Preparatory and negotiating sessions

Secretary-General Kofi Annan addresses the General Assembly on the United Nations Convention against Corruption, New York, 31 October 2003 (UN Photo: Eskinder Debebe)

FOR THE UNITED NATIONS, THE CONVENTION IS THE CULMINATION OF WORK THAT STARTED MANY YEARS AGO, WHEN THE WORD "CORRUPTION" WAS HARDLY EVER UTTERED IN OFFICIAL CIRCLES. IT TOOK SYSTEMATIC EFFORTS, FIRST AT THE TECHNICAL AND THEN GRADUALLY AT THE POLITICAL LEVEL, TO PUT THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION ON THE GLOBAL AGENDA.

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Kofi Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations

The United Nations Convention against Corruption was drafted and negotiated in Vienna, Austria in 2002-2003 and subsequently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 31 October 2003. You can gain a deeper understanding of the background and significance of the Convention by exploring some of the key events that preceded and followed its adoption.

Preparatory and negotiating sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption

Intergovernmental open-ended expert group on the preparation of draft terms of reference for the negotiation of the future legal instrument against corruption (Vienna, 30 July - 3 August 2001)
Informal Preparatory Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption (Buenos Aires, 4-7 December 2001)
Sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption (Vienna, 2002-2006)
High-level Political Conference for the Purpose of Signing the United Nations Convention against Corruption (Merida, Mexico, 9-11 December 2003)

UNODC, 2010

Travaux Préparatoires of the negotiations for the elaboration of the Convention against Corruption

The publication tracks the progress of the negotiations in the open-ended intergovernmental Ad Hoc Committee. It provides a comprehensive picture of the background to the Convention and presents the evolution of the text.

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THE ADOPTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION SENDS A CLEAR MESSAGE THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IS DETERMINED TO PREVENT AND CONTROL CORRUPTION. IT WARNS THE CORRUPT THAT BETRAYAL OF THE PUBLIC TRUST WILL NO LONGER BE TOLERATED. AND IT REAFFIRMS THE IMPORTANCE OF CORE VALUES, SUCH AS HONESTY, RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW, ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY, IN PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT AND MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR ALL.

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Kofi Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations

Related speech and press release

31 October 2003
Statement by the Secretary-General on the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations Convention against Corruption

2 October 2003
Press release: Consensus reached on UN Convention against Corruption

United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime

Corruption and Economic Crime Branch

Preparatory and negotiating sessions

Secretary-General Kofi Annan addresses the General Assembly on the United Nations Convention against Corruption, New York, 31 October 2003 (UN Photo: Eskinder Debebe)

Preparatory and negotiating sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption

Travaux Préparatoires of the negotiations for the elaboration of the Convention against Corruption

Related speech and press release