Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a distinct pleasure and honour for me to convey my utmost appreciation to the Government of Mexico and its people for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to my delegation and myself in this beautiful city of Merida, Mexico. I would also like to congratulate H.E. Mr. Luis Ernesto Derbez Bautista, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mexico on his unanimous election as President of the High-Level Political Conference for the Purpose of Signing of the UN Convention against Corruption. I have full confidence that under His Excellency’s able leadership and guidance, the Conference will achieve a positive outcome and I, therefore, render the assurances of full support of my delegation to the success of the Signing of the Convention.

Mr. President,

My sincere appreciation also goes to the National Organizing Committee of the Government of Mexico and the Secretariat of the UNODC for the excellent preparations and dedicated efforts made for the convening of this auspicious conference. I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the late Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Ambassador Hector Charry Samper of Colombia, and express my deepest condolences to the Government of Colombia and its people, as well as to his family. Ambassador Samper, were among other members of the Bureau of the Ad Hoc Committee who worked with great dedication and expertise, and I must extend my deepest gratitude to all of them for their valuable contributions in the advancement of the negotiation process of the UN Convention against Corruption.

Mr. President,

The adoption of the Convention is indeed very timely and appropriate as the international community is encountering a rising tide of transnational organized crimes, including corruption. Such crimes have not only violated national borders and jurisdictions of States, but have also posed political, economic, financial, socio-cultural challenges to the international community. Developing countries, especially those burdened with debt, can ill afford to suffer the economic and social losses caused by corruption. Not only does corruption cause a hemorrhage of funds needed for investment to promote sustainable development, it also destabilizes governments, taints public service, deepens poverty, undermines ethical values, justice and the rule of law, thereby further jeopardizing sustainable development in the long term.

The agreement reached on the UN Convention against Corruption, reflects the international community’s willingness and determination to take concrete measures to prevent and combat corruption. Central to this convention, is the appropriate balance achieved by Member States in addressing key issues, in scope of application, preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, technical assistance and information exchange, and mechanism for implementation of the Convention.

On the key issue of asset recovery, Indonesia notes with satisfaction, that as “a fundamental principle of the Convention, State Parties shall afford one another, the widest measures of cooperation and assistance”. This is of utmost importance to countries, in particular developing countries and countries in economic transition, where the national wealth and the national development have been depleted and hindered by high levels of corruption. This Convention specifies provisions for further cooperation and assistance, in which priority consideration is given to the return of confiscated property to the requesting state, particularly in cases of embezzlement of public funds. This particular provision sends the message to corruptors, that there are no more “safe-havens” for their proceeds of crime.

It is also heartening to note that Chapter III of this Convention goes beyond previous instruments of its kind. On the key issues of criminalization, it does not only apply to acts of corruption involving bribery and embezzlement of public funds, but also trading in influence, abuse of functions, illicit enrichment and laundering of proceeds of crime. The scope of application of this Chapter also goes beyond previous instruments, scrutinizing not only public officials for their misdemeanors – but also foreign public officials and officials of public international organization as well as private sector.

Mr. President,

As Indonesia enters a new era of reform, democratization and the promotion of laws, which includes the promotion and protection of human rights, Indonesia has not been immune from the problems of corruption. Let me assure you that the Government of the Republic of Indonesia is doing its utmost best to prevent and combat the scourge of corruption. Based on our Law No. 20/2001 on the “Amendments of the Law No. 31/1999 on Combating Criminal Acts of Corruption”, Indonesia recalls that corruption transpires in a systematic and broad manner, which does not only dilute state finances, but also violates the rights of society in general to social and economic well-being; therefore combating corruption must be dealt with, by means of extraordinary efforts. For Indonesia, these extraordinary drives include the implementation of a system of the reversal of the burden of proof in cases of suspected illicit enrichment and other criminal acts of corruption.

In line with Article 6 Chapter II of the UN Convention against Corruption, Indonesia under its Law No. 30/2002 on the “Establishment of the National Commission on Combating Criminal Acts of Corruption” is in the process of electing prominent officials to serve on the Commission. Established as an autonomous body and designed to be independent from political influence from any quarter, the Commission itself possesses broad powers to investigate and litigate acts of corrupt practices. In this same vein, the Commission also serves as a preventive body, possessing the authority to examine the wealth of public officials at all levels. It also accepts reports and proclaims status of fulfillment, conducts anti-corruption education programmes and socialization programmes on combating corruption, promotes anti-corruption campaigns to the public in general, as well as promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the fight against corruption. Furthermore, this particular Law stipulates the establishment of an Anti-Corruption Court, with the authority to examine and judge criminal acts of corruption.

Regardless of the positive measures that have been taken, Indonesia is still facing difficulties and challenges in combating corruption due to, among other factors, lack of financial and human resources. Therefore, we propose that the Conference take up this urgent matter of overcoming these impediments experienced by developing countries. To this end, Indonesia has made a strong effort to enhance bilateral, regional and international cooperation, especially in the areas of extradition and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. We urge the international community to step up its efforts in these areas. Only numerous and strong extradition treaties, for example, will be able to reduce and finally eliminate the number of safe havens.

Mr. President,

The purpose of the Convention as boldly stated in its General Provisions is to promote and strengthen measures to prevent and combat corruption more efficiently and effectively. An integrated element of those endeavors is the work to further promote, facilitate and support international cooperation and technical assistance in the prevention of and fight against corruption, including asset recovery. As corruption does not respect national boundaries, and because of the international nature of this problem, it is the position of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia that international cooperation in the fight against this scourge is more than an important tool in our work, it is a fundamental precondition of urgent and vital necessity for our work to succeed.

Finally, we believe that the Convention, once it has been ratified, will mark an important step forward to eliminate the scourge of corruption. The signing of this Convention is a historic event as it is the first legally binding UN treaty on corruption. The Indonesian Government will be in the forefront of nations in the world to give support to the United Nations Convention against Corruption and will be one of the signatory countries. We are confident that this first global anti-corruption instrument will lead us to achieve great and noble purposes and represent a global response to the global challenge posed by corruption.

I thank you.