Condi is joining with the UN to (cough) fight CORRUPTION!
:rofl:
05 April 2007
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=April&x=20070405104943zjsredna0.525326New Phase in Fight Against Corruption Begins at Global Forum
Countries endorse U.N. convention as primary framework for action
By Andrzej Zwaniecki
USINFO Staff Writer
Johannesburg, South Africa -- The global community entered a new stage in the fight against corruption as a major international meeting of anti-corruption officials and experts urged adoption and implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
In a declaration issued April 5 at the conclusion of the Fifth Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity (GF V), participants endorsed the UNCAC as the “primary global framework for action and cooperation among governments and between governments, the private sector and other nonstate actors.”
Joseph Gangloff, deputy director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, said the gathering in Johannesburg provided “solid ground” for transition from the Global Forum process to follow up with the U.N. convention.
Gangloff was co-leader of the U.S. delegation to the forum.
The declaration called for “prompt ratification and accession to UNCAC.”
The U.S. delegation, in an April 3 statement, said the United States is urging countries that have already ratified or signed the convention to complete a self-assessment checklist agreed on at the first meeting of the Conference of State Parties to the convention. (See statement.)
Gangloff said the survey will show which kinds of deficiencies exist in countries’ capabilities and where expertise can be found.
The declaration recognized that the accomplishments of all past global anti-corruption fora serve as a platform for the exchange of best practices information.
But Gangloff, who participated in all those meetings, said he believes the Johannesburg forum achieved even more.
“Initially, many countries were reluctant to even admit that they had a corruption problem,” he said. “Now everyone clearly accepts that something has to be done about it
and understands that the fight against it has an international dimension.”
At the fifth global forum representatives of several developing countries affected by perceived rampant corruption, according to the 2006 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, talked about their plans and specific efforts to combat the scourge.
Indeed, the global forum has achieved more than anybody expected, said U.S. delegate David Luna.
“Moving forward, we hope that an alliance of committed partners at the GF V was reenergized to end corruption, implement the UNCAC and cooperate internationally to prosecute kleptocrats and recover plundered assets,” he said.
Luna is director for anti-corruption and governance initiatives in the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Gangloff said denial of safe haven to corrupt officials and recovery of stolen assets, together with the need for building capacity to fight corruption, topped the list of major concerns of developing countries.
Another U.S. participant, Steven Tyrrell from the Department of Justice, said many countries are determined to implement effective anti-corruption programs but lack resources and knowledge to carry out effective investigations and prosecutions.
“But there is a will to do better,” he said.
Tyrrell is the chief of the fraud section in the Justice Department's criminal division.
Representatives of developed countries at the forum expressed their willingness to share their expertise.
The U.S. statement said, “The United States is eager to work with countries to prevent financial safe havens from developing in the first instance and to help partner governments recover plundered assets.”
It offered to help governments establish effective and transparent delivery of government services and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment “to empower citizens in democracies with the tools and resources they need to challenge corrupt practices and to demand transparent rulemaking.”
In addition, to effectively fight corruption, countries must confront other financial crimes, according to the statement. “Through joint determination and mutual cooperation, we can … to identify, interdict, block and cut off the financial pipelines to all corrupt individuals, criminal organizations and illicit networks,” the statement said.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=April&x=20070405104943zjsredna0.525326
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