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New UN anti-corruption treaty helps the poor - Annan

New UN anti-corruption treaty helps the poor - Annan

Kofi Annan addresses Assembly
With the United Nations General Assembly set to adopt a new treaty against corruption, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the accord, saying that it enjoins governments to return stolen assets to the countries that own them and, if fully enforced, removes one of the biggest obstacles to development.

"Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately - by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a government's ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice, and discouraging foreign investment and aid," he told the Assembly of the UN Convention against Corruption. "Corruption is a key element in economic under-performance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development."

Negotiating the new convention and adopting it were "remarkable" achievements and the accord complemented another landmark instrument, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which entered into force a month ago, he said.

The anti-corruption treaty "makes a major breakthrough by requiring Member States to return assets obtained through corruption to the country from which they were stolen," he said.

"Corrupt officials will, in future, find fewer ways to hide their illicit gains. This is a particularly important issue for many developing countries where corrupt officials have plundered the national wealth and where new governments badly need resources to reconstruct and rehabilitate their societies."

The convention, which took 130 UN member delegations two years to draft, has 71 articles covering topics that include public procurement, bribery, illicit enrichment, embezzlement, misappropriation, money-laundering, protection of whistle-blowers, freezing of assets and cooperation between states.

It calls on governments to establish in their national laws a long statute of limitations for prosecuting cases and to enable themselves to suspend the statute "where the alleged offender has evaded the administration of justice."

"If fully enforced, this new instrument can make a real difference to the quality of life of millions of people around the world. And by removing one of the biggest obstacles to development, it can help us achieve the Millennium Development Goals," Mr. Annan said, referring to the eight guidelines to halve extreme poverty by 2015.

Mr. Annan also paid special tribute to the late chairman of the drafting committee, Colombian Ambassador Hector Charry Samper. "I am sure you all share my sorrow that he is no longer with us to celebrate this great success."