Your Excellency, President of the Sixth Session of the Conference of the State Parties,
Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵODC, Mr. Yury Fedotov,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honored to address the Sixth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Convention against Corruption.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest condolences to Russia and to all the families involved in the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt.
I would like to begin by expressing our appreciation to the States Parties for your commitment to the implementation of the Convention.
In advancing the Convention, you are not merely fulfilling your obligations as State Parties; you are also helping create an enabling environment for sustainable development.
The importance of your work cannot be overemphasized.
Allow me to share my views from the sustainable development perspective.
Corruption undermines sustainable development, just as cancer erodes human health.
Corruption stifles economic growth and exacerbates inequalities.
Corruption jeopardizes environmental sustainability and the sustainable use of our natural resources.
Corruption diverts much needed public funds from basic health care, education, water and sanitation, access to energy, job training and other vital public services.
We have seen too many instances of these adverse impacts, not least from media reports.
Furthermore, corruption impedes efforts to build effective, inclusive and accountable institutions.
Fighting corruption, therefore, is vital in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This is why fighting corruption is not only the business of the State Parties; it is also the business of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ system organisations. It is our common task.
To this end, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly, in its recent resolution on public institutions for sustainable development, condemned corruption at all levels and in all forms including bribery, as well as the laundering of proceeds of corruption and other forms of economic crime.
The General Assembly expressed concern regarding the magnitude of corruption at all levels. It reaffirmed its commitment to preventing and combating corrupt practices in accordance with the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Convention against Corruption.
Distinguished Delegates,
As you recall, on 25 September world leaders gathering at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Summit adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The scale and ambition of this historic new Agenda is reflected in an integrated set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets.
SDG 16 aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
In particular, Goal 16 target 5 calls for substantially reducing corruption and bribery in all their forms.
Combating corruption is sine qua non to advancing SDGs.
We must all do our part.
Anti-corruption efforts must engage all countries and all stakeholders including parliaments, supreme audit institutions, civil society groups, businesses, and marginalized groups including people living in poverty, who are often the victims of corrupt practices.
Such broad alliance is essential because corruption pervades our societies and public institutions.
We must stop the normalization of corruption.
We need ethical leadership, professional public services and a culture of integrity to fight corruption.
We also need to put in place institutional arrangements and strategies that have proven effective in reducing the normalization of corruption.
We need to fight corrupt behavior through formal oversight mechanisms and through strengthened collaboration with public institutions, civil society, the private sector and the media.
In this context, I am delighted to announce that we will launch training and capacity building initiatives in support of the SDGs and we will integrate anti-corruption components into these initiatives.
In doing so, we will work closely with Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵODC, Regional Commissions, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Funds and Programmes, and other institutions engaged in the fight against corruption.
If we work together, we can win the battle against corruption and we can achieve the vision of Sustainable Development.
Thank you.