NEW YORK CITY – Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople yesterday hailed the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption by the UN general assembly.

In a statement prepared for delivery at the General Assembly, Ople said the covenant “breaks new ground for a global effort to fight corruption especially in developing countries, adding that “corruption is the greatest impediment to the development of the world’s poor countries.”

Ople cited estimates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that laundered money, mostly arising from corruption, accounts for 3 to 5 per cent of world gross product.

“Corruption is a heavy millstone that drags the world’s poor to even worse poverty and despair,” he said.

Ople said he was proud that the Philippines through its delegation in Vienna, took a leading part in the drafting of the Convention Against Corruption, bringing into the task the rich experience of the Philippine Presidential
Commission on Good Government.  The delegation was led by Ambassador Victor Garcia.

Under the covenant, the member states of the UN are legally bound to help each other facilitate action against corruption under a rule of law.

The Philippine foreign secretary warned, however, that the convention should not be used to impose conditionalities or to interfere in a country’s internal affairs.

Senator Edgardo Angara, a delegation member participated in the negotiation over the text of the UN Convention.  END.