CORRUPTION CONVENTION TALKS
                                TO CONTINUE IN SEPTEMBER

VIENNA,  11  August  (UN  Information  Service) -- Major breakthroughs
were achieved  during  the  sixth  session  of  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee  for
the Negotiation of a Convention against Corruption, held in Vienna from 21
July to  9  August,  including  an agreement on the recovery of assets
resulting from corruption and on a broad scope of preventive measures.
The  Ad  Hoc Committee, negotiating the treaty, worked until 3:56 a.m. on
9 August,  before  running  out of time.  It then decided to meet again on
22 September  in order to settle several elements of the draft that still
need to  be  elaborated  before  the  Convention  is submitted to the UN
General Assembly for final approval.
    "We are very close to an agreement. Indeed the session achieved
major breakthroughs  on the most politically sensitive issues:  a clear sign
that  Member  States  --  all  of them, rich and poor countries, whether having
a history  of  corruption  or not, --  want this Convention, and they want
it very  badly.  That gives us grounds for optimism that the negotiations
will be successfully completed in September, so the Convention will be
presented to  the  General  Assembly  this  fall, and subsequently to the
Ministerial Signing  Conference  to  be held in Merida, Mexico, from 9 to 11
December," said  Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, UN Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC).
      One  of the most important results of the sixth session was the adoption
on  7  August  of  a  whole new chapter requiring Member States to return
those  assets,  obtained  through  bribery  and  embezzlement,  to  the country
of  origin.  This  represents  a  new  fundamental  principle  in
international treaties.  In  the  case of other forms of corruption, the return of
assets will  be  based  on  satisfactory  evidence  of legitimate ownership and
of  damage, and requests for recovery will receive favourable consideration.
        Asset recovery has been a major issue throughout the negotiations.
In a  number  of  countries,  corruption  has led to the depletion of
national wealth.  Some  of  those  countries,  whose  former  dictators  have
stolen hundreds  of  millions,  or  even  billions,  of dollars, have made a
great contribution  in  the  search  for new rules, including the Philippines
and Nigeria.
 "Stolen  and  illegally exported assets have to be returned. This is
a new, fundamental principle agreed to during the negotiations in Vienna.
The recovery  of  assets  sets  the  stage for much greater cooperation
between states.  There  will  be  fewer ways and places to hide stolen assets and
a much greater likelihood that the money will be returned," Mr. Costa said.
        The  agreement  reached  on  preventive  measures represents
another major achievement during the sixth session. The agreement includes norms
of    conduct  for  public officials, greater transparency based on public
access to  information  on  government businesses, as well as stricter
procurement  regulations and measures against money laundering.
Late  on  8  August,  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee  also  progressed in
the  discussion  on  a  few  outstanding  issues,  including dual
criminality --whether  a particular action has to be considered a crime in both
countries  in  order  for the latter to cooperate; and differences over the
definition of "public official."
            Once  adopted,  the  UN  Convention  against  Corruption  will
enhance cooperation  between  governments  and  help  standardize  the way in
which individual  countries  deal  with corruption in their national
legislation.
             "The Convention will pave the way for a more unified international
response and  stimulate better cooperation," said Eduardo Vetere,
Officer-in-Charge, UNODC  Division  for  Treaty  Affairs.  "The  Convention  will  reduce
the vulnerability of those states calling for cooperation against those
fleeing prosecution."
                The  Ad  Hoc  Committee  for  the  Negotiation of a Convention
against  Corruption was established by the UN General Assembly in December 2000.
The initial  draft  of  the  Convention was based on proposals received from
26 countries,  covering  a  broad  range  of  issues,  such  as the
following: definitions  and  scope; preventive measures and criminalization;
sanctions  and  remedies;  confiscation  and seizure; jurisdiction; liability of
legal persons; protection of witnesses and victims; international  cooperation;  preventing and combating the transfer of funds of  illicit  origin  derived  from  acts  of corruption; the return of
such funds;   technical   assistance;   collection,  exchange  and  analysis
of information; and mechanisms for monitoring implementation.
           The first session of the Ad Hoc Committee was held in January 2002.
At  its first and second sessions, the Committee concluded the first reading
of, the  draft Convention. At the third and fourth sessions, the second
reading was  completed.  At the fifth session, in March 2003, the Committee
reached an  agreement  on a significant number of articles, including those
dealing with basic offences regarding  bribery  of public officials and embezzlement; on other
offences to  be  criminalized;  and on almost all of the provisions on
international cooperation.
          The sixth session lasted a week longer than the previous five, and
included evening  sessions,  but  --  after  a  debate  lasting through to the
early morning  hours  of  9 August -- delegates from 128 Member States decided
to  continue  working  on  the  Convention  on Corruption's final details on
22 Septembe


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