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At UN General Assembly, ACRC Presented Anti-Corruption Policy Direction for Post COVID 19 Era
- Date2021-07-12
- Hit797
At UN General Assembly, ACRC Present Anti-Corruption Policy Direction for Post COVID 19 Era
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- Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) delivered a key note speech in the early morning of Friday, June 4 (Thursday afternoon, June 3, New York) at the 32nd United Nations General Assembly Special Session against corruption.
From June 2 to 4, the UN General Assembly Special Session against corruption was held to strengthen global cooperation in preventing and fighting corruption, for the first time since the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) entered into force in 2005.
<Overview of the UNCAC>
• Official name: United Nations Convention against Corruption ※ United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) serves as Secretariat • Goal: Ending corruption which undermines democracy and ethical values and threatens sustainable development and the rule of law to enhance quality of life for people around the world suffering from corruption. • State parties: 187 countries • Signature: South Korea singed the UNCAC on December 10, 2003. Entry into force: South Korea entered into force the UNCAC on December 14, 2005. •The National Assembly passed the ratification of the UNCAC on February 29, 2008. |
Since the National Assembly passed the ratification of the UNCAC in February 2008, South Korea has been a state party, actively participating in the convention in and outside the country. Following the first cycle of implementation review (2012~2013), the country is undergoing the second cycle (2019~2021).
- The UN General Assembly special session was participated by government representatives and heads of anti-corruption agencies of 80 countries either in person or virtually due to COVID 19. The session adopted a political declaration* reaffirming the commitment to fully implementing the UNCAC in a proactive manner.
* Key contents of the political declaration : preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, technical assistance and information exchange, anti-corruption as an enabler for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and forward-looking anti-corruption agenda
As the representative of South Korea, ACRC attended the special session, sharing the government’s anti-corruption efforts and achievements and presenting future directions for anti-corruption in the post COVID 19 era.
- An ACRC Official said, South Korea has made a lot of efforts to both detect and prevent corruption. ACRC stated that the country has been committed to removing favoritism based on personal connections such as family and academic back grounds, as well as securing fairness in public policies, by enacting the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and the Conflict of Interest Act for Public Officials.
An ACRC Official added, the value of integrity is critical in controlling government power expanded during the COVID 19 crisis, and in this regard ethics education is important for public officials, business persons, and young people.