G7 countries sign joint statement ahead of special session of the UN General Assembly against corruption
We, the G7 Ministers, recognize that corruption is a pressing global challenge. As the UN Convention against Corruption notes, corruption threatens the stability and security of societies, undermining the institutions and values of democracy, ethical values and justice, and jeopardizing sustainable development and the rule of law. Corruption presents serious threats for individuals and societies and often enables other forms of crime, including organized crime and economic crime, including money laundering. These threats have been heightened by COVID-19. As the world continues to recover, it is critical that we do not let corruption threaten our efforts to build back better and address global challenges especially the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
We are looking forward to the G7 ministerial meeting in September this year, where there will be a discussion on our joint efforts to address corruption.
Corruption is a challenge faced by all countries. Its effects are felt at local, national, and global levels and it is our common and shared responsibility to take action. We as the G7 stand up for an open society, with a strong civil society and free media. We are convinced that these actors are crucial in preventing and combatting corruption. Thus, it is our goal to acknowledge the role of civil society and free media and to promote their freedom and protection in the UNGASS declaration. We recognise that progress will catalyse prosperity, security and development.
G7 Foreign Ministers committed to work collectively to strengthen the foundations of open societies and protect against threats, including corruption, and illicit finance, and the closure of civic space. In this regard, we reaffirm the fundamental role of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and its supporting bodies play in the global fight against corruption. It is the only legally binding universal instrument on corruption, negotiated on the basis of consensus. The Convention is the cornerstone of our international anti-corruption framework. It forms an integral part of the international anti-corruption architecture which, when fully and effectively implemented, will robustly combat corruption.
We fully support the aims of this Special Session of the General Assembly against corruption to address challenges and measures to more effectively prevent, detect, prosecute, and punish corruption and strengthen international cooperation.
We welcome the adoption of the action-oriented political declaration and commit to achieving its aims. Given our international responsibilities, we as the G7 recognise the need to enhance our efforts to prevent and combat corruption by leading by example. We must continue to make real progress on this issue. We will ensure strong and effective implementation of UNGASS commitments. To this end, we commit to:
We firmly reiterate the importance of strong and unified leadership in addressing corruption. We look to forthcoming processes in relevant for a with close cooperation with other stakeholders such as, the US Summit for Democracy and the Open Government Partnership 10-year Anniversary Summit in South Korea and the UK presidency of the G7 to build on these commitments. We commit to working within these forums, as well as through the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group, to continue to drive progress on this important agenda.