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<title>MR. KILGOUR - ADDRESS ON "NATIONS COMBATTING CORRUPTION TOGETHER" - SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA</title>
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<p><font size="+1"></font><font size="+1"><strong><u>CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY</u></strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>NOTES FOR AN ADDRESS BY</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>THE HONOURABLE DAVID KILGOUR,</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>SECRETARY OF STATE (ASIA-PACIFIC),</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>TO THE THIRD GLOBAL FORUM ON COMBATTING CORRUPTION</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>AND SAFEGUARDING INTEGRITY</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>"NATIONS COMBATTING CORRUPTION TOGETHER"</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>SEOUL, South Korea</strong></font></p>
<p><font size="+1"><strong>May 30, 2003</strong></font></p>
<p>In this building six months ago, former Korean President Kim Dae-jung told ministers attending the Community of
Democracies conference that, for him, the highlight of the 20th century was the spread of multi-party democracy to about
144 nations. Yet, as the Nobel Prize-winning public intellectual Friedrich Hayek noted, "Democratic control <em>may </em>prevent
power from becoming arbitrary, but does not do so by mere existence." James Madison had pointed out much earlier that
the great difficulty lies in first enabling government to control the governed and next in obliging it to control itself--which
brings us back to Seoul today. </p>
<p>Corruption, in all its forms and guises, corrodes the core values of open societies by breeding cynicism among citizens and
chipping away at the rule of law. No country, including Canada, is immune. Corruption scares off domestic and foreign
investment and creates donor fatigue. In parts of the world, it increases trafficking in drugs, people and small arms. Its
companions are often violence, coercion, and political and social unrest. Perhaps worst of all, corruption lays foundations
for those communities that value privilege and power over needs such as food and education--ones that minimize public
integrity, justice for all, and accountability. </p>
<p><strong>Globalization's Impetus</strong></p>
<p>Globalization, to its credit, has brought about a new impetus for fighting the "C" word. As co-trustees of a shrinking planet,
the issues we should care most about--improving living standards, human rights, environmental protection and equality of
opportunity--are all harmed when corruption is not addressed effectively. We know it is the poor and disadvantaged who
are disproportionately harmed by corruption. Inequitable growth foments instability, social unrest and terrorism. </p>
<p>There is fear among some governments that fighting corruption will hurt their business competitiveness. On the contrary, as
mentioned by several speakers yesterday, the result is better economic performance at home and abroad. Globalization has
already led to a convergence of economic policy and institutions among countries. Why can't transparency and
accountability now be pursued as vigorously as uniform accounting standards and contract laws? Or be considered as
essential to well-functioning economies as responsible fiscal policy? Why can't economies grounded on public confidence
enjoy a comparative advantage similar to that of reliable banking systems? </p>
<p><strong>"Clean Hands"</strong></p>
<p>The fight against corruption must include trying to come to the table with "clean hands." Like your own national
governments, Canada's knows that to advance the anti-corruption agenda abroad we must all begin at home. Responsibility
in this regard must not be passed to a limited and perhaps ignored few specialists. As demonstrated by the broad
composition of many delegations attending this forum, including Canada's, the fight must be a systemic one that begins
with iron political will and spans all branches of government, the business community and, very importantly, civil society. </p>
<p>As an example, Canada has introduced an innovative on-line procurement system and inserted anti-corruption awareness
clauses for businesses applying for export development financing. We are breaking ground in ensuring the integrity of
federal public service employees through a government-wide policy on the disclosure of information concerning
wrongdoing in the workplace and the establishment of a Public Service Integrity Office. As an independent third-party
entity, the Office reviews, and investigates if warranted, disclosures from employees who believe that issues of wrongdoing
in the workplace cannot be raised within their own department, or who disclosed an issue in good faith through
departmental mechanisms but believe that it was not appropriately addressed. We are funding non-governmental
organizations such as Transparency International Canada, whose Corruption Perceptions Index enables us to measure
progress toward open and accountable government. And since 1999, we have had in place the Corruption of Foreign Public
Officials Act, which makes it a crime in Canada--not just a civil offence--to bribe foreign public officials. </p>
<p>Realizing that the fight must start at the highest levels, we have recently introduced reforms that ban corporate donations to
political parties and limits them to $1,000 for individual candidates. No individual will be able to contribute more than
$10,000 per year, and all political participants will be obliged to disclose the sources and amounts of their contributions as
well as expenses incurred. The introduction of a separate, independent ethics officer for each House of Parliament and other
efforts are all part of a larger Eight-Point Plan of Action on Ethics in Government announced by our Prime Minister. The
Plan is designed to make major changes in how elections are run and to eliminate the perception that money talks in
Canada's electoral system. </p>
<p><strong>New International Structures</strong></p>
<p>The features of good governance at home must be paralleled in new international structures. Pushing the fight against
corruption to the forefront of the international agenda means sharing best practices, coordinating approaches, changing
attitudes, raising standards and supporting those around the world who are fighting the "caretakers of the status quo."
Canada has seen a number of positive experiences. </p>
<p>Through the comity that exists between nations and their police forces, and through mutual legal assistance treaties
(MLATs), international cooperation in effective law enforcement is growing. Canada's national police, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP), has liaison officers posted in 21 locations around the world to provide support for domestic
investigations and to facilitate requests received from foreign authorities. We provide training in Canada for police forces
around the world, through secondments of foreign officers into RCMP operational units and through providing RCMP
lecturers to various requesting nations. We have provided police officers to UN missions since 1989, with members
involved in training local police and creating law enforcement infrastructures intended to give rise to fair and impartial
policing services "without fear or favour," to use an RCMP motto. </p>
<p>Canada is working to improve mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, most notably in the Americas, where we have
hosted meetings and spearheaded working groups among OAS [Organization of American States] member states. Since
1999, Canada has ratified bilateral MLATs with over 30 nations. They enable law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to
obtain international assistance, which was not previously possible through comity alone. Most often, it involves searches
abroad in aid of domestic investigations or the conduct in Canada of searches on behalf of foreign authorities. In our
experience, the gains from the MLATs are enhanced significantly when accompanied by equitable sharing agreements,
which allow participating governments to divide the forfeited assets resulting from joint investigations.</p>
<p>Canada's Auditor General, who promotes accountable government and an effective public service through independent
audits and studies, and through reporting to Parliament, was instrumental in starting the INTOSAI--International
Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions--initiative, which trains auditors from developing countries in uncovering
fraud and corruption. </p>
<p>In the area of customs, automation, simplification and standardization are reducing opportunities for discretionary
treatment. The Canadian International Development Agency [CIDA] has adopted anti-corruption clauses in all aid contracts
and conducts regular outreach on transparency and accountability to Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises that do
business overseas with CIDA.</p>
<p>Canada has participated in anti-corruption efforts in many international forums and ratified numerous conventions,
including the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
and the OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] Convention on combatting bribery of officials
in international transactions. Each of these conventions, however, has traction only through implementation. Without the
political will of parliamentarians, they and virtually all other efforts to combat corruption will languish as toothless,
voiceless window dressing, which only reinforces public mistrust. </p>
<p>I congratulate John Williams, Canadian Member of Parliament and Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee
on Public Accounts, for his initiative in creating GOPAC, the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption.
GOPAC brings together parliamentarians, regionally and globally, who are committed to fighting corruption through
improving their effectiveness in holding governments to account. With a number of regional chapters already in place--the
Northeast Asia chapter was formed here in Seoul this week--it is an initiative that will attack one root cause of corruption,
namely, governments that are not accountable to their citizens.</p>
<p>It is this level of cooperation that we hope will be embodied in the forthcoming UN Convention against Corruption. Global
standards should be well integrated with regional ones; moreover, practical and affordable monitoring and follow-up
mechanisms tailored to meet the special needs and characteristics of each legal instrument are essential. We also look to a
convention that includes international cooperation, criminal issues, and, perhaps most importantly, preventive measures. </p>
<p>Corruption, of course, is a symptom of an even greater ill. As the author Eric Hoffer says, "It has often been said that power
corrupts. But it is perhaps equally important to realize that weakness, too, corrupts. Power corrupts the few, while weakness
corrupts the many." Friedrich Hayek noted that "the gradual transformation of a rigidly hierarchic system into one where
[people] could at least attempt to shape their own [lives] is closely associated with the growth of commerce." The rule of
law, transparency and the effective combatting of corruption in all forms are essential to create an environment where
competition can flourish. </p>
<p>The opposite of weakness is strength, and it is found in the rule of law, good governance, independent media, equitable
judicial systems, and healthy, educated and informed citizens. When we work to eradicate poverty, promote education for
all and build strong social infrastructures both at home and abroad, we are also combatting corruption. </p>
<p>As a community, we have the opportunity to send a unified, unequivocal message that corruption will not be accepted in
any form--and that tolerance is no better than the deed itself. We owe nothing less to those who have entrusted us with
being here today. </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
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