FIGHTING CORRUPTION
ENDING CORRUPTION
IS ONE OF THE
BEST WAYS WE
CAN PROMOTE
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
YURY FEDOTOV
Executive Director, UN
Offi ce on Drugs and Crime
114
In early May, I travelled to Nigeria to
discuss the issue of drugs, crime and
corruption with senior government
offi cials. During my meeting with
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari,
I thanked him for Nigeria’s willingness to
work with the international community
to confront crime and said I understood
how much damage corruption had done
to his country. He replied by asking me
for help in the return of the billions of
dollars that have been siphoned
from his country.
My meeting with the Nigerian president
reinforced a key conviction of mine
that the international community must
redouble its eff orts to support and assist
countries devastated by corruption’s
eff ects. This is especially important in the
area of the return of cultural property, as
well as the huge amounts of funds stolen
from the African continent.
Over recent years a series of
embarrassing corruption scandals have
shown that corruption is not simply a local
issue, but a staggeringly complex global
challenge that transcends domestic
borders. Today, the impact of corruption is
so great, and its impact on development
so widespread, that there is a need for
a revitalised international approach that
brings together all nations in the spirit
of partnership and cooperation.
International business, outsourcing and
off shore banking are now commonplace,
and improved technology and travel
mean that countries are now more than
ever interconnected fi nancially. This
creates numerous opportunities for
corruption to set down deep roots, but
its victims are not necessarily obvious.
The negative eff ects of corruption are
signifi cant in all areas of social and
economic development. But it is the
weak and the vulnerable who suff er
disproportionally from such acts.
When corruption strikes, those who
can spare the least suff er the most.
The misuse of funds ensures that money
needed for education and healthcare is
redirected into the hands of the corrupt.
In countries that have diffi culty providing
access to proper medical care, or are
struggling to feed their citizens in the
wake of droughts and climate change,
the disappearance of funds can be a
matter of life and death.
It is estimated that the developing
world loses as much as US$1 trillion
due to corruption. Such an enormous
amount demonstrates how necessary
it is for the international community to