Jordan Times
Monday, December 11, 2006
Bakhit urges
greater efforts to tackle corruption
According to World Bank figures, over $1 trillion is paid in bribes yearly
By Mahmoud Al Abed
with agency dispatches
AMMAN — Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit on Sunday called on the international
community to intensify efforts to tackle the scourge of corruption.
Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah at the opening of the Conference of
State Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC),
Bakhit said Jordan’s role in hosting the conference offers “the opportunity for
us to translate our sincere willingness to work with the international community
in fighting corruption.”
The premier said Jordan is working hard to eradicate the prevalence of nepotism
and favouritism, referring to a series of laws introduced to tackle graft, such
as the Financial Disclosure Law and the Anti-Corruption Commission Law.
Under the latter, the government has committed itself to setting up an
independent body to investigate corruption in the public sector.
In a message to the conference, outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged
all countries to ratify the convention, saying it was essential to accelerate
world development and reduce crime.
“Today I, once again, urge all states which have not done so to accede to this
agreement and to urgently implement its detailed anti-corruption measures,”
Annan said in the message read by Kuniko Ozaki from the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC).
The five-day conference brings together countries that have ratified UNCAC to
review its first year in force and consider ways of stepping up international
efforts to fight corruption.
The convention, the first legally binding international tool to battle
corruption, was adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 2003 and came into
force on December 14, 2005. So far, 140 states have signed up and 80, including
Jordan, have ratified it to become full-fledged States Parties. Turkey and the
Philippines are the latest countries to come on board, according to UNODC.
According to World Bank figures, over $1 trillion is paid in bribes every year.
Bakhit cited this figure in his speech, adding that money laundering stands at
$500 billion a year.
The volume of bribes is 10 times the international aid for development, he
noted.
For his part, UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa called for increased international
political will to fight corruption, urging world governments to set up task
forces.
“People around the world must do more to fight corruption. We need a political
decision,” he told the meeting.
“I urge governments around the world to establish anti-corruption authorities
and my office is ready to help,” he told more than 700 delegates from over 20
countries attending the conference.
Noting that the international climate against corruption was changing, as
reflected in high-profile criminal trials and even in the ousting of
governments, he said greater progress was needed.
“Are you freezing, seizing and confiscating assets? Do you enforce codes of
conduct for public officials, with disclosures of their annual earnings and
assets? This would answer simple, yet tough, questions from the public, such as
how certain officials own new Mercedes cars while earning $200 per month.”
Ministers, policy-makers, parliamentarians, practitioners and representatives of
NGOs and the private sector are attending the conference.
At a joint press conference with Costa held on the sidelines of the meeting,
Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Muhyiddine Touq called for
effective reviewing mechanisms to ensure accurate monitoring of incoming and
outgoing funds in member states.
Meanwhile, Transparency International, which is taking part in the conference,
issued a statement urging participating governments to “act now to ensure that
the only global legal instrument to fight corruption does not remain a promise
on paper.”
“It is in the interest of nations and of leaders with vision who care about
making a difference, to take seriously the estimated $1 trillion paid in bribes
worldwide and start putting an end to systems that allow arbitrary discretion
and abuse of power in both the public and private sectors,” said Huguette
Labelle, chairperson of Transparency International.
“A world of people cheated, countries looted and futures stolen, is waiting for
your government’s decisions,” she added.
The organisation submitted a list of recommendations on the three main topics
under discussion: Monitoring, asset recovery and technical assistance.
Also Sunday, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation said in a
statement that the European Commission has given a direct contribution of
300,000 euros to Jordan to fund the Dead Sea conference, while several
international donors and local institutions have also provided financial
assistance.
The statement said the US provided $100,000, Canada $88,000, Sweden $80,000,
Germany $63,000, while Norway and Switzerland extended $20,000 and $15,000,
respectively.