We must never forget the face of human tragedy that can, and often does, lie behind the facade of corruption. The villagers in Nigeria who died when outdated and re-labeled drugs were sold t their Health Ministry. The hemophiliacs in Japan who now have AIDS after untreated blood was imported. The child beaten at school this morning for failing to bring "tips" to his teacher. The mother forced to watch her child die as she could not find the money to bribe the health provider.

Where were their protectors? Too often, they were those who themselves take bribes and extort from the populations they are sworn to protect. That is a situation which this Forum has to confront and change.

This reminds us that the issue of corruption is much too important for us all to be able to leave to governments. It also reminds us that all of us are victims, or potential victims, of the processes we are here to help combat. It reminds us, too, of the solemn responsibilities of everyone in this room.

There can be no other issue in today's world that so unites the richest of the US multinational corporations with the poorest peasants in rural India. Corruption threatens and diminishes us all. Even those who seem to gain must live, increasingly, with the risk of detection and a final day of judgement -- in the press if not before the courts -- even before they meet their Maker.

Our organisation, Transparency International (TI), was formed some six years ago at a time when a meeting such as this would have been inconceivable. The thought of sharing a table such as this would have been too bizarre even to contemplate. There was an absolute taboo against discussing the topic, in private sector circles let alone in official fora. The subject was just too delicate - and too embarrassing - to mention. It was a question of "culture"; of people doing things differently abroad. The Europeans were too moral to countenance corruption, but were driven to accommodate the demands of less scrupulous societies.

The World Bank was just one of the many who felt that it was a topic that was off limits. The word "corruption" could not even be uttered -- instead it was the "C" word. TI was mad, bad -- and dangerous to know.

How the world has changed since those comparatively recent days! TI has blossomed to have over 70 national chapters around the world, in every continent and in countries great and small. The number grows quite literally by the month. Under the leadership of a number of key actors -- our Chair, Peter Eigen; Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria; Oscar Arias of Costa Rica; Jim Wolfensohn, happily now of the World Bank; and feisty members of US administrations to name but a few -- a grand global coalition has been forged. One which brings together governments, development agencies, international agencies, the private sector and civil society in a powerful movement the likes of which has seldom, if ever, been seen.

This coalition has begun to embrace many countries, north and south, east and west -- developing and extending systems of governance, building popular support for reform efforts, and creating a climate of confidence that the problem can be tackled effectively.

This is not to say that there have not been failures. There have been, and we must learn all we can from these. Success is slow, and at first difficult to identify. But this we must learn to do this if we are to be able quickly to learn and put to good effect the lessons of best practice.

But among successes to date the OECD convention, designed as it is to confront and contain transnational bribery of foreign officials, stands supreme. Transparency International and the ICC worked tirelessly in building support for these efforts: as I am sure Maria Cattaui will say this afternoon, her organisation and our own will continue to support it through the processes of ratification and implementation. There is much too much at stake for any of us to relax, as this is the most determined effort ever made to counter the supply side of corruption. We will monitor its impact through surveys in emerging markets; we will continue to work to gain greater private sector support; we will develop integrity standards for corporations to "brand" those who achieve them; and we hope to participate in building a web site to promote interaction about the Convention's effects.

The OECD, too, has much to do and it is essential that governments equip it properly to undertake the analytical work essential if the laws and procedure introduced by individual government are to be professionally adjudged and rendered most effective. Too many conventions in the past have become worthless pieces of paper, and there is simply too much at stake for us to risk failure. Governments must supply what the OECD needs.

We must be always mindful of those who would like to see our efforts fail. And mindful, too, of governments being cautious of imposing more demanding legal regimes on their own corporations than those imposed by others on those corporations' competitors. Corporations will watch carefully to see if they are being asked to restrict their practices in ways which their competitors are not. The active participation of the private sector, civil society, bar associations and the like can help build confidence and to reinforce what must become irresistible progress. The inclusion of a monitoring mechanism in the Convention is admirable: what remains is to ensure that all can participate.

At the end of the day, too, we must have effective international criminal assistance arrangements. This will mean that we will have sufficient faith in the integrity and fairness of each others' judicial systems as to be prepared to deport our own citizens to stand trial abroad where this is warranted. This, too, is a state of affairs to which we look for this Forum to contribute towards.

In the meantime developed countries have the problem of unanswered requests for the extradition of those wanted for trial for grand corruption. They also hold huge sums of public moneys literally looted from countries in transition: Is this simply to be returned to be recycled through corrupt institutions -- and subjected to further looting by further officials? Or can we devise ways to ensure that the money seized goes back to serve the people, as it should?

But as well as the supply side of bribery, the demand side, too, must be addressed. Demanding bribes must become a high risk, low profit undertaking - not the high profit low risk it is today. The most effective and most cost-
effective approach will be one of prevention. Every prosecution represents a failure of prevention, and so it is crucial that the lessons for prevention learned by the investigators and prosecutors be shared and acted upon. This conference will contribute significantly to these processes.

The OECD convention, of course, marks a beginning, not an end. There is other urgent work to be done. The Inter-American Convention on corruption provides an opportunity for this hemisphere to act collectively, but the failure to provide for monitoring is telling and the whole concept of peer review appraisal faces strong resistance.

This is an indefensible state of affairs, as those who work to undermine the convention can have but one agenda - to entrench corruption. May we all appeal to all the actors to think again and to re-energize a process, which many had hoped, would prove to be a model for other regions of the world to follow. And may we appeal, too, Mr. Vice President, especially to our hosts to ratify the OAS convention and so place itself in a credible position to promote the concept of monitoring.

Other regions are following suit. The Council of Europe has recently concluded its own convention, also with a monitoring mechanism, and this, too, we would ask for support, and particularly for developed countries to provide the resources essential for meaningful reforms in Central and Eastern Europe.

Paradoxically, aid flows have been crippled by corruption, but they must be increased and targeted to counter that very same menace.

As we act we must also be mindful that time is short. Not that we can hope to win this struggle in a brief time-frame. Quite the opposite. The battle will be long, arduous and to a degree never ending. But international fashions come and go. We know, even as we gather here, that the dominant position that corruption presently enjoys on the international agenda will not last indefinitely.

To maintain its position we must overcome the apathy, the cynicism and the denial which have previously rendered it impossible to confront the issue, and we must demonstrate that real and sustainable progress can be made. We are still far from this point. Should cynicism return, other issues will eclipse our own and take its place on the international agenda. There is, again, too much at stake for us to allow this to happen.

Mr. Vice President, I began with Nigeria. Let me also close with that potentially great country. On Saturday there will be a new and elected president, its first since the overthrow of President Shagari some fifteen years ago. Since then the country has been ravished by corruption as few before it have ever been. The task confronting the new administration will be daunting. Nigeria will need all the help it can get, and we must all see that it receives this.

But only Nigerians will be able to remedy what is wrong with their own country. As elsewhere, the international community can and must support and help, but to be effective the drive, the will and the commitment must all come from within.

Let us also ensure that the international community does not tire in its efforts, as it has elsewhere, and leave the processes unsupported when the job is half done. If history is to judge us as being serious, we must learn to stay with transition processes and to support them until institutions are firmly in place and operating effectively.

Mr. Vice President, as you observed in your challenging keynote address, a world in which corruption is properly contained within a framework of the rule of law and the respect of human rights is a world most likely to be at peace and to be one in which all people everywhere will ultimately become free to develop and realize their full potential as human beings. This vision should inspire us all.

Finally, Mr. Vice President, Transparency International would join in congratulating you on your timely initiative in bringing this gathering together and is most grateful for the opportunity to address you all.

Washington
25 February 1999