International Anti-Corruption Day being observed
The International Anti-Corruption Day is being observed in the country as elsewhere across the world on Monday to raise voice against the growing culture of corruption.
This year’s theme is ‘United Against Corruption’.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) arranged various programmes to mark the day.
In a message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the people to continue to work on innovative solutions to win the battle against corruption.
According to UN, every year $1 trillion is paid in bribes while an estimated $2.6 trillion are stolen annually through corruption – a sum equivalent to more than 5 percent of the global GDP.
In developing countries, according to the United Nations Development Programme, funds lost to corruption are estimated at 10 times the amount of official development assistance, according to UN.
On October 31, 2003, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against corruption and designated the office of the Secretary General of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the secretariat for the Convention’s Conference of States Parties.
The Assembly also fixed December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day to raise awareness against corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it.
The Convention entered into force in December 2005.
