9 December 2013, Islamabad: To mark International Anti-Corruption Day in Pakistan, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) held a high-profile event at the Islamabad Club. The event was attended by over 200 guests including officials from the Government of Pakistan, the United Nations, the diplomatic community, students and teachers.
The Chief Guest was Mr. Pervaiz Rasheed, Federal Minister for Information and Communication, and Law, Justice and Human Rights and he delivered a speech centred on the theme of the day "Zero Corruption, 100% Development." Mr. César Guedes, Country Representative for Pakistan, and Mr. Neill Wright, the Acting UN Resident Coordinator in Pakistan also delivered statements. The remarks by the speakers covered highlighted corruption as a global concern and noted its presence in both rich and poor countries. Several speakers also cited evidence which showed that corruption contributes to instability and poverty and disproportionately affected the poor.
Today's event also focused on how corruption hinders efforts to achieve the internationally agreed upon development goals, undermines democracy and the rule of law by allowing organized crime, terrorism and other threats to flourish.
In the previous week, UNODC and NAB have also collaborated on a series of events to include essay and poster contests for youth. The winners of these competitions will be recognised during a youth against corruption celebration in Islamabad on Tuesday, 11 December 2013.
