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Message of Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director on
International Anti-Corruption Day 2021 – “Your right, your
role: say no to corruption”
Every person has the right to justice and opportunity, to public services, and to a sustainable future.
Corruption undermines every one of those rights, and more.
Corruption costs the world trillions of dollars, while enabling crime, exploitation and exclusion, endangering people and planet, and compromising our recovery from the pandemic.
On International Anti-Corruption Day, let us remember that each and every one of us has a role to play in standing up for what is right.
You fight corruption when you refuse to pay or take a bribe, even when it is “business as usual”; when you report a corrupt act, even when it doesn’t affect you; and when you play fair in sport, in business, and in life.
The world’s 1.8 billion young people have the most at stake, and they have the perspective and conviction to find transformative solutions to corruption, and to hold leaders accountable.
We must create opportunities to enable youth to fulfil their role as the future guardians of integrity.
We at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime remain dedicated to our role in supporting countries to cooperate and take action through the UN Convention against Corruption.
We are also engaging with allies in the public and private sectors, as well as in civil society, to promote transparency, integrity, and the rule of law.
By preventing corruption and returning stolen assets, we are unlocking resources for growth and new jobs, building resilience to future emergencies, empowering women and young people, and laying the foundations for a fairer future.
For our inclusive recovery, for our hopes to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and for the rights of everyone, let us all live up to our roles in saying No to Corruption.
Thank you.