Vienna Chapter
Mr. Chairman,
1. First of all, Mr. Chairman, I would like to express the G-77 and
China´s satisfaction at seeing you presiding over the concluding
phase of our work in the Ad-hoc Committee.
2. On behalf of the Group, I would like to refer to our expectations
at the conclusion of the readings of the evolving text of a draft
convention against corruption, and the beginning of a phase of final
negotiations on the texts of such convention. The work ahead will be
arduous, bearing in mind that many of the articles that are pivotal to the
convention still have to be agreed upon at a drafting level.
3. The Group is of the view that the proposed convention is
addressing issues specifically linked to the fight against corruption, and
therefore political considerations should not become a conditionality for
implementing provisions of the proposed convention.
4. For us to succeed and fulfil the mandate of the GA in the next two
sessions of the Committee we will have to consider some elements that were
mentioned before by the Group and that will enable the proceedings of the
Ad-hoc Committee to have the broadest participation of delegations.
Particular attention should be paid to a few points regarding the
logistics of the final negotiation, so that the Committee can operate with
an adequate level of flexibility: (a) parallel meetings should be avoided
as much as possible; (b) when a contested article is being discussed in a
working group, the plenary should not be in session, or should only be
considering matters that are in principle agreed upon; (c) a flexible
approach should be implemented regarding the discussion of chapters such
as the ones on "definitions" and "criminalisation",
that are closely interrelated; (d) interpretation in all official
languages should be provided for the consideration of those articles that
are central to the draft convention; (e) the Group would like also to
stress the importance of the documents produced and the need for them to
be correctly translated.
5. The G-77 and China believes that a great deal of attention should
be given to the draft articles regarding definitions, scope and
criminalisation, strengthening of international cooperation and, technical
assistance, and recovery of assets of illicit origin.
6. On the mandatory/optional nature of the preventive measures, we
can work with an approach according to which such measures should be
largely advisory/optional.
7. The case is clearly different with criminalisation and
international cooperation. These two elements are central in an
international convention, and for this reason they should be mandatory in
nature, subject to domestic law.
8. We also strongly support the position that the provisions related
to "International Cooperation" and "Return of Assets"
should be applicable to both criminal and non-criminal investigations,
including civil and administrative enquiries.
9. The G-77 and China considers that the points mentioned above are
at the core of the proposed convention and hence various measures,
including international cooperation, extradition and mutual legal
assistance, should be strengthened, as much as possible building on the
TOC Convention. These provisions should be comprehensive, without leaving
any gap, and therefore no offences covered in this convention should be
treated as "political offences".
10. The Group favours a definition of public official that includes a
wide range of functionaries and at all levels of the hierarchy (ie:
functionaries of all branches of Government or any other person performing
a public function even if contracted to perform such function).
11. Chapter III of the evolving text criminalises certain acts
committed in the course of private sector activity. The Group supports the
incorporation into the Convention of those areas where private sector
activities affect the public interest.
12. Also in Chapter III, as regards the provision on illicit
enrichment, the Group to supports the proposal of a draft article that
suggests a solution for the problem of cooperation between states that
have criminalised the conduct and those which have not done so.
13. It is in this vein that the Group supports the formulation "offences
covered by the Convention" in place of the term "established by
State parties under the Convention" wherever it appears on the text.
14. In the article on Jurisdiction, the Group supports the proposal
to include the right of a State to establish its jurisdiction over an
offence being an "affected State" (article 50, para. d bis).
15. It would also be convenient to follow the Travaux Preparatoires
of TOC on the meaning of the expression final judgement or final
conviction, in the sense that it should be construed as a "legally
enforceable judgement" and not an absolutely final one.
16. The G-77 and China attaches great importance to the issue of "Return
of Assets" to the country of origin and considers it should be
recognized as its "inalienable right". Return of assets is the
logical conclusion of the fight against corruption addressed by the
Convention.
17. The Group has clearly expressed during the first readings of the
rolling text the need to establish effective international provisions on
seizure of assets illicitly acquired by means of corruption and their
recovery by the country of origin.
18. In this sense, the convention should consolidate a comprehensive
chapter on the recovery of assets, including provisions on preventive
measures, cooperation and recovery mechanisms.
19. The G-77 and China believes that the proposed Convention against
corruption should facilitate prompt and expeditious recovery and return of
assets arising out of corruption. It is, therefore, our view that
comprehensive provisions in the multilateral context as incorporated in
the proposed convention would be more useful for this purpose rather than
this issue being dealt with through bilateral treaties, as proposed by
some Member States.
20. The Group is of the view that the monitoring mechanism should not
be intrusive in nature, and should respect the sovereignty of States. It
may be advisable to leave the specific nature and monitoring mechanism to
the Conference of the State Parties.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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