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Backgrounder: International Anti-Corruption Day

Xinhua, December 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Friday marks the 13th International Anti-Corruption Day. The theme set by the United Nations (UN) this year is "United Against Corruption for Development, Peace and Security."

"On International Anti-Corruption Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to ending the deceit and dishonesty that threaten the 2030 Agenda and our efforts to achieve peace and prosperity for all on a healthy planet," the UN official website quotes UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

According to the UN, every year 1 trillion U.S. dollars is paid in bribes while an estimated 2.6 trillion U.S. dollars is stolen annually through corruption, a sum equivalent to more than 5 percent of global GDP.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) finds that funds lost to corruption are estimated at 10 times the amount of official development assistance for developing countries.

Since International Anti-Corruption Day was first observed, its organizers, the UNDP and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), have developed a joint global campaign to fight corruption. This year the campaign focuses on corruption as one of the biggest impediments to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNODC has been working with its regional partners on promoting information sharing across borders, encouraging cooperation among nations, and sending the message that values such as integrity, accountability, governance and transparency must prevail.

Activities marking International Anti-Corruption Day were carried out around the globe on Friday. Events focusing on anti-corruption efforts range from meetings with the press to national conferences, to training and youth engagement activities as part of wider public outreach.

China is a leading country in fighting corruption and promoting a new international anti-corruption order. Beijing signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2003. At the G20 Hangzhou summit in September, G20 leaders endorsed the High Level Principles on Cooperation on Persons Sought for Corruption and Asset Recovery, and the 2017-2018 Anti-corruption Action Plan.

According to the latest figure from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, China has concluded a total of 79 criminal judicial assistance treaties with nearly 60 countries, and has signed extradition treaties with 46 countries.

China launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign in 2014, which has yielded fruitful results. It has managed to bring back 2,442 overseas fugitives involved in corruption cases and recovered illicit money worth 8.54 billion yuan (1.24 billion U.S. dollars) between Jan. 2014 and Nov. 2016, according to official figures. Endi