International Anti-Corruption Day: The World United Against Corruption

“UNCAC at 20: Uniting the World against Corruption” is the theme of this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day, celebrated on December 9.

The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) was adopted by the UN General Assembly 20 years ago. Since then, adherence to the world’s first and only legally binding anti-corruption instrument has become near universal, with 190 States parties to the Convention. The UNCAC looks to prevent and criminalize corruption, define specific acts of this crime, and promote international cooperation on the topic.

The theme of this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day was chosen to celebrate not only the anniversary of the UNCAC, which was a significant milestone in global anti-corruption endeavors, but also the improvements brought about by the collective efforts supported by the Convention. Equally crucial is the examination of the remaining gaps that need to be addressed to ensure that this mechanism continues to grow stronger in the years ahead.

Anti-corruption is also a priority topic of the Team Europe Democracy Initiative (TED), and it is addressed through the activities of the TED Network working group on Accountability and Rule of Law. Corruption is a severe impediment to building prosperity, hampers sustainable economic growth, undermines the rule of law, and erodes citizens’ trust in institutions. Therefore, it is high on the agenda of the European Union and its Member States, which, together with civil society organizations, research centers, and further stakeholders, compose the working groups of the TED Network.

The workstream on Anti-Corruption of the TED working group on Accountability and Rule of Law aims to strengthen the work of the EU and its Member States on anti-corruption in development cooperation and democracy support, in close consultation with each other and civil society. This will be achieved through continuous engagement of working group members for improved cooperation and expertise sharing and alignment both at the headquarters level, meaning the EU and Member States in Member State capitals and Brussels, and at the partner country level, meaning the implementation of anti-corruption activities with the support of EU delegations, Member State embassies, and their implementing agencies.

Guided by the Council conclusions on corruption as an obstacle to development issued by the Council of the EU on May 4, 2023,  the working group members intend to collect and share good practices on anti-corruption among TED Network members; provide recommendations and operational guidance to country-level staff on applying anti-corruption approaches across sectors and in new programs; develop common strategies; and build synergies among the TED Network members to address this highly challenging topic.