As delivered

By the Head of Delegation, UNDP

Alessandro Fracassetti, UNDP Resident Representative, Egypt

14^th December 2021, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt

Madam President, Distinguished Delegates,

On behalf of the UN Development Programme, I would like to congratulate the President, and other members of the Bureau, on their elections. Let me also express our sincere appreciation to the Government of Egypt for hosting this important event.

Together with our colleagues at UNODC, UNDP supports member states’ in their efforts to implement the United Nations Convention against Corruption. UNCAC and its implementation Review Mechanism have been critical in stimulating anti-corruption reforms and strengthening national commitments to act against corruption.

Most importantly, governance and anti-corruption reforms are critical for accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Global advocacy through UNCAC has highlighted the crucial role of SDG 16 and its anti-corruption targets in shaping the effective governance needed for sustainable development, peace and security.

In June this year, the UNGASS adopted an action-oriented political declaration and reiterated the member states’ commitment to effectively address challenges to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation. UNODC, UNDP and UN/DPPA, as co-chairs of the UN Global Task Force on Corruption, have contributed significantly in the lead up to UNGASS 2021, including through the development of the ‘UN Common Position to Address Global Corruption’.

Yet this year, as countries across the world have sought to recover from the impact of COVID-19, corruption and its consequences have continued to undermine financing for development, COVID-19 recovery and climate action. The leakages of resources from corruption and illicit financial flows, estimated at trillions each year, could otherwise be used for some US$140-500 billion investment needed for climate adaptation in developing countries, or for financing the ‘SDG Push’ interventions needed to prevent as many as 169 million people from being driven into extreme poverty by 2030.

Strengthening governance and anti-corruption efforts have been a priority for UNDP during last three decades and this is even more important now, if we hope to meet the needs of our planet and our people without leaving anyone behind.

Our organization recognizes the importance of mainstreaming anti-corruption as a cross-cutting enabler for the broader development agenda and the need to incorporate anti-corruption measures in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, we continue to work on strengthening the role of anti-corruption networks of governments, civil societies, businesses and academia to promote a “whole-of-a society approach” to preventing and combating corruption.

UNDP also firmly believes that ICTs and new technologies could be a game changer in preventing and combating corruption. UNDP’s new Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and its Digital Strategy recognize and leverage the tremendous potential of using digital technologies to solve complex development challenges.

In this regard, I am pleased to announce that UNDP is launching, on the margins of this conference, a new report on ‘New Technologies for Sustainable Development: Perspectives on integrity, trust and anti-corruption’.

Madame President of the Conference,

Distinguished Delegates,

Much of the work we do in many countries is only possible thanks to the strong support and cooperation of our donor and programme partners.

This year, with generous support from Norway and Sweden, UNDP launched the Anti-Corruption Innovation Initiative in Asia and Africa regions to strengthen anti-corruption measures in environmental resource management, the health sector, public procurement processes and public service delivery in Bangladesh, Liberia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Uganda.  

Support from the United Sates to expand the judicial integrity network in in the ASEAN region and from United Kingdom for UNDP-led business integrity work in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam, has been instrumental in promoting judicial integrity, a fair business environment and  strengthening anti-corruption contribution to economic growth, investment and trade agendas.

In Europe and the CIS region, UNDP has been providing governance and anti-corruption support to strengthen transparency, accountability and integrity of public institutions and public service delivery in several countries, most notably in Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

With thanks to the Republic of Korea, UNDP expanded its anti-corruption programme in seven Arab States providing technical assistance to the Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network (ACINET). In Egypt, our partnership with the Administrative Control Authority focuses on strengthening corruption prevention capacities and supporting the Egyptian Anti-Corruption Academy.

And UNDP has provided support to Lebanon to adopt and implement its first-ever national anti-corruption strategy, and to Tunisia which integrated various innovative solutions to reduce the health sector’s vulnerability to corruption.

Madame President, Distinguished Delegates,

In closing, let me reintegrate UNDP’s unwavering commitment to strengthen the synergies between the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism and the implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda. We look forward to supporting the implementation the outcome of this 9^th session and its resolutions.

Thank you!