PREVENTION OF CORRUPTIONJo Dedeyne-Amann1

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF PREVENTING CORRUPTION
AND THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINSTCORRUPTION (UNCAC)
Corruption undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations ofhuman rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organized crime,
terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish. Fighting corruption is of utmost
importance to ensure that the State’s funds are used to improve people’s quality of life
through the delivery of basic services and the establishment of a good businessenvironment and, hence, to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development. This
was also acknowledged by the United Nations General Assembly, during the High-Level
Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals in September 2010. The Assembly
supported urgent and decisive steps to continue to combat corruption in all of its
manifestations, and urged all States to consider ratifying or acceding to the United
Nations Convention against Corruption and to begin its implementation.2
The UNCAC is the first and only all-inclusive, legally-binding anti-corruption
instrument that encompasses the comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach needed
to successfully counter corruption. To date, more than four countries out of five all1

Chief, Implementation Support Section, Corruption and Economic Crime Branch, Division for Treaty
Affairs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna. The opinions expressed in this article arethose of the author and do not reflect the views of the United Nations. I would like to express my gratitude
to Mr. Jason Reichelt whose assistance was indispensable to this article.
2
A/Res/65/1 (19 October 2010).

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around the world have ratified it, signalling that the world considers it as the suitable
framework to prevent and fight corruption.
The Convention devotes an entire chapter to the prevention of corruption,highlighting that although corruption needs to be investigated and prosecuted, first andforemost, it requires preventive action. The Convention requires States parties tointroduce effective anti-corruption policies and practices. It calls for the introduction of avariety of measures concerning both the public and the private sectors. Such measures
range from institutional arrangements, such as the establishment of a specific anticorruption body, to codes of conduct and policies promoting good governance, the rule oflaw, transparency and accountability. The Convention pays special attention to the issueof public procurement, as a sector proven to be particularly prone to corruption. It further
contains measures to promote transparency and accountability in the management ofpublic finances. Significantly, the Convention underscores that each of us, individuallyand collectively, can and must contribute to a culture of integrity.
These preventive measures, together with the Convention’s provisions on
criminalization and law enforcement as well as international cooperation and asset
recovery, make it a valuable tool in protecting the public purse. If properly implemented,
the Convention can help to curtail illicit financial flows and stop leakages of publicresources, thereby making more resources available for basic services, such as education,
health care, clean water and sanitation.
Considerable progress has been made since the adoption of the Convention in
October 2003, and its entry into force in December 2005. With 158 States parties having- 14 -

adhered to the Convention, 3 it has nearly reached universal application. Much work,
however, remains to be done to translate the text of Convention into reality on the groundand to achieve an effective global regime against corruption.

II. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED NATIONSCONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTIONA.

The Conference of the States Parties
The Conference of the States Parties to the Convention aims to improve thecapacity of, and cooperation between, States parties to achieve the objectives of theConvention and promote and review its implementation.4 The United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) acts as Secretariat to the Conference of the States Parties to
the Convention. The Conference has held four sessions to date and established working
groups to assist it in its work in the fields of review of implementation, asset recovery,
and prevention.
The fourth session of the Conference, held from 24 to 28 October 2011 inMarrakech, was attended by 125 countries, by 28 intergovernmental organizations and
200 delegates representing non-governmental organizations. In addition to its main
agenda, the conference hosted nineteen side events, which were very well frequented andcontributed significantly to raising the profile of the Conference as the main internationalanti-corruption event.

3
4

Status 25 November 2011, http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/signatories.html
Article 63, UNCAC.

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One of the key outcomes from the fourth session of the Conference is the adoption ofresolution 4/3 entitled “Marrakech declaration on the prevention of corruption”. 5 The
resolution, while recognizing that the implementation of the Convention is the
responsibility of States parties, reiterated that the promotion of a culture of integrity,transparency and accountability is a responsibility to be shared by all stakeholders,
including civil society and the private sector. The resolution requests the Secretariat,
among other things, to:•Continue to assist the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on
Prevention;6•

Continue to function, subject to voluntary contributions, as an observatory ofgood practices in preventing corruption;•

Continue to assist in promoting awareness of the principles of the Convention
among the business community;•

Create opportunities for the involvement of young people as key actors in theprevention of corruption;•

Promote the responsible and professional reporting of journalists on corruption;•

Continue to cooperate with UN DESA (Department for Economic and Social
Affairs) in the prevention of corruption, in particular with regard to the UN PublicService Awards;•

Continue to provide technical assistance for the implementation of Chapter II of
the Convention.

56

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/CAC-COSP-session4.html
See Chapter C below.

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B.

The Implementation Review Mechanism
The Conference at its third session in Doha in November 2009 adopted landmark

resolution 3/1 on the review of the implementation of the Convention.7 It established areview mechanism aimed at assisting countries to meet the objectives of the Convention
through a peer review process. Under the new mechanism, which is now fully operational,
all States parties are reviewed on the fulfillment of their obligations under the Convention.
This further enhances the potential of the Convention, by providing the means forcountries to assess how they are doing in implementation, identify potential gaps innational anti-corruption laws and practices, and develop action plans to strengthen theimplementation of the Convention domestically. There are two review cycles of five
years each: The current cycle addresses the implementation of the Chapters on (i)criminalization and law enforcement and (ii) international cooperation in criminal matters.
The second cycle, starting in 2015, will then focus on (iii) prevention and (iv) asset
recovery.
Reviews are based on responses to the self-assessment checklist submitted bycountries under review. Countries do not have to wait until they are up for review; neither
do they have to limit themselves to the chapters on criminalization and law enforcement
and international cooperation, which are under review during the current review cycle.
The self-assessment checklist also covers the chapters on preventive measures and asset
recovery. Some States parties have started, on a voluntarily basis, a comprehensive
assessment and gap analysis, in accordance with the Guidance note on UNCAC selfassessments “Going beyond the minimum”, developed jointly by UNDP and UNODC,
along with a number of other partners.
7

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/CAC-COSP-session3.html- 17 -

The Implementation Review Mechanism is meant to become the main interface
for review and delivery of technical assistance in the field of anti-corruption. Its basic
objective is to determine priorities and strategies to that effect and to promote andfacilitate technical assistance provision. The Mechanism also has a great potential inmeasuring the impact of assistance provided.
The Convention itself, as well as resolutions by the Conference, the General
Assembly and the Economic and Social Council have mandated UNODC to support
Member States in the ratification and implementation of the provisions of the Convention,in particular in strengthening legal, institutional, and operational capacities at thedomestic level, and to promote international cooperation among States parties. UNODC
has been developing a series of technical assistance services to meet the growing
demands of Member States in this field,8 including through its Anti-Corruption Mentors
8 An indicative list of such services includes, inter alia, the following:•

Provision of advice and expertise to support the development of a wide range of policies and programmes to ensure theeffective implementation of the UNCAC provisions on the prevention of corruption, including national anti-corruption
strategies and action plans, codes of conduct, asset declaration systems, conflict of interest policies and human resource
management systems based on principles of efficiency, transparency and objective criteria;•

Provision of advice and expertise to support the development of domestic legislation aiming at ensuring full compliancewith the provisions of UNCAC. In addition to legal advisory services, the development of such tools as legislative guides,
model legislation and electronic libraries is another pillar of legal assistance provided by UNODC;•

Provision of assistance to States parties in enhancing the integrity, accountability and oversight of their criminal justice andsecurity institutions with a view to enhancing their capacities to effectively carry out their mandate, implement theprovisions of UNCAC and reduce their vulnerability to corrupt practices;•

Conduct of corruption risk assessments and strengthening of national capacities to carry out these assessments, in order toacquire a profound knowledge and understanding of the challenges posed by corruption (scope, nature, causes andcontributing factors) as well as of the weaknesses of the laws, institutions, and policies in any given country;•

Provision of support to Governments in raising awareness about the negative impact of corruption through targeted
information campaigns and effective work with the media;•

Supporting elements of civil society in strengthening the demand for good governance through the International AntiCorruption Day campaign, including raising awareness about the negative impact of corruption in daily life andencouraging a more active stand against corruption;- 18 -

Programme. These anti-corruption advisors provide a broad range of policy and technicaladvice and day-to-day support for the implementation of the Convention, such as
conducting gap assessments, assisting in establishing anti-corruption institutions andpolicies, providing training in investigation and prosecution of corruption offenses,
providing legislative assistance and advising on asset recovery strategies.

C.

Working Group on Prevention
At its third session, the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention decided

to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group to advise and assist it in theimplementation of its mandate on the prevention of corruption. The Conference alsodecided that the working group should perform the following functions:•

Assist the Conference in developing and accumulating knowledge in thearea of prevention of corruption;•

Facilitate the exchange of information and experience among States on
preventive measures and practices;•

Facilitate the collection, dissemination and promotion of best practices in
corruption prevention;•

Assist the Conference in encouraging cooperation among all stakeholders
and sectors of society in order to prevent corruption.9•

Building and strengthening partnerships between the public and the private sector against corruption, and promoting, in thisregard, the business community’s engagement in the prevention of corruption by, inter alia, developing initiatives topromote and implement public procurement reform and identifying elements of optimal self-regulation in the private sector(http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/corruption/private-sector.html).

9

See http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/working-group4.html.

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At its most recent meeting, held from 22 to 24 August 2011, the Working Group
noted with appreciation that many States parties had shared before the meeting
information on their initiatives and good practices regarding the key topics on the agenda,
namely: (i) awareness-raising policies and practices with special reference to articles 5, 7,
12 and 13 of the Convention; and (ii) the public sector and prevention of corruption;
codes of conduct (article 8 of the Convention) and public reporting (article 10 of theConvention). With regard to the latter issue, 10 most States parties reported to havedeveloped codes of conduct, equivalent public statements or conduct standards for their
public officials to clarify what is expected, as well as the disciplinary consequences, if
such standards were violated. Many States parties reported on systems and measures toincrease transparency within their public administrations. Those measures guarantee thelegal right of citizens to access information on public management and provide citizens
with tools for such access. The tools commonly reported on are electronic online systems
facilitating e-government, e-administration and e-procurement systems.
The Working Group requested States parties to continue to share with thesecretariat updated information on initiatives and good practices related to Chapter II of
the Convention.
The Working Group will at its next session, which will be held in August 2012,
address, among others, the following topic: Conflicts of interest, reporting acts ofcorruption and asset declarations, particularly in the context of articles 7-9 of theConvention.

10

See background paper prepared by the Secretariat: CAC/COSP/WG.4/2011/3.

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As decided by the Conference at its fourth session, the Working Group will then also
discuss a multi-year workplan for the period up to 2015, when the second cycle of the
Mechanism for the Review of Implementation of the Convention begins.

III. EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO PREVENT CORRUPTION AND TO RAISE
AWARENESS
A. A Sector-Based Approach
Recognizing that the prevention and fight against corruption is a gradual process,the sectoral approach can help States to set priorities for the implementation of theConvention at the national level. The anti-corruption work in specific sectors that are ofprime relevance to citizens, such as health care, education or water, provides relatively
fast and concrete results, allowing citizens to feel the change directly and develop
confidence in the broader anti-corruption agenda.
It is worth emphasizing here the importance of the criminal justice sector to
public service delivery in health care, education and water, among other areas. Without afair, transparent and professional justice system to protect rights and resolve disputes,
anti-corruption efforts in other sectors are not sustainable in the long term.

B. Judicial Integrity and Capacity
The establishment of an independent and effective justice system that safeguards
human rights, facilitates access to all and provides transparent and objective recourse is acore value held the world over. As a result, judicial and legal reform is consistently apriority on the agendas of countries regardless of their state of development.

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Article 11 of the Convention requires each State party, in accordance with thefundamental principles of its legal system and without prejudice to judicial independence,
to take measures to strengthen integrity and prevent opportunities for corruption among
members of the judiciary. In addition, similar measures may be introduced and applied
within the prosecution services where such entity operates in a posture of independence
similar to that of the judicial service.
UNODC has provided technical assistance to the justice sectors in many countries
to help strengthen integrity mechanisms. Moreover, in 2011, UNODC completed a
Resource Guide on Strengthening Judicial Integrity and Capacity,11 with the purpose tosupport and inform those who are tasked with reforming and strengthening the justicesystems of their countries, as well as development partners, international organizations
and other providers of technical assistance who provide support to this process12. The
guide intends to contribute to the existing literature by providing a guide to target thecore areas identified by the expert group as priorities in justice sector reform. The guidetouches on a broad set of issues ranging from judicial recruitment and selection practices,to the timeliness of decisions, to the openness and transparency of the process, to theaccessibility of these systems for those seeking justice and the protection of their rights.

11 UNODC has also recently completed a handbook on police accountability, oversight and integrity, for use by policymakers andmanagers of police agencies. The handbook is available online at http://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prisonreform/crimeprevention/PoliceAccountability_Oversight_and_Integrity_10-57991_Ebook.pdf.
12 Work on the Resource Guide on Strengthening Judicial Integrity and Capacity began following the United Nations Economic andSocial Council Resolution 23/2006, which endorsed the Bangalore Principles on Judicial Conduct and requested UNODC to convene
an open-ended intergovernmental expert group, in cooperation with the Judicial Group on Strengthening Judicial Integrity and otherinternational and regional judicial forums, to develop a technical guide on approaches to the provision of technical assistance aimed atstrengthening judicial integrity and capacity.

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The guide further offers recommendations, core ideas and case studies13 for considerationin the development and implementation of national justice sector action plans, strategies
and reform programmes. One of the issues covered is the definition of performanceindicators: While measuring the performance of justice systems, careful considerationmust be given to the selection of appropriate indicators. In doing this, a look at pastexperiences, lessons and guidelines can be helpful. The guide gives an overview of setsof indicators which have been developed by both national and international organizations
to evaluate judicial reform projects, or measure the performance of the justice systems.
While some of them have been designed to carry out specific investigations, or toinvestigate specific justice services, others have been designed to be just reference tools,
easily customizable and adaptable according to the needs. Examples provided include theindicators developed by the UNODC Field Office in Nigeria, when it conducted an
integrity and capacity assessment of the justice sector in the Federal Capital Territory andin eight Nigerian States with the aim of producing a clear and coherent picture of thecountry’s justice system conditions.14 In addition, UNODC’s Criminal Justice Assessment
Toolkit15 provides a standardized set of tools designed to enable agencies, government

13 One of the case studies covered in the Resource Guide on Strengthening Judicial Integrity and Capacity is the Centralized System
for Selecting Court Support Personnel in France. The hiring and appointment of court personnel throughout France is overseen by the
MOJ, which utilizes a uniform selection and appointment system. All court personnel positions are advertised nationally on acustomized website, which includes position descriptions, education and experience requirements for candidates, and information on
the applicable skills tests that are required. Potential applicants can then download a standardized application form and submit it toreserve their place in the next testing cycle.
14 http://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/publications_nigeria_assessment.pdf. UNODC Project (FS/NIR/04/NIR/R81) on
strengthening judicial integrity and capacity. The assessment has been designed to investigate seven justice system areas, and more indetail: 1. access to justice; 2. timeliness and quality of justice delivery; 3. independence, impartiality and fairness of the judiciary; 4.
levels, locations, types and costs of corruption within the justice sector; 5. coordination and cooperation across the justice sector
institutions; 6. the public’s trust in the justice system; and 7. the functioning of the integrity safeguards.
15 http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/justice-and-prison-reform/Criminal-Justice-Toolkit.html?ref=menuside. The Criminal JusticeAssessment Toolkit is designed to be a practical guide, organized as a dynamic set of documents that continue to meet assessment- 23 -

officials engaged in criminal justice reform, as well as other organizations andindividuals to conduct comprehensive assessments of criminal justice systems; to identify
areas of technical assistance; to assist agencies in the design of interventions that
integrate United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice;and to assist in training on these issues.

At the international level, the most comprehensive and well-known document on
the topic of judicial integrity is the “Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct.” 16 In
2000, UNODC, in collaboration with Transparency International, convened a firstmeeting for chief justices and senior judges from eight Asian and African states with the
purpose of considering ways of strengthening judicial institutions and procedures in theparticipating states and beyond. Initially, the Bangalore Principles were developed,
drawing from 24 different codes of judicial conduct as well as eight documents
elaborated at the international level, prevalently on the concept of judicial independence.
Subsequently, the document underwent extensive consultations involving chief justices
and senior judges from over 75 Member States. The Bangalore Principles are articulatedaround six basic values: “independence,” “impartiality,” “integrity,” “propriety,”“equality,” and “competence and diligence.” A short definition of the meaning of each of
those values for the judiciary is also provided, as well as a list of the expected behaviouron the part of the judges in application of each of the six basic values. The Bangalore
Principles are explicitly addressed to the national judiciaries that do not as yet have codesneeds as they evolve. The Tools have been grouped according to four broad areas: Policing; Access to Justice; Custodial and NonCustodial Measures; and Cross-Cutting Issues. The Tools are organized thematically, both to ensure ease of use and to assist theassessor in understanding the key issues confronting the system being assessed.
16

http://www.unodc.org/pdf/corruption/corruption_judicial_res_e.pdf.

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of judicial conduct, for the purpose of adoption and implementation. The behaviouralimplications of the values and expected judicial conduct which have been officially
included in the Bangalore Principles have been further elaborated in an extended
commentary17 and have provided the basis for the development of a training manual on
judicial ethics.18 These materials might also be of assistance to the citizens and to thosethat might have an interest in the promotion of judicial ethics.

IV. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN
PREVENTING CORRUPTION
The private sector has a key role to play in enhancing integrity, accountability andtransparency. The rapid development of rules of corporate governance around the worldis prompting companies to focus on anti-corruption measures as part of their mechanisms
to protect their reputations and interests of their shareholders. Internal checks andbalances are increasingly being extended to include a range of ethics and integrity issues.
Article 12 of the UNCAC requires States parties to take measures to prevent
corruption in the private sector, including through enhanced accounting and auditing
standards. It also provides a menu of suggested measures to achieve these goals,
including by promoting cooperation between the private sector and law enforcement
agencies, promoting standards and procedures designed to safeguard the integrity ofprivate entities (including codes of conduct and business integrity standards), promoting
transparency among private entities, preventing conflicts of interest, and ensuring
effective internal audit systems.
1718

http://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/publications_unodc_commentary-e.pdf.
http://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/publications_unodc_judicial_training.pdf.

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Over the years, a number of regional and international initiatives, standards andprinciples have been developed to provide guidance for companies on how to fightcorruption in their business operations while upholding enhanced integrity standards.
However, the vast majority of such cross-industry guidelines pre-date the adoption (in2003) and entry into force (in 2005) of the UNCAC. Moreover, these anti-corruption
initiatives, standards and principles leave a lot to be desired in terms of their internal
coherence and consistency with UNCAC. The need to align existing business principles
to the values of UNCAC was recognized in January 2008, when representatives of thebusiness community came together in the margins of the Conference of the States Parties
to the Convention and adopted the so called “Bali Business Declaration”. As the guardianof UNCAC, UNODC is well placed to also assist private sector stakeholders instrengthening their legal and regulatory regimes to fight corruption, and to provide
technical assistance on implementation. UNODC has developed strong partnerships witha number of private sector initiatives, such as The World Economic Forum Partnering
against Corruption Initiative (PACI), the International Chamber of Commerce andTransparency International, and is working closely with these partners to harmonize thecompeting cross-industry guidelines and bring them in line with the universal principlesof UNCAC.
A study published by UNODC and PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2008, entitled
Anti-Corruption Policies and Measures of the Fortune Global 500 19 , shows that allcompanies of the Fortune Global 500 have adopted internal compliance programmes,
which include measures to encourage staff and managers to report cases of wrongdoing

19

This study can be found at http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/corruption/anti-corruption-policies-andmeasures-of-the-fortune-global-500.html.

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that they become aware of. Almost all such companies also sanction retaliation against
so-called whistleblowers. However, the type of reporting that such programmes
encourage and protect remains an internal matter and varies therefore from company tocompany.
In the period 2010-2011, the United Nations Global Compact and UNODC
together developed an e-learning tool for the private sector to enhance understanding of
Principle 10 of the Global Compact, which states: “Business should work against
corruption in any form, including bribery and extortion,” 20 and its underlying legal
instrument, the United Nations Convention against Corruption, as it applies to actors
operating in the business community. The e-learning tool consists of six short interactive
learning modules developed for use by anyone who acts on behalf of a company. They
are based on real-life scenarios designed to provide guidance on how to deal withpotential risks of corruption that people working in business may face in their daily work.
Issues covered include: (a) receiving gifts and hospitality; (b) gifts and hospitality
towards others; (c) facilitation payments and corruption; (d) the use of intermediaries andlobbyists; (e) corruption and social investments; and (f) insider information. The elearning tool is publicly accessible and free of charge.21
In the first half of 2011, UNODC, with the support of the Siemens Integrity
Initiative, launched three anti-corruption projects aimed at promoting the private sector’s
engagement in anti-corruption efforts. One of those technical assistance projects, entitled“Public-Private Partnership for Probity in Public Procurement”, aims to reduce

20

There are ten principles in total, one of which relates to corruption. The full list can be found at
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/index.html.
21This tool can be found at http://thefightagainstcorruption.unodc.org or
http://thefightagainstcorruption.unglobalcompact.org.

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vulnerabilities to corruption in public procurement systems and to bridge knowledge andcommunication gaps between public procurement administrations and the private sector.
The project will promote States’ implementation of article 9 of the Convention andsupport private actors’ efforts to comply with Principle 10 of the United Nations Global
Compact.
The second project, entitled “Incentives to Corporate Integrity and Cooperation in
Accordance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption”, is intended tofoster cooperation between the private sector and government authorities, especially law
enforcement authorities. It aims to encourage business to report internal instances ofcorruption and to promote States’ implementation of articles 26 (Liability of legal
persons), 32 (Protection of witnesses, experts and victims), 37 (Cooperation with law
enforcement authorities) and 39 (Cooperation between national authorities and the private
sector) of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and to facilitate private
actors’ compliance with the Tenth Principle of the UN Global Compact. These first two
projects are being piloted in India and Mexico and also encompass the compilation anddissemination of good practices and lessons learned.
The third project, entitled the “Outreach and Communication Programme”, seeks
to enhance companies’ knowledge of how the Convention can make a difference in their
daily work both internally, and in their interaction with public counterparts, and toencourage the business community to turn their anti-corruption commitments into action
by bringing their integrity programmes in line with the universal principles of theConvention. The project also seeks to support learning institutions which have come torealize that they do have a role to play in preparing the next generation of public and- 28 -

business leaders to the challenge of making right and ethical decisions. This will beachieved by: (a) creating and disseminating a structured outreach and communication
programme that combines a global perspective with local contexts, reaching out toprivate companies, particularly the UN Global Compact business participants; and (b)developing a comprehensive academic learning course on the UNCAC and its
implication for public administrators and private operators to be embedded in curricula ofbusiness, law and public administration schools.

V. RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS AND
INVOLVEMENT BY SOCIETY AT LARGEAs already mentioned, one of the issues of focused attention during the second
meeting of the intergovernmental open-ended Working Group on Prevention wasawareness-raising policies and practices, acknowledging the importance of partnerships
between the public sector, the private sector and civil society.
A background paper on awareness-raising policies and practices with specialreference to articles 5, 7, 12 and 13 of the United Nations Convention against
Corruption was presented by the Secretariat. 22 The paper describes the tasks ofspecialized anti-corruption agencies established by States parties to disseminate
information about anti-corruption efforts and to act as coordinators of suchactivities on the national and international levels. Institutional cooperation between
the public and private sectors, either in the form of community councils or under
the umbrella of anti-corruption agencies, was viewed as essential to raising
22

The paper can be found at
http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/WorkingGroups/workinggroup4/2011-August-2224/V1185011e.pdf.

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awareness. Reference was also made to the relevance of conferences organized byintergovernmental and regional organizations, and the usefulness of creating
networks and platforms for collaboration between the private sector andgovernments.
Article 13 of the Convention requires States parties to take measures topromote the active participation of individuals and groups in the prevention of, andthe fight against, corruption. Examples reflected in the above-mentioned
background paper include anti-corruption advertisement campaigns launchedthrough traditional marketing channels, such as television, radio, billboards and theInternet, as well as the creative use of other channels such as short message service(SMS) transmissions, airlines, stamps, religious gatherings, hotlines and electronic
mail (e-mail) to reach society as a whole.
Many States parties to the Convention recognize the importance of focusing
on youth and reported on the initiation of anti-corruption educational courses,
summer and winter camps, integrity clubs and artistic and academic competitions
and on measures taken to adapt university curricula or complement existing
curricula with a course on anti-corruption.
Reference is to be made in this context to an initiative recently launched by
the UNODC, in collaboration with a range of partner organizations and universities,
to develop a comprehensive academic anti-corruption curriculum outline. Thisinitiative involves a group of approximately 30 experts in the field of anticorruption and higher education engaged in a consultative process aimed atdeveloping an academic programme on anti-corruption for university students. The- 30 -

backbone of the initiative is a comprehensive set of academic educational materials
organized in modular form in a so-called ‘menu of courses’ (course topics). This
structure is not intended to be a full-fledged curriculum per se, but rather a flexible
compilation of teaching modules on different aspects of corruption, which can betaught separately or in sequence, and thus incorporated into existing curricula or
syllabi as needed and as scope and teaching plans permit. The thematic outline or‘menu’ will be annotated with a detailed bibliography and will ideally becomplemented by case studies, taking into account the variety of legal systems andeducation models and traditions that exist, facilitating utmost adaptability toteaching styles across the globe. The idea is to make the material available as anopen source tool online, accessible free of charge and open to amendments andfurther elaboration by teachers who use the material in order to keep it a living
document. Pilot testing for the curricula is scheduled to begin in Spring 2012 withthe completion and roll-out of the final tools scheduled to take place in Fall 2012.
Finally, another issue that deserves special attention is the role of the media inpreventing corruption. This topic was discussed by the Working Group on Prevention at
its first session from 13 to 15 December 2010, during which a background paper preparedby the Secretariat on best practices for promoting responsible and professional reportingon corruption for journalists was presented.23 The Conference of the States Parties to theConvention at its fourth session in Marrakech took note of the efforts undertaken by the23This paper can be found at
http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/WorkingGroups/workinggroup4/2010-December-1315/V1056937e.pdf.

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Secretariat to gather information on good practices on this matter, and requested theSecretariat to further collect and disseminate such information.24

VI. EPILOGUEThe United Nations Convention against Corruption is a powerful manifestation of
the collective political will of the international community to put in place a framework tosuccessfully counter corruption. The Convention attaches great importance to theadoption and implementation of measures geared towards rendering criminal justiceresponses to corruption more efficient, both at the domestic and international levels. The
Convention, however, also recognizes that “preventing is better than responding” and thata primary challenge for States parties is to put in place effective corruption prevention
mechanisms that instill a culture of professional integrity in both the public and private
sectors.
In conclusion, the words of Mr. Yury Fedotov, UNODC’s Executive Director, canbe recalled, in the statement, delivered on his behalf, at the closing of the fourth sessionof the Conference of ‘the States Parties 25 : “Yet, perhaps the defining feature of ourjourney from Doha to Marrakech has been the realisation that we cannot succeed inisolation. Others must join us, and we must all walk together if we are to combat
corruption wherever it arises. […] The reality is that we need governments, the private
sector, parliamentarians, anti-corruption authorities, civil society organizations, young
people and the media to cooperate in rejecting corruption at every level of society. […]The Arab Spring has sparked rapid reforms and placed anti-corruption at the heart of the24
25

Resolution 4/3, operative paragraph 20.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/marrakechspeech28.10.11.html- 32 -

democratic agenda. As a result, it has become a symbol for the anti-corruption movement
and we must heed the call it has issued. We must help individuals live in countries whereprosecutions of instances of corruption are fair and where a citizen’s daily interaction
with the state and commerce are firmly anchored in professionalism, honesty andintegrity. And we must provide strong political commitment at the international level. The
Arab Spring, with its emphatic rejection of corruption, must last longer than a season,and become a model to promote integrity and transparency throughout the region andthe rest of the world.”- 33 -