The Theme of the International Anti-Corruption Day 2021 is ”Your right, your role: Say no to corruption.” Corruption affects all areas of society. Preventing corruption unlocks progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, helps protect our planet, creates jobs, achieves gender equality, and secures wider access to essential services such as healthcare and education.
While it is everyone’s right to benefit from strong anti-corruption efforts, misconduct and wrongdoing is stealing away valuable resources at a time when they are most needed to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
IACA Dean and Executive Secretary, Mr. Thomas Stelzer, addressed today the first-ever United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) Against Corruption (2-4 June 2021, UNHQ, New York). General Assembly Special Session of the General Assembly against Corruption
The 2021 International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to highlight the rights and responsibilities of everyone – including States, Government officials, civil servants, law enforcement officers, media representatives, the private sector, civil society, academia, the public and youth – in tackling corruption. And yet it is not only countries that need to unite and face this global problem with shared responsibility. Every single person – young and old – has a role to play to prevent and counter corruption, in order to promote resilience and integrity at all levels of society.
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Campaign
A six-week campaign starting at the beginning of November aims to highlight the role of key stakeholders and individuals in preventing and countering corruption in line with the theme, “Your right, your role: say no to corruption”. Each week will focus on one of these key topics.
- Education and youth
- Sport
- Gender
- Private sector
- COVID-19
- International cooperation
The campaign also aims to share good practices and examples of preventing and countering corruption worldwide through strengthening international cooperation against corruption; tackling linkages with other forms of crime; enabling the recovery and return of stolen assets; developing innovative solutions; advancing prevention through education; leveraging youth engagement; and mobilizing allies in civil society, academia, and the private sector.
To achieve this, policies, systems and measures need to be in place for people to be able to speak up and say no to corruption. The United Nations Convention against Corruption emphasizes the responsibility of Governments to put in place effective whistle-blower protection to ensure that persons who speak up are protected from retaliation. These measures contribute to effective, accountable and transparent institutions towards a culture of integrity and fairness
Reducing the risks of mismanagement and corruption during the pandemic requires the involvement of strong anti-corruption bodies, better oversight over emergency support packages, more open and transparent public procurement and enhanced anti-corruption compliance by the private sector. In addition, countries also need to ensure support to and protection for whistleblowers and journalists uncovering corruption during the pandemic as well as bring their national anti-corruption frameworks in line with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
Join us to fight corruption by:
- Using the Anti-Corruption logo on publications and at events;
- Posting messages on your networks using material from the social media kit; and
- By using the hashtags #NoToCorruption | #IACD2021.
Webinars
Understanding the Nexus between Environmental Crime and Corruption
This first webinar will provide all necessary information to understand how corruption manifests itself in wildlife trafficking, fisheries crime and illegal logging. It will act as the basis for the rest of the series, where transversal corruption-related questions and law enforcement methods to tackle environmental crimes will be discussed.
Join us for this first of out of a three-part ebinar series, where the nexus between environmental crimes and corruption will be outlined and explained. Corruption is one of the principal drivers of environmental crimes and enables them along the whole supply chain. As such, any approach to fight environmental crimes must tackle corruption.
“Anti-Corruption Education and Research for Sustainable Development“, UNGASS 2021, IACA side event.
IACA, the Republic of Austria, and UNODC co-organized a joint side event on “Anti-Corruption Education and Research for Sustainable Development” at United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) Against Corruption (2-4 June 2021, UNHQ, New York).
Corruption, Conflict of Interest, and Whistleblowing in Public Administration
Jointly organized by the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), Stretton Institute of the University of Adelaide, Australia, and the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, UK
“Culture and Corruption” by Robert Klitgaard.
. During the discussion, Prof. Klitgaard discussed the nexus between the culture and corruption, described the understanding of a corrupt culture and provided case studies about the corrupt processes from around the world. Moreover, in an attempt to find an answer to the question of whether some cultures are more vulnerable to corruption than others, Prof. Klitgaard analyzed the factors that define this phenomenon. You are very welcome to watch and learn more about culture and corruption.
One of the events organized in the framework of the IACA ALUMNI reunion taking place from 24 from 28 May 2021 was the lecture “Culture and Corruption” by Robert Klitgaard
International Anti-Corruption Day 