High-level
Political Conference for the Purpose of Signing the United Nations Convention
against Corruption,
SPEECH by Minister Roberto Castelli
Mr.
Chairman, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates
I have the honor to take the floor as
President of the Council of Ministers of the European Union.
Mr. Chairman, ,
The European Union would like to
express, first of all, its sincere and most heartfelt thanks to the Government
of Mexico for the organization of this High-level Political Conference and for
the kind and warm hospitality offered to us in this splendid town.
This Conference represents an occasion
of great value for the promotion of our common efforts in the struggle against
corruption, and a particularly significant step on the way to the entry into
force of the Convention against Corruption.
Three years ago, in December 2000, a
conference was held in
Mr. Chairman
Now that we are gathered to sign the
Convention, I wish to pay tribute to the memory of the late Chairman of the Ad
Hoc Committee, ambassador Hector Charry Samper.
Mr. Chairman,
The European Union attaches particular
importance to preventing and combating corruption. We continue to implement a
comprehensive EU policy against corruption, by - inter alia
- the adoption of regional legal instruments. Article
29 of the Treaty on European
Union lists the prevention and combating of corruption as one objective
enabling the creation and safeguarding of a European area of freedom, security
and justice.
The term "corruption"
includes a wide range of various criminal behaviors, all having in common that
they not only undermine ethics and justice, but also seriously jeopardize
social and economic development of peoples. At the Johannesburg Declaration of
the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002 corruption was
already identified and declared as a threat to sustainable development and
eradication of poverty.
Transparency, good governance, and
accountability are, without a doubt, fundamental conditions for the
establishment of a sound political, administrative and economic environment. On
the contrary, corruption - as well as other related illicit practices, such as
covert financial trafficking and the transfer abroad of funds of illicit origin
- impoverishes national economies and affects the government ability to provide
basic services to its citizens and to support correct and productive economic
initiatives. At the same time, corruption undermines democratic institutions
and the ruleof-law and weakens stability and
security of societies.
Mr. Chairman,
In this context, the Convention today
open for signature testifies the common political will to tackle with the
problem at planetary level in a coordinated manner, but - more important - it
also offers a practical set of means helping individual States and the
international community in carrying on their efforts against corruption. In
fact, the Convention creates a legal framework within which both appropriate
national policies and measures, on the one hand, and indispensable
international cooperation activities on the other hand, can be established and
effectively implemented.
We owe this result to the constructive
spirit and the intense participation of the national delegations, and, in
particular, to the dedication of the Secretariat - to whom we would like to
reiterate our gratitude.
These have permitted the adoption of a
large range of high standard and universally acceptable provisions, which
amount to an organic and complete legal system where the law enforcement tools
are well balanced by an extensive chapter on prevention measures.
Corruption is also inextricably linked
to a broad variety of social and economic factors. It can be deeply rooted in
traditional social and economic features of a certain society; at the same time
it is a potentially pervasive phenomenon that can involve various sectors of
the economic life of a country and can evolve into a multiplicity of different
forms. Thus, an approach based only on the suppression of the most common
illicit behaviors may prove insufficient to assure a satisfactory system of
control; while a dynamic national policy based on prevention becomes necessary.
With regard to both public and private
sectors - such a policy should take into account the need of reinforcing
ethical values, issuing regulations which can work as obstacles or as a deterrent
to the engagement in corrupted practices, and of promoting and sustaining the
participation of the civil society. To this end, we believe that the
obligations and the guidelines contained in the Convention will be of great
help in the establishment of adequate preventive countermeasures at national
level.
We equally appreciate the provisions of
the Convention on the issue of assets recovery, with particular regard to the
measures to prevent and combat the transfer of funds of illicit origin and to
cooperate in returning such funds. The diversion of resources by corrupt
parties can significantly affect the economy of a country, often with a
negative impact on the life of the most vulnerable part of population - the
poor. The articles on assets recovery strengthening the capability of States to
cooperate in detectingthe transfer of illicit funds,
and returning them, represent - in our view - a valuable component of the
Convention.
Mr. Chairman,
In conclusion, the European Union would
like to underline that an instrument like this Convention - complex and, in
certain respects, innovative - requires considerable efforts to be fully
implemented. International assistance and other mechanisms to facilitate
implementation, especially by the less developed countries, will be necessary.
We welcome, therefore, the provisions of the Convention that provide schemes
for technical assistance and those that mandate the Conference of the Parties
to act as a "focal point" for the facilitation of international cooperation
to that purpose.
In the immediate future, the United
Nations - in particular the Office on Drugs and Crime in
Mr. Chairman,
I am sure that all the Member States of
the European Union (and the European Community) are committed to an early
ratification of the convention, once it has been signed, and to participation
in the action of the international community in promoting its entry into force
and implementation.
Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.