UN mission hails Afghanistan's fight against corruption

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) hailed Afghan government's current efforts in fight against corruption on Tuesday.

Afghan authorities have made headway in their fight against corruption while enormous challenges remain, a report released Tuesday by UNAMA here said.

The report "Afghanistan's Fight Against Corruption: The Other Battlefield" highlighted the progress the country has made in addressing corruption and drew on internationally recognized best practices to provide recommendations for how the government, with the continued support of the public and the international community, can build on those achievements.

Early last year, the government formed a council, the National High Council for Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption, to maintain a heavy-handed approach against corruption. The council has regularly been holding meetings chaired by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani since its formation.

"For the sake of the country's future, corruption in Afghanistan must be addressed and eliminated," Tadamichi Yamamoto, special UN envoy and head of UN mission, was quoted in a UNAMA statement.

"The United Nations welcomes the progress already made, and fully supports the government's ongoing efforts to fight corruption in the interest of ending impunity, ensuring accountability and transparency, and restoring integrity to the management of public services, finances and natural resources," he said.

Meanwhile, some Afghan lawmakers and civil society members reportedly said that the existing anti-corruption measures have not been strict enough to serve as effective deterrents.

They said Afghanistan would not be able to achieve lasting peace and prosperity unless the government is able to eliminate or at least minimize corruption in government and non-government entities. Enditem