UNITING THE WORLD AGAINST CORRUPTION FOR DEVELOPMENT, PEACE, AND SECURITY

Lilongwe – 9 December each year marks the commemoration of International Day against corruption. This year’s commemoration marks the twentieth anniversary of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

The theme for this year’s commemoration is ‘Uniting the World Against Corruption for Development, Peace and Security’ and is translated locally as ‘Fight Corruption, Protect Malawi’s future.’

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development cannot be realised without transparent, accountable, and ethical public institutions. The SDGs make a direct link between the negative impact of corruption on the attainment of peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. SDG 16 and its targets to reduce bribery, strengthen institutions, and increase access to information are not only valuable aspirations, but they are also necessary conditions for the achievement of all 17 goals as reflected in this year’s theme showing the link between anti-corruption and peace, security, and development.

Malawi continues to face significant challenges in many sectors of its development – challenges that threaten its collective prosperity and social cohesion. The plague of corruption is intertwined in most of them. Corruption has negative impacts on every aspect of society and is profoundly intertwined with social and economic development and undermines democratic institutions, the rule of law and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. Thus ‘Fight corruption and Protect Malawi’s future’.

The UN commends the Government of Malawi for prioritising the fight against corruption and drawing attention to the negative impacts of corruption and urges the Government to continue to do more to empower anti-corruption institutions and strengthen accountability, transparency and ethics systems and mechanisms in public institutions.

The UN commends the Anti-Corruption Bureau and its Director-General for bringing renewed drive and energy to the fight against corruption and encourages Malawians to stand and support the ACB to ensure it is successful in the fight against corruption.

The UN also commends civil society, the media, and Malawians for taking an active stand against corruption. Tackling corruption is the right and responsibility of everyone, and only through cooperation and the involvement of each and every person and institution can Malawi overcome the negative impact of corruption.

We all have a role to play in uniting against corruption.

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Currently, there are more than 20 Agencies and specialized organizations of the United Nations active in Malawi which, through their work, contribute to ensuring a better life for the people of Malawi.

For more information, contact: Associate Communications Officer in the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, Bennet Phunyanya on bennet.phunyanya@one.un.org or +265884307026