UK Statement

I am delighted and honoured to be here today to sign the UN Convention against Corruption on behalf of the United Kingdom. All of us here recognise the damage done by corruption. It is a disease capable of infecting any and all countries, though the symptoms may vary. It erodes democracy, economic development- and the effectiveness of institutions. It benefits only the guilty and allows poverty to thrive. Corruption knows no boundaries. Whilst each and every one of us can and must take steps to tackle corruption domestically, we need to reinforce our efforts by joining together, by establishing standards which we can all adhere to, by learning from each other in tackling it and by co-operating closely.

Throughout the last decade there has been a growing realisation that corruption cannot be tackled purely at the domestic level, and substantial efforts are being made within many bodies, such as the EU, Council of Europe and OECD to put the fight against corruption on an international footing. All of this work is important and it is with particular satisfaction that I can use this occasion to tell you that today the UK has become the 23rd state to ratify the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention against Corruption.

The UN Convention against Corruption is a vital addition to the stock of global benchmarks. For the first time we have a global consensus on what should be done to combat corruption. The approach is holistic - it recognises that criminal law, although important, is but part of the picture and emphasises the importance of prevention of corruption including good governance and participation of society. We also welcome the provisions on international co-operation and the importance of taking the profit out of the crime by introducing effective measures against money laundering and mechanisms to return stolen assets.

The Convention is by necessity demanding. Many, perhaps all of us, will need to legislate and change our internal practices to meet its requirements. Only by putting into place robust, effective and sustainable measures to implement the provisions of the Convention can we be sure of its success. But getting the legislation right, robust and effective is just the start; we must ensure that we then put these laws into practice so that the provisions of the Convention bring real change.

I understand that a difficult part of the negotiations was how the question of implementation of the Convention should be followed up. In the end it was left to the Conference of State Parties to take up the matter when it first meets. The Secretariat of the Ad Hoc Committee might learn lessons from existing monitoring systems to help the Conference of State Parties start its deliberations on this crucial aspect of the UN Convention. To give but one example, the Council of Europe has experience of monitoring broad based instruments through the Group of States against Corruption, "GRECO". GRECO has a wide international reach, and has proved useful to members as diverse as Georgia and the USA. Indeed we understand that our Mexican hosts are considering joining the group next year and we are very much looking forward to welcoming them.

We encourage all states to lose no time in ratifying and implementing this new Convention in as short a time frame as possible. The earlier states ratify, the earlier the Convention can come into force. In the UK we will give this the high priority it deserves.