The UN Convention against Corruption: the essence, prospects

The United Nations (UN) plays a significant role in the international fight against corruption in many countries of the Earth. The solution of this issue is as urgent as many other pressing problems that this international organization is solving. The UN Convention against Corruption has become the next step to combat this criminal phenomenon, which hinders the development of fair competition in the framework of free market relations.

Prehistory

In 2003, in the city of Merida in Mexico, the UN High-Level Political Conference was held, in which the UN Convention against Corruption was signed by the first participants. This day, December 9 - the date of the beginning of the Mexican conference - has become an official day of fighting corruption.

The UN Convention against Corruption itself was adopted a little earlier - on October 31, 2003. This decision was approved by the UN General Assembly. The overwhelming majority of states agreed with the need for formal recognition of this problem. To solve this task, collective actions and measures are needed.

The UN Convention against Corruption entered into force only in 2005 - after the expiry of the 90-day period after the signing of this document by 30 UN member states. Unfortunately, taking into account the fact that the UN is a huge international organization, the decision-making mechanisms are rather slow and slow, that's why the implementation of many provisions takes months or even years.

Basic Provisions

In this document, the essence of international corruption and its main characteristics are described in the most detailed manner. It also proposes concrete measures to counteract and suppress corruption. The UN experts developed official terminology and agreed on a list of measures that each state that has acceded to the convention is obliged to provide in order to combat corruption.

The convention details the principles of hiring public officials, provides recommendations on public procurement, reporting and many other issues that contribute to a more transparent public and private relationship.

Who signed and ratified

To date, an absolute majority of Member States have acceded to the UN Convention against Corruption.

Of particular interest to many specialists is the article 20 of the UN Convention against Corruption, which refers to the illegal enrichment of state officials. The fact is that not all countries have internal legal norms and laws that allow applying the norms of this article.

In Russia there are many myths about why Article 20 of the UN Convention against Corruption does not work. According to some critics, this was done to please certain groups of influence that did not want to lose power and control.

However, this fact has a legal explanation - the content of Article 20 contradicts the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which speaks of the presumption of innocence. Moreover, in Russia there is no such legal term as "illegal enrichment". All this still makes it impossible to implement the provisions of this article on the territory of the Russian Federation. However, this does not mean that it will always be like this. Moreover, in the convention such a situation is stipulated - all provisions of the convention should be fulfilled only in the event of legal and legislative prerequisites.

Goals and objectives

The main goal is the eradication of such a criminal phenomenon as corruption, as it completely contradicts the principles of democracy and free market relations, both between states and between individual companies. Corruption prevents many regions and even states from developing.

The states that signed and ratified this document assumed obligations to identify and combat corruption cases. The UN Convention facilitates international cooperation in identifying cases of corruption, both at the regional and global levels.

To this end, every two years a conference of the states parties to the UN Convention against Corruption is convened, within which the information on the measures taken is updated. Participants discuss the effectiveness of the implemented recommendations, make new decisions on future cooperation and partnership in the fight against corruption. In 2015, the conference was held in Russia, in St. Petersburg.