ADDRESS BY MR. SOLON NIKITAS, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE
Mr. President,
Distinguished
Delegates,
It is an honor and a
pleasure to be here. Our warmest and sincere congratulations to the Government
of Mexico for hosting this historic Conference. Its willingness to do so
demonstrates its commitment and determination to fight corruption. Commendation
should also be given to the United Nations, especially its Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice and to all the Bodies involved in the
organization of this important event, which marks a new era in the battle to
prevent and combat corrupt practices.
Corruption has
existed since antiquity as one of the worst and most widespread forms of behavior,
which is inimical to the administration of public affairs when indulged in by
public officials, elected representatives and members of the judiciary. Today
corruption is recognized as a global and systemic threat which affects both the
public and private sectors.
Corruption of any
kind at any level of society seriously undermines the basic values and
principles on which democratic societies are founded. In particular, it
perverts the relation of mutual trust between citizens and institutions and it
violates the principle of good faith - the constitutive element of the rule of
law - that is indispensable for the proper functioning of government, the
judiciary, politics and commerce. Organized crime which is becoming more and
more ecumenical is to a large extent dependent on corruption.
The chief problem
with all forms of corruption is their clandestine nature. Corruption thrives on
secrecy and silence, as those involved are usually motivated by a mutual
interest, for their own personal gain. This makes the detection and
investigation of corrupt practices, in many cases, very difficult.
The problem of
corruption is not the same everywhere. On the contrary it is much worse in some
countries than in others. In many countries it is the reason why they do not
develop or develop very slowly. Studies by individuals and international
organizations have shown that corruption has a devastating effect on the
economic development of a country, being a serious obstacle to the flow of
foreign investment and the movement of capital in general. Negative has also
been found to be its effect on the distribution of wealth since its benefits
are enjoyed mainly by high income groups.
Economic crime
remains a serious threat to businesses world-wide and despite the efforts being
made in improving the effectiveness of auditing mechanisms; the problem appears
to grow year by year. The information revolution has created new forms of
criminal behavior. Criminals avail themselves to the same extent as others of
the technological achievements. The great speed of computerization as well as
the globalization of the economy and trade has brought about an unprecedented
scale of criminal activity.
Governments must not
remain indifferent to these trends. It is of the utmost importance not only to
criminalize all forms of corruption, as a suppressive measure, but also to
adopt and implement preventive measures, in order to minimize opportunities for
corruption. It is essential to have also in place a system of freezing and
confiscating assets derived from corrupt practices, as another way of punishing
the culprits, by depriving them of the fruits of their criminal behavior. It
is, however, equally essential that the fight against corruption should be
carried out with full respect for and in conformity with the international code
of human rights.
A basic requirement
for preventing and combating corruption is the existence of appropriate law
enforcement authorities of sufficient size and efficiency. Of equal importance
is that judges and public officials - particularly prosecutors and police
officers - are adequately paid in order to resist the temptation of soliciting
and accepting illicit payments. Corruption in such persons is a serious
impediment to the success of any anti-corruption strategy since its
implementation rests almost exclusively on their shoulders. Thus, it is
important for countries to establish procedures of appointment of public
officials and members of the judiciary, which ensure their independence from
political power and influence and a clear separation between politicians on the
one hand and the administration and the courts, on the other. Training and
education facilities for the prevention and combating of corrupt practices
should also be set up by governments for the benefit of public authorities,
businesses, police forces and the judiciary. Moreover, it is important for
states to institute at national and local levels independent auditing
mechanisms vested with special investigative powers in the area of corruption.
Transparency is also
essential in the fight against corruption. The more transparent government
decision-making is the harder it is to conceal illicit payments and other
corrupt practices involving public officials and politicians. It is therefore
important to facilitate the work of free media reporting on the dysfunctions of
governments. The concepts of freedom of information and protection of media
sources are also significant safeguards in a democratic society. It should be
stressed, however, that any system is susceptible to improvement in the light
of new experiences and new insights.
Given the nature of
corruption and the globalization of financial transactions, it is imperative to
have the highest possible degree of co-operation between law enforcement and
judicial authorities in different states.
The fight against
corruption will be made easier with the adoption, ratification and
implementation by countries worldwide of this new international instrument in
this area.
A lot of hard work
has been put into the effort to produce this innovative Convention. The ad Hoc
Committee, as well as the Commission of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,
deserve praise for their fine work.
The new instrument
goes explicitly beyond the traditional formulations limited to
"examination", "research" or particularly
"recommendation" of legal measures. It has an ambitious scope and
covers all spheres for combating the various forms of corruption, with
preventive, suppressive provisions, as well as provisions for an effective
international co-operation in this field.
It remains now up to
the individual countries to take as fast as possible, the necessary measures,
to put its provisions into effect and ensure their practical implementation.
The
We will do our best
to ratify the Convention as soon as possible and to introduce any additional
legal and administrative measures to the existing system, if deemed necessary,
in order to facilitate its successful implementation.
Thank you Mr.
President.