FOREWORD
It is my great pleasure and privilege to present this report of the Fifth Regional
Seminar on Good Governance for Southeast Asian Countries, which was held in Tokyo
from 7 – 9 December 2011. This was our first time to hold a Good Governance Seminarin Tokyo, and it was our great pleasure to welcome participants to the Japanese capital.
We hope that we have repayed the hospitality always extended to us on our previous
visits to conduct the Seminar.
The main theme of the Seminar was “Preventing Corruption: Effective
Administrative and Criminal Justice Measures,” and it was attended by sixteen
participants and one observer ― all criminal justice practitioners ― from Cambodia,
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The
Seminar was organized by UNAFEI, with a contribution from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Japan.
Corruption destroys nations. It undermines democracy and the rule of law,distorts business activities and competition, and hinders sustainable development andprosperity. It is also a threat to the security of societies as it creates environments inwhich organized crime, terrorism, and other forms of unlawful activity may prosper.
Such enormous negative impacts of corruption and its increasing transnational
aspects led to the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption(UNCAC), the first global, legally binding anti-corruption instrument, by the UN
General Assembly on 31 October 2003.
UNCAC introduces a comprehensive set of standards, measures and rules that
all countries can apply in order to better counter the problem of corruption. It takes amultidisciplinary approach and, recognizing the significance of both punitive andpreventive measures, devotes one full chapter to “Criminalization and Law
Enforcement” and another to “Preventive Measures.”
Criminal justice measures still perform core functions in addressing anddeterring corruption. However, given the magnitude of the problem and inherent
difficulties in detecting and prosecuting corruption, the importance of prevention canneither be overlooked nor overstated. A range of preventive measures and policies withvarying degrees of legal obligations are provided for in the UNCAC, and it also calls on
States Parties to promote active participation of wider society in the fight against
corruption and to raise public awareness regarding corruption and its threats.
The Fifth Regional Seminar aimed not only to develop human resources but
also to deepen mutual understanding of the current situation and mechanisms in regard
to preventing corruption. Through discussion of the issues, participants’ experienceswere exchanged, and their knowledge of effective strategies and best practices in thisregard was further improved.
It is my pleasure to publish this Report of the Seminar as part of UNAFEI’smission, entrusted to it by the United Nations, to widely disseminate meaningful
information on criminal policy.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation, on behalf of UNAFEI, tothe Department of Foreign Affairs of Japan, for its contribution in convening the Fifth
Regional Seminar.

Tatsuya SAKUMA
Director, UNAFEI
August 2012