Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow's Integrity

Our world confronts numerous challenges, tragedies, inequalities and injustices, many of which are tied to corruption.

With 1.9 billion young people in the world, fighting corruption is vital for the future of nearly a quarter of the global population.

The campaign for International Anti-Corruption Day 2024-2025 focuses on the role young guardians of integrity play as advocates, raising awareness about corruption and its impacts on their communities. They will actively participate in discussions, share their experiences and propose innovative solutions to combat corruption. The campaign will amplify voices of integrity leaders of tomorrow, allowing them to express their concerns and aspirations, with the hope that their appeals will be heard and acted upon.

Building a just world and a sustainable planet is only possible if corruption doesn’t stand in the way. United, we can combat corruption.

Background

Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. Corruption undermines democratic institutions, slows economic development and contributes to governmental instability.

Corruption attacks the foundation of democratic institutions by distorting electoral processes, perverting the rule of law and creating bureaucratic quagmires, whose only reason for existing is the soliciting of bribes. Economic development is stunted, because foreign direct investment is discouraged and small businesses within the country often find it impossible to overcome the "start-up costs" required, because of corruption.

On 31 October 2003, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption and requested that the Secretary-General designate the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the secretariat for the Convention’s Conference of States Parties (resolution 58/4). Since then, 190 parties have committed to the Convention’s anti-corruption obligations, showing near-universal recognition of the importance of good governance, accountability, and political commitment.

The Assembly also designated 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day, to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it. The Convention entered into force in December 2005.

At its twentieth anniversary and beyond, this Convention and the values it promotes are more important than ever, which requires everyone to join efforts to tackle this crime. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the Secretariat for the Convention's Conference of the States Parties, are at the forefront of ensuring a world #UnitedAgainstCorruption.

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