By Dapo Falade
The United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) will hold its first ever session focusing on corruption in New York, United States of America (USA) from April 26-28, 2021.
The UNGASS was officially set for the date in an UN General Assembly resolution 74/276 passed on 1 June 2020.
The UNGASS provides an opportunity to shape the global anti-corruption agenda for the next decade, by advancing bold and innovative approaches, scaling best practices and developing new standards and mechanisms.
Leaders of 193 nation-states civil society organisations (CSOs), with the Consultative Status of the UN, held a high-level technical virtual session from July 15 to 18, 2020.
The high-level delegates at the technical session adopted a four-point agenda to be presented to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Gutierres, in New York, next month and that would be included in the UN General Assembly Special Session next year.
ln a goodwill message, Chef De Cabinet, Executive Office of the UN Secretary General, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, said while Sustainable Development Goal 16 dealt explicitly with corruption, the success of the entire 2030 agenda for sustainable development hinged on fighting corruption.
“This is a global appeal for fairness, a collective demand for justice. The event today is a timely opportunity to reflect on how intentional community can make good on these commitments.
“Corruption affects developed and developing countries alike and complicity knows no borders. lt cripples economic development, stifles entrepreneurship and deters investments.
“Society cannot function equitably and efficiently when public officials enrich themselves, rather than perform their duties with integrity,” she said.
President of the session, Mr Eddie Martins (US) and the secretary, Olufemi Aduwo (Nigeria), jointly appreciated the commitment of the UN to tackling the problem of the COVID-19 pandemic and also commended the Nigerian government for taking a bold step to investigate the anti-corruption body in the country.
The body, along with the appropriate United Nations agencies, are monitoring the Nigeria development and, in a short while, will formally communicate their position to the Nigerian government.
Also addressing the session on behalf of African States-civil society organisations, the Permanent Representative of Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity- Nigeria (CCDI) to UN, Olufemi Aduwo, urged delegates to partner with their governments to fight the menace of corruption.
“The UN bold step represents a fundamental recognition that corruption is neither an acceptable cost of doing business, nor a necessary evil, but simply an unacceptable crime,” he said.
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