SG/SM/17582-SOC/CP/368

Education, Training Integral to Fighting Graft at All Levels, Secretary-General Says in Message for International Anti-Corruption Academy

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message, delivered by Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), in Laxenberg, Austria, today:

I am pleased to extend my best wishes to the International Anti-Corruption Academy on its fifth anniversary.  I was privileged to attend the inaugural conference of IACA in September 2010, initiated by the Government of Austria, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the European Anti-Fraud Office.

Preventing corruption at all levels of society is a key target under Goal 16 of the ambitious and ground-breaking 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  Anti-corruption education and training are integral to this objective.

The Doha Declaration, adopted at the thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, emphasized that education “is fundamental to the prevention of crime and corruption and to the promotion of a culture of lawfulness that supports the rule of law and human rights while respecting cultural identities”.

IACA is playing an important role by providing training and opportunities for dialogue, and by promoting integrity, transparency and accountability, notably through UNODC’s successful Anti-Corruption Academic Initiative.

I look forward to continuing our joint efforts to mobilize Governments, businesses and civil society to strengthen implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.  This Convention, which enjoys near-universal ratification just a decade since it came into force, remains the only legally binding global instrument to fight corruption.

I wish IACA every success as we work together for just and inclusive societies that can provide a life of dignity for all.

For information media. Not an official record.