Under this agenda item I will focus my statement on the issue of corruption and the recovery on stolen assets, which is of particular interest to my government.
It is now indisputably common ground that corruption is a major problem for the international community and one that can only be resolved through international cooperation. The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) is the first global instrument to address the challenges we face. The process of negotiating the UNCAC lead developed and developing countries alike to set a sharp focus on combating corruption.
Tremendous work was put into the negotiations of the UNCAC, and there are now more than 120 State Parties to the Convention. This has been achieved at record pace, creating hope and expectations, but also an obligation for us to continue our work to ensure the effective implementation of the Convention.
The Norwegian lead Task Force on illicit financial flows had its final meeting in Oslo last week, and has listed a number of possible recommendations to stem illicit flows. It is our hope that these recommendations will be discussed and considered in relevant forums in the near future.
There is a common will to move forward. Our main task is to ensure progress on asset recovery, review of implementation and technical assistance, and these dimensions are mutually interdependent. In all our efforts we must maintain the carefully balanced compromise that has made the Convention acceptable to all countries.
Much has been done, but considerable work remains in order to develop an implementation mechanism that can be adopted at the third Conference of the States Parties in Qatar in 2009 that will effectively assist countries in the implementation of the Convention, identify needs and provide support.
Effective implementation is crucial to ensure that the UNCAC's provisions on asset recovery and international cooperation function as intended. Asset recovery is an essential element of the Convention, and is of key importance to many developing countries. It is also a way to demonstrate to the international community that justice is on the side of the victims of corruption.
Our next important opportunity to ensure further progress will be the third Conference of the States Parties. We urge all Parties to contribute to the intergovernmental working groups on technical assistance, asset recovery and review of implementation in order to advise and assist the Conference in the implementation of its mandate in these important areas. Together we can take the fight against corruption one step further at the third Conference of States Parties.
Last year the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, a collaborative arrangement between United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Bank, was launched. We strongly support this initiative, and hope that the new Multi-Donor Trust fund will contribute to fulfil the objectives of the initiative: to promote commitment to recover stolen assets, to develop knowledge, procedures and tools that facilitate asset recovery, to promote networks of practitioners and support partner countries in the implementation of efforts to recover stolen assets.