*
A/CONF.187/1.
**
The present paper was prepared by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute.
V.99-91376 (E)
United Nations A/CONF.187/9
Tenth
United Nations Congress
on the Prevention of Crime
and the Treatment of Offenders
Vienna, 10-17 April 2000
Distr.: General
31 December 1999
Original: English
Item 4 of the provisional agenda
*
International cooperation in combating transnational crime:
new challenges in the twenty-first century
International cooperation in combating transnational crime:
new challenges in the twenty-first century
Background paper for the workshop on combating corruption
**
Summary
The workshop on combating corruption will deal with issues related to the prevention
and control of corruption using a multidisciplinary approach, as advocated in the Global
Programme against Corruption of the Centre for International Crime Prevention and the
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. According to the
Global Programme, the purpose of a national anti-corruption programme is (a) to increase
the risk and cost of being corrupt; (b) to build integrity such that the rules of the game and
the behaviour of the players change; and (c) eventually to ensure the rule of law.
Among the few success stories, the experience of Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (SAR) of China should have shown that it takes time and considerable effort to
curb corruption in a systemically corrupt environment. After more than 25 years, Hong
Kong SAR is now spending 90 million United States dollars per year (1998 figure) and
employs 1,300 staff, who in 1998 conducted 2,780 training sessions for the private and
public sector. The Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) is focusing its
efforts on three major areas: (a) the Operations Department, which investigates
complaints; (b) the Community Relations Department, which conducts community
outreach, educational programmes and their development; and (c) the Corruption
Prevention Department, which aims at preventing corruption through improved systems
and procedures. The amount spent is probably more than all 50 African countries spent
on fighting corruption in 1999.
A/CONF.187/9
2
Taking into account the increasing number of international instruments dealing with
corruption, the Workshop will be aimed at promoting coordinated efforts for the
development of joint strategies for the implementation of those international instruments
and best practices in prevention at the international, national and municipal levels.
A solid and successful anti-corruption strategy advocated rests on four pillars:
(a) economic development; (b) democratic reform; (c) a strong civil society with access
to information and a mandate to monitor the actions of the State; and (d) the presence of
the rule of law. Given these four broad principles, there are four basic areas in which
action can be taken against corruption within a country:
(a) The basic institutions of good governance need to be strengthened, first and
foremost, the judiciary, which is itself the guardian of laws and of integrity. If the
judiciary itself is corrupt, the problem is compounded and the public at large is left
without the rule of law;
(b) The capacity and integrity of enforcement need to be enhanced. The best law
has no value if it is not enforced. The best judges and magistrates are wasted if cases are
never brought before them. Good investigations are wasted effort if the police or
prosecutors are themselves corrupt;
(c) A Government needs to put in place a solid set of preventive tools. Codes of
conduct and strong independent oversight bodies can help ensure that acceptable
standards of behaviour are followed in both the private and public sector. Political leaders
in all branches of government, the legislature and the judiciary can be required to have
transparency in their own financial dealings through asset disclosure for themselves and
members of their families;
(d) The public needs to be educated on the advantages of good governance. It must
also be clear that the public itself bears a large share of responsibility for insisting on
honesty and integrity in government and business. Members of the public need to learn
not to let anybody buy their votes; not to pay bribes themselves; to report incidents of
corruption to the authorities; and to teach their children the right values, for instance, that
integrity is good and corruption is bad.
A/CONF.187/9
3
Contents
Paragraphs Page
I. Introduction ........................................................... 1-5 4
II. Aspects and causes of corruption .......................................... 6-33 4
A. Consequences of corruption ......................................... 14-19 5
B. Top-level corruption................................................ 20-22 6
C. Corruption in public administration and the criminal justice system ......... 23-24 6
D. Corruption in the private sector....................................... 25-28 7
E. The link to organized crime.......................................... 29-33 7
III. Responses to corruption ................................................. 34-61 8
A. National measures ................................................. 34-44 8
B. Prevention........................................................ 45-48 9
C. Use of statistical data to understand the dimensions of corruption........... 49-56 10
D. Future areas of concern ............................................. 57-61 11
IV. International experience and activities ...................................... 62-87 11
A. United Nations .................................................... 64-68 11
B. European Union ................................................... 69-70 12
C. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ................ 71-74 13
D. Council of Europe ................................................. 75-77 13
E. World Bank....................................................... 78-81 14
F. Other bodies and mechanisms ........................................ 82-87 14
V. Measures required to succeed in the fight against corruption .................... 88-90 15
IV. Conclusion ............................................................ 91-94 17
A/CONF.187/9
4
I. Introduction
1. The topic of corruption has long been a priority of
the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice. The United Nations Interregional Crime and
Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) has been
entrusted with the organization of a workshop on
combating corruption within the framework of the
Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of
Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. The
preparatory work for the workshop has included, in
cooperation with the International Scientific and
Professional Advisory Council of the United Nations
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme,
the organization of an International Conference on
Responding to Challenges of Corruption in Milan,
Italy, on 19 and 20 November 1999.
2. In its resolution 54/128 of 17 December 1999,
entitled “Action against corruption”, the General
Assembly stressed the need for a global strategy
against corruption, and invited Member States to
examine the adequacy of their domestic legal regimes
in terms of preventing and controlling corruption and
providing for forfeiture of the proceeds of corruption.
3. The Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention of
the Secretariat has recently launched a Global Pro-
gramme against Corruption (E/CN.15/1999/CRP.3), to
be undertaken jointly by the Centre for International
Crime Prevention and UNICRI. The Global
Programme is aimed at assisting Member States in
their efforts to curb corruption through two
components, assessment and technical cooperation.
The first component involves the development of a
corruption-monitoring protocol for a thorough
assessment of corruption at all levels, while the second
component envisages the implementation of a set of
technical assistance activities aimed at building and/or
strengthening institutional capacity to prevent, detect,
investigate and repress corruption.
4. The workshop on combating corruption will adopt
the multidisciplinary approach advocated in the Global
Programme and discussed at the Milan Conference,
according to the following structure:
(a) Aspects and causes of corruption: the three
levels of corruption, the organized crime nexus;
(b) Measures against corruption at the international
and national levels;
(c) Prevention and best practices;
(d) Recommended executive, law enforcement,
legislative, private sector, civil society and international
measures.
5. The sessions of the workshop will aim at promoting
the best practices approach advocated in the Global
Programme, by bringing such practices to the attention
of potential donor and recipient countries. Particular
attention will be devoted to issues of prevention, taking
into consideration their potential effectiveness in
raising the risk of being caught when combined with:
(a) a strong political will; (b) increased balancing of
power across the legislative, judiciary and executive;
(c) an empowered civil society; and (d) the existence of
free and independent media with access to information
to confront corruption.
II. Aspects and causes of corruption
6. There is a general consensus that, although the most
serious consequences to the economic and social
development of a country are likely to come from the
spread of corruption at the upper levels, citizens’
perception is related for the most part to their own
first-hand experience with public administration at the
“street” level. While bribery was seen for many years
as a way of getting things done in most developing
countries and countries with economies in transition,
this “greasing the wheel” syndrome has turned into
“sanding the wheel”. This change in perception is due
in part: (a) at the international level, to the recent
economic crisis in Asia, which, according to many
experts, was triggered in part by inadequate corporate
governance practices (e.g. inadequate accountability
and transparency) and (b) at the national level, to the
fact that citizens who give bribes are actually less
likely to be satisfied with the service received than
those not paying bribes, as shown by data from surveys
in Uganda (1998), Ukraine (1999) and the United
Republic of Tanzania (1997). In the United Republic of
Tanzania, survey participants who did not pay a bribe
were 2.9 times as likely to find a higher level of service
provided. On the other hand, those who paid bribes
were 1.7 times more likely to receive poor service than
good service. In fact only 13 per cent of those surveyed
paid a bribe and received good service.
1
A/CONF.187/9
5
7. Types of corruption have been classified in many
ways in the literature. For example, distinctions can be
made between “petty” or “survival” and “grand”
corruption, or between “episodic” and “systemic”
corruption.
2
Another distinction has been made
between “simple” and “complex” corruption as it is
observed in European countries.
3
This paper will refer
to three levels— “street”, “business” and “top”
political and financial—as referred to in the Global
Programme against Corruption.
8. In discussions of the issue of corruption, a distinction
must be made between the supply and the demand side
of that activity. Corruption involving the supply side
focuses on the payment of bribes in return for specific
services, preferential treatment or contracts, while
corrupt practices occurring on the demand side include
solicitation of bribes and/or extortion. The latter is
typical of corruption involving political and financial
powers.
9. Countries that are in a developing phase are most
susceptible to corruption. This is basically the result of
a change in the needs of civil society as it moves
towards a consumer society in combination with
imperfectly organized and enforced public and judicial
administrations. Previously existing corruption at the
street level thus provides a hotbed for corruption at
higher levels. Greed, social injustice, peer pressure
and a lust for social status and power may all be
contributing factors. Since corruption is in a narrow
sense a victimless crime, the low risks of discovery
and punishment do little to decrease the prevalence of
these factors.
4
Additionally, certain country-specific
factors, such as population size and natural resources,
also appear to be strongly linked with the prevalence
of bribery and corruption.
5
10. Countries that are radically reforming their economic
and political systems, such as many central and eastern
European countries during the 1990s, are confronted
with corruption in the business sector and at the high
political and financial levels. Their exposure stems
mainly from the strong impact of reforms on their
national economy, through the large-scale
privatization of former state-owned properties, such as
enterprises, buildings and other holdings, which are an
important part of national economic value.
6
The new
opportunities arising from the distribution of such
property increases the appeal of obtaining illegal
advantages. The actors in this context are not only
national or international business people, but also, in
the case of high-level corruption, national decision
makers holding political and administrative office.
7
11. Finally, developed countries are also susceptible to
corruption as a result of elite groups establishing
closed networks in which distinctions between private
and public interests become blurred.
12. A further multiplier of corruption is the increasing
involvement of organized crime. As occurs in the
business world, the influence of organized crime over
public structures through the corruption of public
officials is linked for the most part with international
transactions, whether exports or imports. In that
context, it should be noted that a close relationship
exists between tax rates, trade barriers and the
involvement of organized crime.
13. As a rule, corruption goes hand in hand with abuse of
power, political and economic monopolies and
organized crime. Thus, cultural, political, economic
and legal measures, including criminal justice, to
prevent and fight corruption cannot be divorced from
broader processes of political democratization,
economic and social development and reliability of
financial and legal transactions. To implement effective
action against corruption, commitment on the part of
the Government at the highest level must be publicly
demonstrated by providing a good example to all
sectors of civil society, including politicians, business,
public administration and the private sector.
A. Consequences of corruption
14. The consequences of corruption are disastrous both
for the economy in general and for the citizens in
particular. The pain caused by corruption at the village
level has best been described by more than 3,500
villagers participating in 348 focus groups facilitated
by Community Information, Empowerment,
Transparency (CIET) in Uganda in 1998.
8
15. Corrupt behaviour, such as bribery, also produces
external costs in the form of “added taxes”, which are
mainly shouldered by the national economy. This
undermines efficient allocation of badly needed
financial resources for economic development, in
particular in developing countries, and is distorting the
composition of public expenditure.
A/CONF.187/9
6
16. In the context of international trade, corruption—in
particular in the form of bribery—serves as a barrier to
trade and investment.
17. As a result, a corrupt environment may present global
investors with a poor environment in which to place
their capital. Those investors most likely to make a
long-term contribution to development may therefore
be discouraged, while those who seek quick profits
through dubious ventures may instead be encouraged.
9
This in turn increases the harmful effects of corruption
on the global economy, which have been mounting. It
has been shown that countries suffering from pervasive
corruption invest less and achieve lower economic
growth.
10
A country with widespread corruption is
likely to achieve aggregate investment levels of almost
5 per cent less than a country relatively free of
corruption and to lose about half a percentage point of
gross domestic product growth per year.
11
18. Corruption in both the public sector and the private
sector, regardless of the level at which it occurs, can
jeopardize free trade, distort competitiveness and
undermine the stability upon which the free market
system is based.
12
Companies may resort to bribery as
a means of bypassing existing trade barriers or
reducing national tariffs and expediting international
trade. Such action, however, undermines the position
of the State, reducing government revenue and
violating important environmental and safety
standards, among other things.
19. Widespread corruption jeopardizes the credibility of
Governments and their institutions. As a result, a
negative culture arises in which priority is given to
individual success and short-term achievement.
Systemic corruption also weakens the effectiveness of
punishment tools: it is hard to punish one person
severely when so many others are likely to be equally
guilty.
7
Within such an environment, organized crime
is likely to grow and infiltrate high levels of public
administration. In the worst scenario, public order may
break down, as occurred in Albania in March 1997,
13
or there may be civil war.
B. Top-level corruption
20. Top-level corruption is often controlled by hidden
networks and represents the sum of various levels and
types of irregular behaviour, including abuse of power,
conflict of interest, extortion, nepotism, tribalism,
fraud and corruption. It is the most dangerous type of
corruption and the one that causes the most serious
damage to the country or countries involved. In
developing countries, such corruption may undermine
economic development through a number of related
factors: the misuse or waste of international aid;
unfinished development projects; discovery and
replacement of corrupt politicians, leading to political
instability; and living standards remaining below the
country’s potential.
21. Industrialized countries, in particular, have been freed
with systemic corruption at the highest level of
government. An environment in which long-term rule
by one political party and a system made up of a few
social and political groups that share power over
decades is conducive to the establishment of networks.
Such personal networks hide behind consensual
agreements, justified by political, social, ethnic and
religious arguments, so that it is difficult for the public
to become aware of them. These links are often
discovered inadvertently, allowing them only then to be
prosecuted. Unfortunately, since individuals or small
parts of the network are generally identified, the
prosecution is, in most cases, unable to identify or
eliminate the entire network.
22. As public awareness increases of the immediate
negative effects of high-level corruption on day-to-day
life, tolerance of the problem will be reduced. Media
reports can be very effective in bringing corruption
scandals to the attention of society. The perception that
a scandal exists and the motivation to have the
participants brought to justice are the first signs of
citizens’ empowerment and willingness to confront the
phenomenon.
C. Corruption in public administration and the
criminal justice system
23. Public administration officers, as the authority issuing
licences, permissions, permits and other official
authorizations, are both potential targets for corrupters,
as well as instigators of corrupt practices. Within the
police, opportunities are even greater, since that
institution not only enforces the laws but also has the
power to deprive individuals of their freedom, through
the use of legitimate force, and to carry out
investigations into criminal conduct that may lead to
A/CONF.187/9
7
severe sanctioning and/or economic penalties.
14
It
appears that, in particular in a number of developing
countries and countries with economies in transition,
further efforts are needed in order to improve the
social status and salaries of public officials, thus
making them less vulnerable to the lures of bribery.
In Uganda, of the 18,412 households surveyed in
1998, 63 per cent reported having paid bribes to the
police and 50 per cent to the courts. While the
median bribe paid to the police was 20,000 Uganda
shillings
15
(20 United States dollars) the median bribe
paid to the courts was U Sh 50,000 ($50).
8
24. Reforms are also needed to facilitate and make more
transparent both the decision-making process and
interaction with citizens. It is difficult to deal with
corruption when there is a lack of confidence between
the citizenry and public administration. Such a
situation will be exacerbated if discretionary power
over public and/or private affairs is concentrated
mainly in the political regime or the financial-political
administrations that still maintain a philosophy of
power over citizens rather than a service to citizens.
16
Initiatives must therefore be undertaken that not only
reform the organization of public administration but
also modify the political culture as it relates to
economic instability and market culture.
D. Corruption in the private sector
25. Businesses may either be the perpetrator of corrup-
tion by offering bribes to public officials to secure
contracts
17
or they may be the victim, being solicited
for bribes by public officials or other businesses from
whom they can obtain licences, contracts, protection or
assurances. Corruption may be confined entirely
within the business world, occurring between
companies,
18
or it may extend into the arena of
government or public officials. In either case, the
corrupt environment tends to favour domestic
companies familiar with the local way of doing
business. In addition to lacking sufficient local market
knowledge, foreign firms may also be liable in their
own country if they are prohibited from offering bribes
by their national foreign bribery legislation or if their
Governments have ratified international agreements
such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating
Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International
Business Transactions.
26. Business activities involving corruption and bribery
are not always wilful acts on the part of criminal
organizations. It may be difficult for establishments to
refuse to pay bribes. Organizations with a strong
ethical corporate culture may be able to resist the
temptation and large multinational corporations may be
able to afford to lose contracts in order to avoid
situations involving bribes. Such decisions, however,
may be more difficult for smaller businesses whose
survival may depend upon securing a particular
contract. According to Laufer,
19
97 per cent of all
convictions in United States federal courts involved
companies with less than 50 employees. This, however,
may reflect the fact that small businesses are being
targeted or that it is easier to obtain a conviction in
cases involving smaller businesses with limited
resources and skills.
27. Another problem faced by businesses are transactions
in grey areas where corruption is less obvious. These
are areas where activities such as the issuance of
commission payments, signature bonuses, facilitation
payments and donations to humanitarian causes all
begin as legitimate practices, but somewhere in the
process turn into corrupt practices or activities. The
question for many businesses is how to decide what
actually constitutes a bribe.
20
28. When examining issues of corruption addressed in
various international conventions on corruption and
bribery as well as the penal laws in various countries,
it becomes clear that there are no good subjective or
objective measures of corporate compliance.
19
Furthermore, many such agreements focus on a narrow
definition of corruption, which has resulted in the
enactment of more comprehensive national legislative
acts or penal laws to cover activities not addressed in
international treaties.
21
E. The link to organized crime
29. Situations in which legitimate businesses are reduced
to paying bribes or witness legitimate practices
transformed into criminal behaviour were examined in
the preceding section. The situation is completely
different where organized crime is involved in illicit
activities.
A/CONF.187/9
8
30. There is a tenuous line between activities involving
corruption and other organized criminal pursuits.
Organized criminal groups are involved in corrupt
practices, possibly in the form of extortion, bribery or
illegal political campaign contributions in order to
gain an advantageous share of a particular market.
Laundering illegal profits for reinvestment into the
legitimate economy further strengthens that advantage.
31. The corruption-organized crime nexus has long been
recognized. Strategic corruption, or mutual
accommodation, between organized crime and the
police or long-lasting strategic alliances between
organized crime and local authorities like town
councils, political parties or entrepreneurs
22
are
examples of the damaging influence of organized
crime. An airline based in Japan participated in such
an arrangement when it paid an estimated 22.8 million
yen to an organized criminal front company over a
three-and-a-half-year period in order to ensure
peaceful shareholder meetings.
32. Because organized crime penetrates at all levels of
the business world, measures to combat its influence
must be developed at each of those levels as well.
33. The draft United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime, in its article 4 ter (see
A/AC.254/4/Rev.6), envisages the criminalization of
corruption when an organized criminal group is
involved. The types of acts publishable under the
Convention will include corrupt activities involving an
international civil servant, a foreign public official, a
judge or other official of an international court.
23
The
importance of addressing organized crime’s
perpetration of and involvement in corruption is
undisputed. The degree to which the draft Convention
should address corruption issues remains unclear,
however, in view of the fact that such offences may be
included in future international instruments on
corruption.
III. Responses to corruption
A. National measures
34. Successful experiences (such as in Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China
4
have
shown that there are four important components to any
anti-corruption strategy: (a) awareness-raising and
public education; (b) institution-building across all
sectors (judicial, legislative, executive, private, civil
society, media); (c) prevention; and (d) enforcement.
35. A distinction should be made between the political
and legal national measures to be considered in
combating corruption. Progressive legal measures can
only be enforced effectively when a political
environment is established that does not tolerate
corrupt behaviour and that guarantees good
governance.
1. At the political level
36. Since corruption is a hidden crime, transparency
within general public processes is one of the most
important political needs. Public administration must
be regarded primarily as a service to citizens and not as
the exercise of power. Rules of conduct and clear rules
of procedure concerning access to public works or
contracting must therefore be developed and adopted.
Furthermore, a clear and simply structured public
administration is needed, so that there are few
opportunities to use complex administrative
arrangements to hide corrupt behaviour. In accordance
with the principle of checks and balances, such a
system should also include a strict separation of
responsibilities so that no single agency or branch is
responsible both for decisions and for their
enforcement. Moreover, a strict separation between and
independence of different administrative units is
needed in order to avoid the appropriation of key
positions within different institutions by corrupt
networks. In combating high-level corruption, binding
and unambiguous rules of recruitment and disciplinary
sanctions must be established. Finally, the
effectiveness of those measures must be ensured by
independent monitoring and control mechanisms such
as auditing.
37. In addition, an administration that is impervious to
corruption also needs a civic political culture in which
the public can critically observe official activities,
which in turn requires transparency in and accessibility
of fiscal data concerning all public transactions.
Monitoring, auditing, the oversight of independent
commissions and a strengthened free press can achieve
those objectives.
24
The effectiveness of such
anti-corruption monitoring bodies is illustrated by
A/CONF.187/9
9
examples such as the Independent Commission
against Corruption in Hong Kong SAR, the Corrupt
Practices Investigation Bureau in Singapore and the
New South Wales Independent Commission against
Corruption in Australia.
25
Although the creation of
independent commissions is regarded as largely
successful, some question whether such organizations
should have exclusive jurisdiction over the
problem.
26
38. The encouraging progress in combating crime by
installing control mechanisms can also be seen in
Poland and Uganda.
27
Another effective instrument to
sharpen public pressure against corrupt institutions is
the scorecard method, whereby users rate local
service-providing agencies. This measure was installed
in Bangalore, India, Samual Paul, helping to reduce
bribery and resulting in the firing of corrupt officials.
28
39. In addition, those economic policy reforms which
would minimize opportunities for corruption should be
considered. As stated previously, corruption is often
used to circumvent tariffs, taxes and barriers.
Therefore, minimizing such openings for illicit
behaviour will help to reduce corruption and also open
up new resources within the administration to control
and enforce the remaining barriers such as
environmental and security standards.
2. At the legal level
40. National measures within the legal system refer
mainly to the development and application of various
legal tools, such as criminal sanctions and—something
that has mostly gone unnoticed so far—the use of
non-criminal measures such as liability, negligence or
the confiscation of illicit assets.
41. It should be noted at the outset that all administrative
reforms also have to be implemented within the
judicial system and the preferred administration. This
may include restructuring the courts. A single-judge
system is more vulnerable to corruption than a
chamber or a jury system.
29
To guarantee a controlling
system against corrupt judgements at least some form
of appeal should be available. An efficient
corruption-free court system needs proper case
management to ensure equal and fast access to justice.
42. Furthermore, successful prosecution depends on
adequate procedural rules. In that context, rules, laws
and legal measures protecting witnesses and whistle-
blowers should be available. This is motivated by the
fact that corruption cases are often only discovered by
relying on those information channels. Experience has
proved that a specialized jurisdiction with secret
witnesses and hidden evidence is not an adequate
measure for combating corruption. This is mainly
because the public is likely to perceive it as faceless
justice and, because of the latter’s lack of transparency,
they may lose confidence in the judicial system.
30
43. Strengthening the criminal law is one of the most
important legal tools against corruption. This includes
norms for the punishment of bribery and corruption on
the supply and the demand side within the public and
private sector. Continuing along this line, since
business- and high-level corruption are often
committed by legal persons, normative solutions must
be developed concerning their criminal responsibility.
44. However, criminal law as a repressive measure must
be supplemented by preventive, non-criminal tools to
achieve a new ethical, corruption-free culture. As an
example, reforming commercial law is one of the
optional measures. Binding rules of conduct, auditing
and control are needed to establish transparency within
the business world and public administration.
Furthermore, corruption within the private sector
should be sanctioned, especially by rules of private
law, to ensure that corrupt behaviour becomes
unattractive. The example of the Republic of Korea
shows that such rules could be effectively applied by
finding companies negligent for breaching standards of
supervision.
31
B. Prevention
45. Four components appear to be crucial for effective
prevention of corruption: (a) economic development;
(b) democratic reform; (c) a strong civil society with
access to information and a mandate to oversee the
State; and (d) the presence of the rule of law.
2
It should
be noted, however, that there is no single model or
practice that suits all countries and each jurisdiction
needs to explore practices drawn from a variety of
options.
4
Measures to prevent corruption, in the form of
codes of conduct and training in ethics, must focus on
various sectors and all levels within society to include
local institutions in the public and private sectors,
including public administration, political office and
A/CONF.187/9
10
corporations at the local, national and international
levels.
24
46. Organizations are instrumental in curbing corruption
within their own structure through internal measures
such as clear procedures, a simple accounting system,
an effective supervisory system and transparency, and
the adoption of a suitable code of conduct will raise
ethical standards within the organization. Leaders must
foster a culture of honesty within their organizations
and compliance programmes must be introduced that
include training of employees at all levels. Businesses
must define and apply corporate values and foster an
“aspiration” mentality as opposed to a “compliance”
mentality.
47. On the whole, Governments have been reluctant to
acknowledge the very real problem of solicitation.
This creates the illusion that businesses are the source
of corruption. The solution is for Governments to
acknowledge the demand side. Companies need some
form of assistance against solicitation of bribes and
Governments must take responsibility for dealing with
this. Cooperation must be international.
48. In the 1997 UNICRI study on corruption in countries
with economies in transition,
32
suggestions were
proposed for the development of prevention measures:
(a) increase fair competition; (b) reduce monopolies in
the market; (c) enact an adequate economic and social
policy; (d) introduce checks and balances for decision
makers; (e) increase transparency in public
administration and simplify administrative procedures;
(f) introduce integrity testing, auditing procedures and
structures; (g) enhance legislation and control of
corruption in vulnerable sectors; (h) improve controls
over banks, including by removal of bank secrecy,
encouragement of detecting and reporting of
corruption, and reduction of cash transactions; and
(i) provide more information to the public and raise
public awareness.
C. Use of statistical data to understand the
dimensions of corruption
49. It is usually difficult to provide a clear picture of the
dimensions of corruption through the use of official
crime statistics. First of all, at best, official crime
statistics measure the extent to which people breach
current legal codes and therefore cannot record those
types of corruption which are not envisaged by current
domestic legislation. Furthermore, only incidents that
are actually reported to the police are recorded. If
people are afraid of or do not have faith in the criminal
justice system, they will not report incidents even if
they become aware of them.
32
50. Nevertheless, some standardized information is
available at the international level through the United
Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of
Criminal Justice Systems.
33
The International Crime
Victim Survey
34
has an advantage over other sources on
corruption because it measures the magnitude of crime
based on the direct experience of citizens and targets it
to public officials. In other words, it attempts to
capture the magnitude of bribery by public officials,
which is probably the least transparent yet most
conventional form of corruption.
35
51. More and more surveys are being used in the battle
against corruption. Broadly there are two categories of
surveys:
36
(a) Awareness-raising surveys. These are conducted
by international organizations and measure perceived levels
of corruption across countries in order to raise awareness
and encourage international monitoring. The data are used
mostly by international organizations for awareness-raising
and sometimes for monitoring (for example, the
Transparency International corruption perceptions index);
37
(b) Community-based planning surveys. These
surveys are conducted by national anti-corruption agencies
and measure perceived levels of corruption at the national
and/or municipal levels in order to establish a baseline to
increase accountability, but also to facilitate community-
based planning, where the data are being used as an input to
a national or municipal action planning process. Such
surveys tend to be large, they are often supplemented by
focus groups and may be disseminated through broad-based
action planning workshops.
52. The opinions of selected professionals from the
criminal justice system and/or business people, such as
those used in the surveys carried out by Transparency
International for the production of its corruption
perceptions index, can constitute a third source of
information.
38
The index relies mainly on perceptions
of the importance of the phenomenon drawn from
different sources, at different periods of time and from
different individual respondents.
A/CONF.187/9
11
53. The high correlation among various international
statistical sources, although those sources are very
different one from another, suggests that a high level
of street corruption is likely to predict a high level of
business corruption, as well as a high level of political
and financial corruption (which rarely comes to light).
The opposite may not be true, since a high visibility of
serious cases of political and financial corruption may
reveal the willingness of a society to eradicate the
phenomenon, thus indicating a widespread consensus
against corrupt behaviours.
54. A study on corruption carried out by UNICRI in nine
countries with economies in transition in 1997
39
identified problems in the areas of legislation,
organization, development of skills and information.
In the area of legislation a lack of comprehensive
anti-corruption laws, including lack of provisions to
extend corruption to the private sector and foreign
officials, was identified. In addition, obscure
provisions existed regarding certain investigative
techniques, such as wiretapping and/or electronic
surveillance; undercover agents; protection of
witnesses and means of securing their testimony; and
the possibility of investigating private banks and
international transactions. The study concluded that
the concept of corporate liability was generally absent.
55. Among the organizational, skill-related and
information-related obstacles to combating corruption,
it was found that a lack of cooperation occurred among
and within national agencies, other countries and
international organizations. There were also
insufficient financial resources and technical
equipment to apply special investigative techniques
and inadequate databases and networks to allow for
analysis and monitoring of corruption trends and
cases, or to carry out information exchange among the
different agencies dealing with corruption. Moreover,
criminal justice personnel had low social status and
there were difficulties recruiting competent personnel.
Finally, there was a lack of intra-organizational
auditing and monitoring and problems existed in
implementing codes of conduct.
56. These are constraints that can make it difficult to
address the problem of corruption properly that should
be dealt with in order to ensure that legislation is
enforced effectively.
D. Future areas of concern
57. There are a number of areas in which Governments
and businesses alike must concentrate their future
efforts if the fight against corruption is to be
successful. The relatively recent
international/transnational dimension of corruption has
led to overlapping concepts of transnational organized
crime and corruption, international fraud and economic
crime. Each of these must be properly addressed by
comprehensive tools that encompass all possible forms
of misconduct in international financial transactions.
58. International cooperation should concentrate mainly
on the harmonization of trade, security, environmental
and tax rules in order to close loopholes that facilitate
corruption and illegal gain. Moreover, in order to
achieve concrete results, close cooperation between the
police, customs and financial authorities of the
countries concerned is needed. Since international
transactions are also used to hide illicit gains, adequate
measures against money-laundering are recommended.
Finally, worldwide accounting and auditing standards
are necessary to ensure transparency in international
business transactions.
40
59. With the globalization of markets, the growth of
multinationals and the expansion of commerce via the
Internet, jurisdictional problems will arise in the
investigation and prosecution of cases. As cases
become more complex, the necessary expertise must be
developed to allow the successful investigation and
prosecution of elaborate corruption and bribery
schemes. Illicit business contributions to political
campaign funds should also receive attention.
60. Moreover, the culpability of legal persons and which
are the responsible officers within organizations must
be determined and the appropriate penalties decided
upon. Legislation must make possible successful
prosecution of businesses or corporations and provide
for the seizure of assets obtained through bribery,
corruption or other illicit practices.
61. As organized crime becomes more involved in corrupt
business practices, resulting in the need to launder
illicit gains, the transparency of off-shore banking
companies will become a major concern.
IV. International experience and
activities
A/CONF.187/9
12
62. Since the phenomenon of corruption is a worldwide
problem, international cooperation is required to close
loopholes caused by the existence of double
standards
41
and to undertake joint measures.
63. With the growing globalization of the economy and
the internationalism of illegal activities, international
cooperation among Governments, with the
involvement of international organizations, the private
sector and civil society, has become essential to fight
corruption. The media have devoted considerable
attention to corruption in the public sector, while
citizens have begun to speak out more resolutely
against unethical behaviour by public officials. A
number of instruments have already been adopted to
combat corruption at the international level.
A. United Nations
64. The most important instruments promoted by the
United Nations in the area of corruption are the Code
of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by
the General Assembly in its resolution 34/169 of 17
December 1979, and the International Code of
Conduct for Public Officials, which the Assembly
adopted in its resolution 51/59 of 12 December 1996.
42
65. In 1996, the General Assembly adopted the United
Nations Declaration against Corruption and Bribery in
International Commercial Transactions (resolution
51/191, annex), in which it recognized the need to
promote social responsibility and appropriate
standards of ethics both in the public sector and in
private corporations, including transnational
corporations, and for individuals engaged in
international commercial transactions, inter alia,
through observance of the laws and regulations of the
countries in which they conduct business and taking
into account the impact of their activities on economic
and social development and environmental protection.
66. To provide assistance to countries in applying those
instruments and their provisions, the United Nations
has also drawn up a manual on practical measures
against corruption.
26
A meeting of experts from all
regions was convened in Buenos Aires in 1997 (see
E/CN.15/1997/3/Add.1) to consider ways and means
of strengthening international cooperation in this area,
as well as to offer suggestions on the revision and
expansion of the manual. The expert group meeting
recommended that consideration be given to a range of
specific measures, including:
(a) Disclosure by public officials of assets and
liabilities;
(b) Introducing or strengthening existing inde-
pendent auditing institutions or bodies that monitor public
expenditures;
(c) Establishment of specialized anti-corruption
bodies;
(d) Measures to introduce or encourage trans-
parency in the management of public funds and in the
decision-making process;
(e) Establishment of transparent and competitive
procedures for tendering and supervision of public works
contracts and introduction of clear procurement rules;
(f) Measures to ensure free competition, including
anti-trust regulations;
(g) Measures to prevent improper advantages;
(h) Elimination or curtailment of bank secrecy;
(i) Measures to ensure and encourage public
participation;
(j) Measures to ensure accountability and effective
disciplinary action;
(k) Financing of political parties and campaigns;
(l) Guaranteeing freedom of parties and the right to
information;
(m) Preparation and introduction of codes of ethics
for certain types of profession;
(n) Preparation of a programme to encourage the
implementation of guidelines for the performance of duties
similar to the International Code of Conduct for Public
Officials.
67. The recommendations of the expert group meeting
were also at the basis of the development of the
corruption monitoring protocol, the assessment
component of the Global Programme against
Corruption.
68. The issue of corruption has been taken up by the Ad
Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime. At its sixth
session, the Ad Hoc Committee discussed the possible
inclusion of articles on the criminalization of
corruption of public officials by organized crime
A/CONF.187/9
13
groups and on other measures to prevent and control
such corruption. Furthermore, in its resolu-
tion 54/128 of 17 December 1999, the General
Assembly requested the Ad Hoc Committee to
explore the desirability of an international instrument
against corruption, either ancillary to or independent
of the Convention to be developed after the
finalization of the Convention, and the three
additional instruments referred to in resolu-
tion 53/111, and to present its views to the
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice. The Ad Hoc Committee decided to take
action on the issue during its seventh session, to be
held in Vienna from 17 to 28 January 2000, and made
specific recommendations for the development of a
global instrument against corruption.
B. European Union
69. A protocol to the Convention on the Protection of the
European Communities’ Financial Interests, adopted
in 1996, criminalized active and passive corruption of
national and Community officials. A second protocol,
adopted in 1997, included provisions for the
criminalization of laundering of proceeds generated by
corruption and introduced the liability of legal persons
involved in organized crime. The Convention on the
Fight against Corruption involving Officials of the
European Community or Officials of Member States of
the European Union, adopted in 1997, criminalized
active and passive corruption of officials even where
financial damage to the Union was not at issue. The
Joint Action of 22 December 1998 adopted by the
Council on the basis of article K.3 of the Treaty on
European Union, on corruption in the private sector,
constituted another important instrument.
70. The Action Plan to Combat Organized Crime,
endorsed by the European Council of Ministers in
June 1997, identified the need for a comprehensive
European Union policy to fight against corruption. The
Commission advocated the establishment of a
European Union policy against corruption in response
to a call from the European Parliament for the
development of such a policy and in anticipation of the
Action Plan.
43
C. Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development
71. At the national level, Governments have responded to
problems of corruption in various ways, including with
campaigns to combat it, evaluation of the rules
applying to public officials and adoption of service
charters and codes of conduct. OECD has been helping
its 29 member countries to review and reform the
institutions, systems and conditions used to promote
ethics in the public sector and its work on public sector
ethics contributes to the global battle against
corruption by addressing the demand side of the
corruption equation.
44
In the OECD approach,
corruption is recognized as not simply an individual
criminal action, but rather the result of a systematic
failure and management problem reflected in weak
public institutions.
72. OECD has found that the State’s role in preventing
corruption is as complex as the phenomenon of
corruption itself and that a combination of interrelated
mechanisms including a system for managing ethics,
specific prevention techniques and effective law
enforcement (“an ethics management system”), is
necessary for success. Based on a set of principles for
managing ethics in the public sector developed and
agreed upon by representatives of member States to
support Governments in their review of ethics
management systems, the OECD Council adopted the
Recommendation for Managing Ethics in the Public
Service in April 1998. The Council also instructed its
Public Management Committee to analyse information
provided by member States on how they apply those
principles and to provide support to countries to
improve conduct in the public service.
73. In 1994, OECD member States agreed on an initial
Recommendation on Bribery in International Business
Transactions. Subsequently, the Council adopted a
Revised Recommendation on Combating Bribery in
International Business Transactions in May 1997.
Based on those Recommendations and on further
discussion, all OECD member States and five
non-member States adopted the Convention on
Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in
International Business Transactions, which came into
force on 15 February 1999.
74. The OECD Convention defines a public official very
broadly in order to cover all persons exercising a
A/CONF.187/9
14
public function, which may include any activity in
the public interest, and a foreign official can be either
a company officer of a public enterprise, a head of a
government-designated monopoly or a senior officer
of any company in which the Government exercises
a dominant influence through majority ownership or
control. The Convention requires that bribery of
foreign public officials be punishable by effective,
proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties
comparable with those applicable to bribery of
domestic officials.
D. Council of Europe
75. The Council of Europe has played a significant role
in the international fight against corruption since the
19th Conference of European Ministers of Justice,
held in Malta in 1994, through its activities within the
framework of the Multidisciplinary Group on
Corruption. The cornerstone of the Council’s strategy
against corruption is the Criminal Law Convention on
Corruption, which was adopted in November 1998 and
has since been signed by 30 States and ratified by
one.
45
76. The substantive law elements in the OECD and the
Council of Europe instruments follow directly from the
aim and scope of each Convention. While the OECD
Convention prohibits one specific type of corruption
and makes no provision for reservations, the Council
of Europe Convention prohibits various forms of
corruption and allows for reservations. As mentioned,
the latter Convention provides for the criminalization
of both active and passive bribery of domestic officials
and is considered one of the most comprehensive
treaties in the field, because it covers not only foreign
public officials but also the passive side of bribery,
and public officials and parliamentarians not only of
member States but also of non-member contracting
countries to the Convention.
77. The Council of Europe also finalized a Civil Law
Convention on corruption in 1999, which is the first
attempt to define common principles and rules at an
international level in the field of civil law and
corruption. The Council has also established a
monitoring mechanism, the Group of States against
Corruption (GRECO), which became operational in
May 1999 and involves 21 member States. GRECO
aims at improving the capacity of its member States to
fight corruption by means of a dynamic and flexible
process of mutual evaluation and peer pressure based
on the 20 Guiding Principles for the Fight against
Corruption (adopted by the Committee of Ministers
in its resolution (97) 24 of 6 November 1997) and the
implementation of the international legal instruments to
be adopted. States that become parties to the Criminal
Law Convention or other instruments will
automatically enter into a obligation to participate in
GRECO and to accept its monitoring procedures.
E. World Bank
46
78. The topic of combating corruption has recently
generated substantial academic interest as well as
support from the highest levels of the World Bank and
the international community. The World Bank defined
its role in the area in September 1997 and since that
time corruption has become an increasingly important
consideration in its lending activities.
79. The new Comprehensive Development Framework of
the World Bank is founded upon the premise that
corruption is a major hindrance to economic
development and as a result governance issues have to
be addressed as an important part of the development
framework. More and more development experts have
come to the conclusion that it is impossible to alleviate
poverty without first curbing corruption. (This is
especially the case in countries such as Nigeria, where
10 per cent of gross national product is diverted, or
Indonesia, where the leakage from donor programmes
is estimated at between 25 and 30 per cent.) The Bank
is concerned not with the exercise of state powers in
the broad sense, but specifically with the appropriate
management of the public sector and the creation of an
enabling environment for the private sector.
80. The framework for addressing corruption guides the
World Bank at four levels:
(a) Preventing fraud and corruption within
Bank-financed projects;
(b) Helping countries that request support in their
efforts to reduce corruption;
(c) Greater consideration of corruption in country
assistance strategies, country lending considerations, policy
dialogue, analytical work and the choice and design of
projects;
A/CONF.187/9
15
(d) Adding its voice and support to international
efforts to reduce corruption.
81. The ultimate goal of the World Bank’s strategy is to
help countries move from systemic corruption to an
environment in which a well-performing Government
minimizes the negative effects of corruption on
development. The strategy is based on action coming
from three directions: (a) economic policy reform;
(b) institutional strengthening; and (c) international
action. The model assumes that corruption is a
function of weak institutions and of policies that
generate economic returns.
F. Other bodies and mechanisms
82. In 1977, the International Chamber of Commerce
published its Rules of Conduct to Combat Extortion
and Bribery. In 1994, the Rules were revised and made
more stringent. Intended to aid businesses in self-
regulation, the Rules address offences of extortion,
bribery, kickbacks, auditing, financial recording and
political contributions. They give priority to large-
scale extortion and bribery involving politicians and
senior officials as these represent the greatest threat
and could cause the gravest economic distortions.
12
83. To address problems of corruption in countries with
economies in transition, it is necessary to promote
economic growth, build strong democratic institutions
and engender popular support for democracy. The
European Commission and the Council of Europe have
launched a joint programme, entitled OCTOPUS,
aimed at strengthening and developing legislation and
competence and improving cooperation among judicial
authorities and law enforcement agencies of those
countries.
47
OECD and the European Union are
undertaking another joint initiative for these States, the
SIGMA programme, which provides advice on
building modern systems of public administration in
13 central and eastern European countries.
48
84. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also plays an
important role in the area of combating corruption. In
1999 its Interim Committee adopted the Code of Good
Practices on Transparency in Monetary and Financial
Policies: Declaration of Principles, which followed the
Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency
developed in 1998. The object of the Codes is to
increase transparency in public and financial sectors.
In order to increase the transparency of its own
operation, IMF released public information notices,
many policy papers, summaries of Board discussions,
the external auditors’ reports on IMF surveillance and
other documents. Increasing transparency is, however,
constrained at times by the unique and important role
of IMF as a confidential adviser to member countries.
49
85. Cooperation in international law enforcement is also
important in enhancing accountability and
transparency. Following the Lima Declaration of
1997,
50
international organizations with mandates in
the area of combating corruption, including the
International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
and the Customs Cooperation Council (also known as
the World Customs Organization), should take steps to
strengthen cooperation in international law
enforcement. The initiative taken by Interpol was
launched during the 1st International Conference on
Corruption-Related Crime, held in Lyon, France, in
April 1998. The initiative involved consulting a group
of experts consisting of both law enforcement
practitioners and an advisory anti-corruption group.
The mission statement of the Interpol group
emphasizes that (a) law enforcement sees itself as an
integral part of the community; (b) both reactive and
proactive actions should be employed in order to
combat corruption effectively; and (c) the battle has to
be fought by the community as a whole.
51
86. Other institutions, including the Commonwealth
Secretariat
9
and the Organization of American States
(OAS), have also implemented their own instruments.
The Commonwealth Secretariat has established an
Expert Group on Good Governance and Elimination of
Corruption in Economic Management, which prepared
a report and a document entitled “Framework for
Commonwealth Principles on Promoting Good
Governance and Combating Corruption”. OAS has
promoted the Inter-American Convention against
Corruption (E/1996/99, annex), which is aimed at
fighting corruption in order to strengthen democratic
institutions and to prevent distortions in the economy,
improprieties in public administration and damage to
civil society.
87. Although each institution has its own objectives and
institutional framework, the effects on the legislation
and practice of parties should be complementary.
Co-ordination, sharing information and mutual under-
standing among international organizations are also
important in enhancing the effectiveness of the
international fight against corruption.
A/CONF.187/9
16
V. Measures required to succeed in the
fight against corruption
88. Strong demand for good governance is increasing
throughout the developing world. From local
authorities and national Governments to donor
institutions, corruption is one of the greatest obstacles
to development. The governance programme presented
in this paper works to empower individuals,
communities and Governments by disseminating
knowledge. This, in turn, results in greater government
accountability and transparency, which are integral to
building institutional capacity and improving service
delivery. The programme helps Governments work
more efficiently and helps the entire society participate
in building an enabling environment for equitable and
sustainable growth, resulting in timely and cost-
effective services delivered to the public.
89. There are a number of areas that demand the
attention of Governments. These are (a) the organized
crime-corruption nexus; (b) the use of off-shore banks
for the purpose of laundering money; (c) illicit
business contributions to political campaign funds; (d)
jurisdictional problems arising in the investigation and
prosecution of transnational corruption schemes; and
(e) the development of expertise in the investigation
and prosecution of complex corruption cases.
90. Organizations in the public and private sector at the
local and national levels must adopt various measures
if they are to achieve success in the fight against
corruption. Economic development, democratic
reform, a strong civil society with access to
information and the presence of the rule of law appear
to be crucial for the effective prevention of corruption.
A list of measures or initiatives that should be
developed and implemented at various levels within
the public and private sectors is presented below.
2
Measures have to address both policy and systemic
issues and behavioural or cultural aspects of change. In
order to address both aspects in a holistic and
integrated manner, the measures have been organized
in five groups:
(a) Public sector (executive) measures
(i) Open up government to the public by inviting
civil society to oversee aid and other government
programmes; by establishing and disseminating
service standards; and by establishing a credible
complaints mechanism;
(ii) Deliver services closer to customers, thereby
increasing transparency and in turn accountability;
(iii) Implement civil service reform that will profes-
sionalize the civil service and increase focus on
integrity and results; replace patronage with consumer
rights; and replace nepotism with meritocracy;
(iv) Enforce access to information;
(v) Focus on prevention projects that educate
society as to the evils of corruption and instil a moral
commitment to integrity in dealings with business and
government officials;
(vi) Create a specialized independent anti-
corruption commission that focuses on prevention
(research, monitoring education, training and advice),
but also has investigative powers;
(vii) Strengthen state institutions by simplifying
procedure; by improving internal control, monitoring,
enforcement and efficiency; and by establishing the
right incentives and remuneration;
(viii) Develop and strengthen independent inves-
tigative, legislative, judicial and media organizations;
(ix) Provide protective measures for witnesses and
whistle-blowers;
(x) Provide independent audit and investigative
bodies supported by adequate human and financial
resources;
(xi) Develop or strengthen administrative remedies
such as confiscation of illicit assets;
(b) Law enforcement measures
(i) Enforce the independence of the judiciary and
the prosecution;
(ii) Increase the transparency and accountability of
the judiciary;
(iii) Ensure integrity and accountability of the
judiciary by predetermining assignment of judges; by
securing the independence of public prosecutors; by
increasing transparency through computerization; and
by transparent monitoring of declared assets of
judges;
(iv) Increase internal oversight and supervision;
A/CONF.187/9
17
(v) Secure the integrity of the judiciary by enfor-
cing codes of conduct; by monitoring declared assets;
and by strengthening internal disciplinary bodies;
(c) Legislative measures
(i) Enforce the independence of the legislature;
(ii) Pass and enforce necessary anti-corruption laws
on campaign financing; independence of supreme
audit bodies; freedom of information; conflict of
interest; freedom of the media and freedom of
expression; protection of whistle-blowers and
witnesses; shifting the burden of proof regarding
confiscation of illicit enrichment; decreasing the
discretionary powers of the executive; amnesty; and
investigative powers to conduct integrity tests or
other investigative measures;
(iii) Secure the integrity of the legislature by
enforcing codes of conduct; by monitoring declared
assets; and by strengthening internal disciplinary
bodies;
(iv) Strengthen the public accounts committee to
oversee the supreme audit bodies reporting to
parliament;
(v) Strengthen the anti-corruption watchdog
agencies reporting to the legislature by securing the
independence of anti-corruption agencies; by
building credible complaints mechanism; and by
enforcing integrity;
(d) Private sector measures
(i) Educate, aid and empower businesses to refrain
from participating in illicit behaviour as either the
victim or perpetrator of corrupt transactions;
(ii) Promote ethical standards in business through
the development of codes of conduct, education,
training and seminars;
(iii) Develop high standards for accounting and
auditing and promote transparency in business
transactions;
(iv) Develop clear legislation and regulation
standards so that the line between legal and illicit
activities is a clear one;
(v) Develop normative solutions to the problem of
criminal responsibility of legal persons;
(vi) Businesses themselves must develop sufficient
internal control mechanisms, train personnel and
develop sanctions for transgressions;
(e) Independent (civil society) measures
(i) Increase education, awareness and involvement
of civil society in order to mobilize civil society
organizations (the media, non-governmental organi-
zations, professional associations and research or
university institutes) to research and monitor good
governance;
(ii) Create and strengthen networks of non-
governmental organizations to share information on
local, national and regional initiatives;
(iii) Strengthen civil society to empower citizens to
demand integrity and fairness in government and
business transactions;
(iv) Develop good databases and networks for the
analysis and monitoring of corruption trends and
cases, as well as information exchange among
different agencies dealing with corruption;
(v) Build and maintain an independent, professional
and free media with a nation-building role by
capacity-building; by enforcing integrity through
introduction and monitoring of codes of conduct; by
encouraging owners and editors to allow balanced
reporting; and by encouraging the media to police
itself;
(f) International measures
(i) Exchange information on regional and national
best practice initiatives;
(ii) Develop, ratify and incorporate international
instruments to encourage and strengthen anti-
corruption programmes at the national level;
(iii) Consider the development of a comprehensive
United Nations convention against corruption;
(iv) Establish adequate monitoring systems;
(v) Establish simplified and transparent competitive
public procurement procedures and encourage the
adoption of international rules in this area;
(vi) Adopt international rules in the areas of
off-shore banking and international investment;
(vii) Increase cooperation in the investigative,
prosecutorial and judicial realms.
VI. Conclusion
A/CONF.187/9
18
1
Petter Langseth and Bryane Michael, “Are bribe payments in
Tanzania ‘grease’ or ‘grit’?”, Crime, Law and Social Change,
No. 29, 1998, pp. 197-208.
2
Petter Langseth, “Prevention: an effective tool to reduce
corruption”, paper presented at the International Scientific and
Professional Advisory Council Conference on Responding to
the Challenge of Corruption, held in Milan, Italy, on 19 and
20 November 1999 (the “Milan Conference”).
3
Simple corruption, or the base of the pyramid, refers mostly to
bribery of public administrators and generally involves trans-
actions between two individuals. Complex corruption, the top
of the pyramid, generally corresponds to political corruption
and involves several actors from both the supply and demand
sides (see Ernesto Ugo Savona and Laura Mezzanotte,
La corruzione in Europa (Roma, Carocci, 1998)).
4
Alan Lai Nin, “Corruption prevention: a Hong Kong
perspective”, paper presented at the Milan Conference, p. 2.
5
Cheryl W. Gray and Daniel Kaufmann, “Corruption and
development”, World Bank, PREMnotes, No. 4, May 1998,
p. 2.
6
Neritan Ceka, “Corruption in Albania: the struggle against
windmills”, paper presented at the Milan Conference, p. 2;
and Bozo Kovacevic, “Corruption in Croatia”, paper presented
at the Milan Conference, p. 2.
7
Bozo Kovacevic, “Corruption in Croatia”, paper presented at
the Milan Conference, p. 1.
8
The following quotations are taken directly from
Petter Langseth, “Update on Uganda: staying the course”,
World Bank, PREM News, June 1999:
(a) At the hospital
A man had taken his pregnant wife to hospital to
have their baby delivered. He did not have the money
demanded by the hospital. While he searched for money,
the hospital workers let his pregnant wife die.” (Soroti,
site 1, men’s group);
(b) At the police station
“If a woman is arrested, the policemen rape her.”
(Mukono, site 4, women’s group);
“My husband was beaten by a thief. On the way
the local commissioner caught the thief and took him to
the police. The case was dismissed after the father of the
boy paid the magistrate some money.” (Hoima, site 2,
women’s interview group.
“Police bosses expect their subordinates to give
them money and the subordinates are forced into
corruption to satisfy their bosses. In turn, the bosses do
not inspect or supervise.” (Mubende);
91. Corruption has debilitating effects upon society. It
undermines the efficient allocation of financial
resources for economic development and alters the
composition of public expenditure. In addition to its
detrimental effects on economic growth, corruption
jeopardizes free trade, distorts competitiveness and
undermines the stability upon which the free market
system is based. Corruption further jeopardizes the
credibility of Governments and their institutions and
provides a breeding ground for organized crime to
flourish. Moreover, it is a phenomenon that transcends
national boundaries, affecting the public and private
sectors, while businesses and public officials can be
either perpetrators or victims of corrupt practices.
92. Strategies to fight corruption do not reside solely
with criminal justice, but should also be coordinated
with economic and social policies and the development
of civic political culture. Because corruption is a
process and a relationship, the State, its public
administration and the citizens all share a
responsibility in preventing and controlling it.
93. A number of mechanisms exist to fight corruption at
various levels (local, national and transnational) within
both the public and private sectors. International
instruments, in the form of declarations, conventions
and codes of practice and conduct, promote
transnational cooperation and define prohibited and
punishable offences. Those instruments, however, are
limited and legal loopholes must be eliminated by
means of national legislation. In spite of limited
success stories, widespread implementation of
anti-corruption measures and monitoring mechanisms
has not happened, which underlines the need for a
comprehensive United Nations convention against
corruption.
94. In conclusion, future success in curbing corruption
lies in an emphasis on prevention rather than
oppression and, where necessary, in administrative or
civil penalties rather than a penal approach. Firstly,
awareness must be raised among citizens, businesses
and public employees of the dangers of corruption.
Then a moral commitment to and demand for integrity
in government and private enterprises must be
generated and encouraged. Public sector reforms,
private sector initiatives and law reform efforts should
emphasize prevention as well as prosecution. Finally,
cooperation must be generated between businesses and
between public and private sector organizations at the
local, national and transnational levels to ensure
success in fighting corruption.
Notes
A/CONF.187/9
19
(c) In court
“In courts, people who have money are usually
set free and the poor remain in jail for a long time.”
(Lira, site 2, women’s group);
“I had a land dispute with my neighbour, which
we took to the police. I paid 270,000 shillings and my
rival paid 260,000, but our case was not settled. When
we both realized we were wasting a lot of money, we
had to reach a compromise to avoid further wastage.”
(Kitgum, site 3, men’s group);
(d) How can we safely report corruption?
“The communities should learn to report cases of
corruption. But to whom? And are we safe?” (Mbale,
site 3, men’s interview group);
“The community is willing to report corrupt
service workers, but they do not know where the offices
of the Inspector-General of Government are in their
area.” (Luwero, site 4, women’s group).
9
Richard Nzerem, “Commonwealth action on corruption”, paper
presented at the Milan Conference, p. 5.
10
Paulo Mauro, “The effects of corruption on growth,
investment, and government expenditure”, A Cross-Country
Analysis: Corruption and the Global Economy,
Kimberly Ann Elliott, ed. (Washington, D.C., Institute for
International Economics, 1996), pp. 83-107.
11
Rick Stapenhurst and Sahr Kpundeh, “Toward a model for
building national integrity”, Development Studies
(Washington, D.C.), 1998.
12
S. Bially, “International business community fosters ethical
behaviour”, Public Management Forum, vol. II, No. 5 (1996).
13
In March 1997 riots caused the destruction of public order. The
riots were provoked by the loss of money invested in pyramid
schemes by thousands of people, owing to corruption within
the bank sector involving also public authorities.
14
M. Punch, “Police corruption and its prevention”, paper
presented at the Twelfth Criminological Colloquium of the
Council of Europe, held in Strasbourg, France, from 24 to
26 November 1999.
15
The monthly pay of a young teacher was U Sh 75,000.
16
U. Zvekic, Criminal Victimisation in Countries in Transition,
UNICRI Publication No. 61, 1998.
17
The Augusta affair led to the resignation of Willy Claes from
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
18
It is estimated that an airline based in Japan paid an estimated
22.8 million yen between November 1995 and May 1999,
ostensibly in the form of plant rental fees, but more likely in
exchange for an agreement not to disrupt the airline
shareholders meetings, a practice by corporate extortionist
groups in Japan known as the sokaiya. For more information,
see H. Katoh, “The actual situation and suggested
countermeasure for the control of the corruption in the
economic world in Japan: concerning the cozy relationship
between politicians, financiers and organized crime groups
(Boryokudans)”, paper presented at the Milan Conference.
19
William S. Laufer, statement made at the Milan Conference.
20
Fiona Marcq, “The business world and corruption”, paper
present at the Milan Conference.
21
While the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign
Public Officials in International Business Transactions is a
milestone in efforts to combat bribery and corruption in
international commerce, it is limited to addressing the supply
side of corruption of public officials. Under its provisions,
public officials who accept bribes must be dealt with according
to the domestic criminal laws of the country of the foreign
public official.
22
P. C. Van Duyne, “Corruption: acts and attitudes”, Five Issues
in European Criminal Justice: Corruption, Women in the
Criminal Justice System, Criminal Policy Indicators,
Community Crime Prevention, and Computer Crime,
Matti Joutsen, ed. (Helsinki, European Institute for Crime
Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations,
1999).
23
Note once again that the draft Convention is aimed at corrupt
activities directed towards international officials.
24
Alberto Bradanini, “Corruption: the international experience
and activities”, paper presented at the Milan Conference.
25
For further details on each organization, see J. T. Quah,
“Controlling corruption in city-states: a comparative study of
Hong Kong and Singapore”, Crime, Law and Social Change,
vol. 22, No. 4 (1995), pp. 391-414; M. Bersten, “Investigations
by the New South Wales Independent Commission against
Corruption: the law, procedures, practices and judicial review,”
Current Issues in Criminal Justice, vol. 3, No. 1 (1991); and A.
N. Lai, op. cit., p. 2.
26
See International Review of Criminal Policy, Nos. 41 and 42,
1993 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.IV.4).
27
C. W. Gray and D. Kaufmann, “Corruption ...”, p. 3.
28
Ibid., p. 4.
29
Dimitar Abadjiev, “Achievements and difficulties in combating
organized crime: the Bulgarian experience”, paper presented at
the Milan Conference, p. 1.
30
Rafael Ordúz Medina,”Achievements and difficulties
encountered: the Colombian experience”, paper presented at the
Milan Conference, p. 4.
31
Jong-Bum Kim, “Korean implementation of the OECD Bribery
Convention: implications for global efforts to fight corruption”,
paper presented at the Milan Conference, p. 23.
32
H. Shinkai, ed. “Combating corruption in central and eastern
Europe”, UNICRI Issues and Reports, No. 10, 1997.
33
The United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of
Criminal Justice Systems is based on official criminal justice
statistics on bribery provided by Member States. The latest data
available refer to 1994.
A/CONF.187/9
20
34
The International Crime Victim Survey is coordinated by an
international working group, including UNICRI, the Home
Office of the United Kingdom and the University of Leiden,
The Netherlands. Its database contains more than 135,000
cases from household interviews in 60 countries. The Survey
has already been carried out three times (1989, 1992-1994 and
1996-1997) and will be repeated for a fourth time in 2000.
35
In some areas there is a problem of corruption among
government or public officials. In answering the question,
“During [last year] has any government official, for instance a
customs officer, police officer or inspector in your country,
asked you or expected you to pay a bribe for his service?”;
respondents were asked to identify the category of public
official and whether a report was made to a public or private
agency.
36
A. Ruzindana, Petter Langseth and A. Gakwandi, eds.,
Fighting Corruption in Uganda: The Process of Building a
National Integrity System (Kampala, Fountain, 1998).
37
Transparency International, a non-governmental organization
based in Germany that monitors corruption in each country, has
made quite a unique effort in this area. Apart from establishing
national chapters and monitoring individual cases of
corruption, publishes an annual ranking of countries according
to “perceived cleanness” by business persons (the corruption
perceptions index).
38
See Johann Graf Lambsdorff, “The Transparency International
corruption perceptions index 1999: framework document”,
paper presented at the Milan Conference. The 1999 corruption
perceptions index includes data from the following sources:
Freedom House Nations in Transit, Gallup International, the
Economist Intelligence Unit, the Institute for Management
Development, Lausanne, the International Crime Victim
Survey, the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, Hong
Kong SAR, The Wall Street Journal, the Central European
Economic Review, the World Bank and the University of
Basel, and the World Economic Forum.
39
The Seminar on Anti-Corruption Strategies for Central and
Eastern European Countries, held at the International Law
Enforcement Academy in Budapest in April 1997, in which
42 international experts and representatives from the police and
public prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the
Russian Federation and Ukraine took part. The results of the
analysis, based on information prepared for and discussed
during the Seminar, are presented in H. Shinkai, ed.,
“Combating corruption ...”.
40
See “Conclusions and recommendations of the ADB/OECD
Workshop on Combating Corruption in Asia/Pacific
Economies”, p. 3.
41
Richard Nzerem, “Commonwealth action ...”, p. 7.
42
See the reports of the Secretary-General on United Nations
standards and norms in the field of crime prevention and
criminal justice (E/CN.15/1996/16) and on the use and
application of the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement
Officials, together with the Basic Principles on the Use of
Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials
(E/CN.15/1996/16/Add.2).
43
Y. Grau, “The role of the European Commission in the fight
against corruption”, paper presented at the Milan Conference,
p. 3.
44
Bart W. édes, “Promoting integrity in the public sector: the
contribution of the OECD”, paper presented at the Milan
Conference, p. 2.
45
M. L. Salazar, “The Council of Europe Criminal Law
Convention on Corruption”, paper presented at the Milan
Conference, p. 4.
46
Petter Langseth and Jeremy Pope, “Building integrity to fight
corruption: learning by doing”, paper presented at the Human
Resources in Development Seminar, held at the University of
Manchester, United Kingdom, June 1999.
47
Y. Grau, “The role of the European Commission ...”, p. 5.
48
Bart W. édes, “Promoting integrity ...”, p. 13
49
Vito Tanzi, “Transparency, governance and the role of the
IMF”, paper presented at the Milan Conference, p. 3.
50
In September 1997, Transparency International organized in
Lima the 8th International Anti-Corruption Conference, which
produced the Lima Declaration. The document represents a first
attempt of the international community to articulate a broad
strategy for combating corruption, at the international and
national levels, involving in all sectors of civil society. The 9th
International Anti-Corruption Conference was held in Durban,
South Africa, in October 1999, with the theme, “Global
Integrity: 2000 and Beyond”. It produced the Durban
Commitment, which builds on the Lima Declaration, assesses
the progress made and identifies a number of courses of action
to which the 1,600 participants committed themselves. The 10th
International Anti-Corruption Conference will take place in
Prague in 2001.
51
Raymond E. Kendall, “The international experiences and
activities”, paper presented at the Milan Conference, p. 11.
