United Nations Convention Against Corruption

In its resolution 55/61 of December 4, 2000, the General Assembly recognized that an effective international legal instrument against corruption, independent of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (resolution 55/25, annex I), was desirable and decided to establish an Ad Hoc Committee for the negotiation of such an instrument in Vienna, Austria at the headquarters of the Centre for International Crime Prevention, Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. The text of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption was negotiated during seven sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Negotiation of the Convention Against Corruption, held between January 21, 2002 and October 1, 2003. The Convention approved by the Ad Hoc Committee was adopted by the General Assembly by resolution 58/4 of October 31, 2003. The General Assembly, in its resolution 57/169 of December 18, 2002, accepted the offer of the Government of Mexico to host a high-level political signing conference in Merida, Mexico for the purpose of signing the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. The Assembly invited all States to be represented at the Conference at the highest possible levels of Government.

The Convention addresses issues of prevention, criminalization, international cooperation, asset recovery, and implementation mechanisms.