“United against Corruption:” UN raises awareness on the United Nations Convention against Corruption

  The United Nations marks the 9 December as the International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) to raise awareness on corruption and the means to combat it. In a press release, Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) said that the IACD this year marks 20 years after the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) was signed in December 2003. Therefore, this year’s theme is “UNCAC at 20: United against Corruption.” The UN has praised the sincere national efforts leading to the signing of the UNCAC, which has reached 189 State Parties in 2022. Nazaha mentioned the progress made by the State of Kuwait in implementing the UNCAC, combatting corruption, and promoting integrity and transparency in economic and administrative transactions. It said that these efforts led to ensuring the rational management of state funds, resources and property and their optimal use. Nazaha added that one of the most important achievements in that regard is its own establishment as a neutral and independent anticorruption authority that is responsible for implementing the UNCAC in light of Law No. 2 of 2016. This is in addition to developing mechanisms to receive and verify reports of suspected corruption crimes and referring them to the competent authorities, while providing protection and rewards for whistleblowers. Nazaha also explained its efforts aimed at strengthening national legislation to combat corruption. It mentioned, as an example, the issuance of the Right to Information Law No. 12 of 2020 as well as referring other draft laws to the competent authorities. These laws, Nazaha said, contribute to promoting transparency and integrity in line with the UNCAC and including:

• Draft law on prohibiting conflicts of interest;
• Draft law on amending some provisions of the Penal Code to expand the scope of liability of legal persons in corruption crimes;
• Legislative amendments to Nazaha’s establishment-law to include encouraging and protecting whistleblowers in the private sector.

In the field of international cooperation, Nazaha mentioned that it has participated in various international meetings. In addition, Nazaha said it encourages the use of the UNCAC as a legal basis for cooperation. It referred to the memorandums of understand it had signed with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the French Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Palestine and the Republic of South Korea in the field of anticorruption. Nazaha also mentioned its efforts in the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism, saying that it completed all stages of preparing the responses of the State of Kuwait with regards to the implementation of Chapters 2 and Chapter 5 of the UNCAC. On a national level, Nazaha said that it signed memorandums to promote the awareness, prevention, training and research with state institutions in anticorruption, including the Ministry of Information, Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Ministry of Education and Higher Studies, Ministry of State for Youth Affairs, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Kuwait Institute for Judicial and Legal Studies, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, the Institute of Banking Studies, State Audit Bureau, and the Saud Al-Nasser Diplomatic Institute. As for corruption prevention and education, Nazaha launched various educational programs and campaigns to raise awareness about its role and encourage social responsibility in promoting integrity and combatting corruption. Moreover, Nazaha mentioned that it prepared the Anti-Corruption Value Integration document to include “transparency, accountability, the rule of law, and community participation” in school curricula in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. Nazaha added that it supported the initiative by Kuwaiti Transparency Society that resulted in the inclusion of an academic course in the Faculty of Law entitled “Corruption Crimes in the Kuwaiti Penal Code” to promote knowledge and research in anti-corruption. Nazaha finally noted that the launch of the Kuwait Integrity and Anti-Corruption (2019-2024) constituted a leap forward as road map for state efforts in promoting integrity and combating corruption in national legislations, policies and procedures.