NIHR issues statement on International Anti-Corruption Day

The National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) stressed that celebrating the International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9, is an opportunity to highlight the activities of states in the fight against corruption. NIHR said, in its statement marking aforementioned occasion, corruption is still among the most prominent challenges that threatens economic growth, hinders the development process and leaves negative impact on the political, economic and social aspects. NIHR asserted fighting corruption is not only the State's responsibility, but it is also the responsibility of organizations and members of civil society, in particular the media agencies. NIHR underscored the need to increase awareness of fighting corruption through coordinating government media policies to educate the people and State's staff and officials about detecting and suppressing this crime and holding those practice it accountable, in addition to the importance of developing social partnership that includes all components of the community to stand together in combating corruption. The statement also noted the ratification of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the UN Convention against Corruption under Law No. (7) of 2010, and the importance of developing plans aim at fighting corruption. It praised the report of the National Audit Office that enlightens domestic public opinion in the issues of corruption. It's worht mentioning that thte UN General Assembly adopted on 31October 2003 the UN Convention against Corruption, which entered into force in December 2005. The United Nations defines corruption as a complex social, political and economic phenomenon affecting all countries, undermines democratic institutions, decelerates economic development, contributes to the disruption of governments and leads to the emergence of bureaucracy that grows with the growth of bribery.