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Fatma al-Bakry – Ahram Online
“Egypt host the 9th session of the Conference of States Parties (CoSP) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) from 13 to 17 December in Sharm El-Sheikh”, according to UN’s official website.
The conference, held every two years, is one of the world’s largest anti-corruption gatherings. It gets together people from member states, parliaments, inter-governmental organisations, civil society and the private sector.
The CoSP reviews the implementation of the UNCAC, the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument, discuss preventing corruption and improve international cooperation to better tackle corruption and asset recovery.
The ninth session includes a review of the implementation of the UNCAC, the provisional agenda for the 10th session and the adoption of the conference’s report. This year’s gathering is attended by 2,170 representatives from 144 countries. It is the highest number of attendances in the history of the convention.
“Participants include five heads of state, more than 50 ministers, 30 heads of anti-corruption bodies and 257 civil society members”, said the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Ghada Wali.
Egypt joined the agreement in December 2003 out of its belief in the importance of international cooperation to prevent corrupt practices around the world.
The convention, signed by 189 countries, is of eight chapters and 71 articles. It covers five main areas: preventive measures, criminalisation and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, technical assistance and exchange of information. The convention looks into different forms of corruption including bribery, trading in influence, abuse of functions and various acts of corruption in the private sector.
