NATO marks UN International Anti-Corruption Day
December 9th is UN International Anti-Corruption Day, aimed at raising awareness of corruption and the role of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in combatting it. This year’s theme is ‘United Against Corruption for Peace, Development and Security’ – and NATO’s anti-corruption work makes a real contribution to UN efforts in this regard.
“Allies recognise that corruption and poor governance complicate every security challenge we face, and undermine our peace, security, prosperity and operational effectiveness,” notes NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
NATO’s anti-corruption efforts are led by the Building Integrity (BI) programme, which began in 2007 and now works with 30 Allies and partners to improve good governance and reduce the risk of corruption in their defence and security sectors.
To mark this year’s UN Anti-Corruption Day, NATO is publishing two significant documents:
- The BI Policy, endorsed by Allied leaders at the NATO Summit in Warsaw last July, explains how NATO Allies, structures and agencies will work against poor governance and corruption. It emphasizes the importance of education and training.
- The BI Reference Curriculum is a guide for educators to assist nations in integrating BI into their existing training curricula and designing their own courses. It was produced by a working group of experts from Allied and partner nations.
These publications highlight the importance placed by NATO on good governance and NATO’s support to the UN’s vital anti-corruption efforts.
The BI programme will continue to work through 2017 on implementing the policy through an action plan agreed by NATO foreign ministers this week.