submitted its own draft of the convention during the preparatory meeting held in Buenos Aires in December 2001.

This involvement was capped by close Philippine participation in the sixth and seventh sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee, held in Vienna in July/August and September/October this year. During these sessions we were able to put to good use the hard and painful lessons of the Presidential Commission on Good Government, the Philippine Government agency tasked with the recovery of the illicitly acquired assets of the Marcos regime. I specifically refer to the landmark chapter V of the draft Convention where, for the first time, the return of assets is stated as a fundamental principle, and international parameters are set relative to asset recovery.

Having said that, the Philippines is well aware that major compromises had to be made by all delegations to successfully secure final agreement on the draft Convention. The Philippine delegation was among those that had to strike a compromise for the sake of reaching consensus on the language of provisions that, for us, touched on dearly held positions and convictions. This we did, knowing that the Filipino people would be better served by the existence, rather than the absence, of an international legal instrument against corruption.

Nevertheless, the proceedings of the negotiations, the notes in the travaux preparatoires and the report of the consistency group make very clear the spirit and intent behind these textual accommodations. Likewise, the statements of the Group of 77 and China during the Ad Hoc Committee sessions elaborate on the raison d'être of the Convention for the developing countries.

The Philippines wholeheartedly supports the adoption of the Convention by the General Assembly. In our view, the Convention should ultimately serve as a catalyst for the rule of law, the exchange of best practices, technical assistance and capacity-building, particularly to strengthen the efforts of developing countries in fighting corruption. It would, however, be an aberration, a distortion of all that the United Nations stands for, if the Convention were to be used as an instrument to impose conditionalities, or if it were cited as a convenient excuse to intrude into the internal affairs of individual States.

In closing, I would like to express my appreciation to all those delegations who participated actively in the Vienna negotiations, including the secretariat of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime under the leadership of the Executive Director, Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, and members of the United Nations Secretariat. I would also like to mention, in particular, Mr. Eduardo Vetere and Mr. Dimitri Vlassis.

The Ad Hoc Committee has complied with and fulfilled its difficult mandate and is now presenting to us the formidable product of its heroic and creative efforts. This deserves our heartfelt thanks. We are hopeful that the same heroism and creativity will prevail with respect to the future entry into force of the Convention.

The President

We have heard the last speaker in the debate on this item for this meeting. Because I promised many delegations that I would present this morning my analysis on the debate on the cluster of items on revitalization, restructuring and reform, we will continue the debate on agenda item 108 this afternoon.