Reporting Guidance on the 10th Principle against corruption

Abstract

"On 24 June 2004, the first Global Compact Leaders’ Summit announced that the Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, had adopted a 10th Principle against corruption: “Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.” The adoption of the 10th Principle sent a strong worldwide signal that the private sector and other non-state-actors share responsibility for eliminating corruption and stand ready to play their part. The 10th Principle commits Global Compact participants not only to avoid bribery, extortion and other forms of corruption, but also to develop policies and concrete programmes to address it. Companies are challenged to join governments, UN agencies and civil society to realize a more transparent global economy. The 10th Principle was the response of the business community and other non-state actors to the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention in October 2003, and it entered into force on 14 December 2005. As of September 2009, over 140 States had ratified the Convention. As the sole global, legally binding anti-corruption instrument, the Convention provides a unique opportunity to prevent and fight corruption in both public and private sectors. With this in mind, the 2004 Global Compact Leaders’ Summit designated the UN Convention against Corruption as the underlying legal instrument for the new 10th Principle. In fact, while the Convention is legally binding only for countries that have ratified it, its values and principles are applicable to the widest spectrum of society, including the business community. The principles enshrined in the Convention can serve as an inspirational tool for companies adopting or reviewing internal anti-corruption policies, strategies, and measures. Following adoption of the 10th Principle, the Global Compact established a multistakeholder working group to provide strategic input to the Global Compact’s work on anti-corruption and to define the needs of the business community in implementing the principle. The Working Group on the Implementation of the UN Global Compact’s 10th Principle also aims to contribute to greater coherence by supporting the alignment of existing initiatives and avoiding the duplication of efforts. The Working Group has established several task forces to develop various tools and resources to help businesses achieve the goals of the 10th Principle. This Guidance is the result of one such effort.", p. 5