youth group
In Ukraine, youth work on anti-corruption. We are promoting collective action against corruption through multi-stakeholder engagement with governments, businesses and civil society and empowering communities, with a focus on women and youth.
Photo:UNDP Ukraine

Corruption is criminal, immoral and the ultimate betrayal of public trust. It is even more damaging in times of crisis – as the world is experiencing now with the COVID-19 pandemic. The response to the virus is creating new opportunities to exploit weak oversight and inadequate transparency, diverting funds away from people in their hour of greatest need.

UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, Statement on corruption in the context of COVID-19

Recover with integrity

Corruption thrives in times of crisis and the ongoing global pandemic is no exception.

States all over the world have taken significant measures to address the health emergency and to avoid a global economic collapse. They hastily mobilized billions in funds to procure medical equipment and provide an economic safety net for citizens and businesses in distress. The urgent responses required, however, led some States to trade compliance, oversight and accountability for achievement of rapid impact, thus creating significant opportunities for corruption.

“RECOVER with INTEGRITY” highlights that only by putting effective corruption mitigation measures in place will a better recovery be possible, while it also emphasizes that inclusive COVID-19 recovery can only be achieved with integrity.

 

Reducing the risks of mismanagement and corruption during the pandemic requires the involvement of strong anti-corruption bodies, better oversight over emergency support packages, more open and transparent public procurement and enhanced anti-corruption compliance by the private sector. In addition, countries also need to ensure support to and protection for whistleblowers and journalists uncovering corruption during the pandemic as well as bring their national anti-corruption frameworks in line with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

To RECOVER with INTEGRITY, we need to stand #UnitedAgainstCorruption.

 

Demonstration against corruption, Haiti, 2010

To show the truly damaging effects of this crime, we collected real-life corruption scenarios as witnessed during the pandemic in emergency economic response, the public health sector and the private sector on www.anticorruptionday.org.

 

Children making a star sign

Social Media Kit

Join us to fight against corruption by:

  • Using the Anti-Corruption logo on publications and at events;
  • Posting messages on your networks using material from the social media kit; and
  • By using the hashtags #UnitedAgainstCorruption | #IACD2020 | #RecoverBetter.

 

A crowd of women sitting and laughing

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.