United Nations, June 6: The first ever United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) special session against corruption concluded Friday at the UN headquarters in New York.
On Wednesday, a political declaration was adopted by consensus at the outset of the special session. This landmark text reflects member states' readiness to address corruption and illicit financial flows more effectively through a comprehensive set of commitments in the areas of prevention, criminalization, international cooperation, asset recovery and technical assistance.
In the special session's opening segment, Volkan Bozkir, president of the 75th session of the UNGA, underscored the importance of the fight against corruption amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This special session comes at a critical moment for humanity as we work on a complex global vaccine roll-out effort and recovery efforts to build back better. I urge all policymakers to leverage this special session to take urgent measures. Loopholes must be closed, and safeguards put in place," said the UNGA president.
Similar calls to action were made throughout the opening segment by other UN officials, including UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council Munir Akram, among others.
On Thursday, Bozkir convened a high-level supporting event on the sidelines of the special session on the theme of "Addressing corruption in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Opening the event, the UNGA president said, "corruption thrives in a crisis. Undetected or unaddressed criminal activity is often discovered at a critical moment. Far too often nefarious actors take advantage of a crisis for their own gain."
The special session, which concluded on Friday, attracted more than 120 high-level speakers, including eight heads of state, two heads of government, three deputy prime ministers, and 21 ministers. In addition, five inter-governmental organizations and six civil society representatives made statements.
Source: Xinhua
