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At Vienna meeting, experts see key role for UN in global efforts to fight corruption

At Vienna meeting, experts see key role for UN in global efforts to fight corruption

Concluding two days of talks on fraud and corruption, the United Nations and other organizations have agreed that the UN and its agencies must be at the forefront of the global battle against graft.

The second Interagency Anti-Corruption Meeting in Vienna, which ended Tuesday, examined steps to enhance coordination in dealing with corruption as well as elaborating a UN anti-corruption strategy. The meeting followed on the heels of a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption.

Participants agreed that corruption had to be tackled more vigorously, both externally and internally, as it presented grave risks to finances, operations and reputations. Interagency coordination needed to be made a high priority to reduce duplication of efforts and increase impact and visibility in the fight against corruption.

The meeting also concluded that organizations should have a clear and strong mandate for the integrity of their work, both internally and externally, and that the interagency co-ordination process must be strengthened in order to serve all of these ends.

Among the participants were the UN Office of Internal Oversight Supervision (UNOIOS), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP), the latter comprising the Centre for International Crime Prevention (CICP) and the UN Drug Control Programme (UNDCP).

Other organizations at the meeting included the Council of Europe, the European Commission, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and Transparency International.