Conference
for the purpose of signing the
United
Nations Convention against Corruption
Statement
by Robert Hage, Director General of the Legal Bureau,
Department
of Foreign Affairs
A wise
Austrian once said "corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter
might endanger the morals of an individual, the former
invariably endangers the morals of an entire country." No country has been
immune. In Canada's earliest days, a future prime minister described the
government as "steeped to the lips in corruption" and another wrote
"corruption pervades every tissue of Canadian society."
The
great British historian. Edward Gibbon, writing about the fall
of the Roman Empire, recognized the rather perverse connexion
between corruption and liberty - the notion that freedom allows bribery. He
called corruption "the infallible symptom of constitutional liberty."
Corruption is something mankind has faced for centuries. We have seen it
undermine governments and entire societies. It is a phenomenon that percolates
down. If the upper most reaches of government are corrupt, all aspects of the
bureaucracy, from the police to school teachers can be tainted.
Over the past
decade, the international community has increasingly recognized the
debilitating impact of corruption on economic development. Peoples are
demanding, now more than ever before. that corruption
be rooted out from their local communities and across the globe. In response,
regional bodies, such as the Organization of American States, the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Council of Europe and the
African Union, have developed anti-corruption instruments.
We are here to
celebrate that the United Nations, following months of intense negotiations,
has now successfully completed a global Convention Against
Corruption. This Convention is more comprehensive and has a wider application
than other anti-corruption treaties. Once it enters into force, it will be the
key instrument in the global fight against corruption.
We should be
proud of what has been accomplished. The completion of the UN Convention against
Corruption provides clear evidence that a group of widely differing nations,
when galvanized by high ideals and concern for the greater good, can work
closely and constructively for the welfare of the global community. But without
subsequent implementation by States, the Convention will not even begin to
attack, much less eliminate, corruption's devastating effects. States must
ensure that the full strength of the Convention is engaged to develop or strengthen
legal frameworks. policies and mechanisms to prevent
corruption. to punish those guilty of
it and to work towards returning the proceeds of crime associated with corruption
to their rightful owners. International co-operation will also be key.
In addition to Implementing the legal provisions
of the Convention. it
is crucial that we all continue to work on building a global culture that
fully rejects corruption, in all its shapes and forms.
As an induction
of
l would also like
to recognize the presence of a fellow Canadian, John Williams, Member of Parliament
and founder of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption
(GOPAC).
On behalf of
One of the
objectives of the United Nations is to develop conditions under which justice
and respect for treaty obligations and international law can be maintained, and
l would add, flourish. The Convention recognizes that corruption can be
particularly damaging to democratic institutions and the rule of law. If corruption goes unchecked, there is no
room for democracy to flourish: no room for freedom to expand; no room for
economies to prosper: and no room for justice to prevail. The world community
worked hard to give itself this means to fight corruption efficiently. Let us
commit ourselves to use this instrument to demonstrate that corruption, a
scourge over centuries. can indeed have an end.