HIBAPRESS
World Anti-Corruption Day is celebrated on December 9th of each year, and it is an occasion to remind the international community of the importance of addressing corruption in various aspects of life.
The United Nations launched this day with the aim of promoting global awareness and encouraging the adoption of a clear and effective stance against corruption. The existence of corruption dates back a long time, as the oldest legal texts addressed this phenomenon, such as the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, the Great Decree of Horemheb in Egypt, and the Arthashastra in India. These texts focused on bribery practices among state employees and the legal penalties resulting from them. Over time, the concept of public interest began to take root in societies, and calls to combat corruption increased due to the significant burdens it places on development and social stability. Organizations that support the fight against corruption globally. Transparency International is one of the most prominent entities concerned with combating corruption around the world. It was founded by Peter Eigen, an official at the World Bank who witnessed the effects of corruption in East Africa, so he decided to establish a non-profit organization to shed light on this issue. The General Secretariat of the organization was established in Berlin in 1993, and since then it has hosted the International Anti-Corruption Conference every two years, with the participation of civil society, experts, and government agencies. In 2020, the organization's first virtual conference was held, available online to the public. The organization also launched the Corruption Perceptions Index in 1995 to measure levels of corruption in various countries, based on data from 180 countries, in addition to the efforts of other international institutions such as the World Bank, which monitors global governance indicators. Adoption of World Anti-Corruption Day. When the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2003, it decided to allocate a special international day to raise awareness of the dangers of corruption and promote international efforts to reduce it. This decision comes to emphasize the importance of global cooperation in the face of this phenomenon, which is one of the most prominent challenges to achieving sustainable development, and to urge countries to implement the provisions of the convention and enhance transparency in public and private institutions.
