The Importance of Ratifying the UN Convention against Corruption by the Islamic Republic of Iran

The ad-hoc committee for the elaboration of the UN Convention against Corruption after two years of negotiation (from January 2002 until October 2003) concluded its work and the draft convention was finally approved by the General Assembly on 31 October 2003 and opened for signature at the High Level Conference in Merida، Mexico، in December 2003. The UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) is the first legally binding international instrument to help countries fight corruption both in public and private sectors and entered into force on 14 December 2005. As stipulated in Article 1 of the UNCAC، the purpose of this convention is to prevent and combat corruption more efficiently and effectively، to promote and facilitate international cooperation and technical assistance and to promote integrity، accountability and proper management of public affairs and public property. The Convention is based on its four important pillars which are: 1) Prevention، 2) Criminalization، 3) International Cooperation، and 4) Asset Recovery; and the effective implementation of the Convention depends on the effective implementation of its pillars. The UN Convention against Corruption، as the first legally binding international instrument to combat this menace، provides appropriate measures for extradition، mutual legal assistance، and recovery and return of illicitly acquired assets to the countries of origin. The proper implementation of these measures will help the international community to achieve successful results in preventing and combating corruption.