OVERVIEW
This conference provided an opportunity to address the supply of corruption, from the perspectives of the public sector, the private sector, and civil society. Participants consisted of experts from the region, and through a combination of plenary sessions and workshops, they explored options for countering corruption by targeting supply. Based on workshop discussions, the final plenary proposed actions to advance the fight against bribe giving in the Asia-Pacific.
The conference was held under the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative, which is jointly managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Secretariat of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
THE CONTEXT
Throughout the Asia-Pacific region, there is a growing recognition of the adverse impact of corruption on equitable and sustainable economic growth. Governments have responded by passing anti-corruption legislation, strengthening codes of conduct for civil servants, and establishing anti-corruption commissions and anti-corruption courts. Governments look to international standards including the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention (1997) and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003) to provide a framework for reducing corruption in a comprehensive fashion.
However, reducing corruption is not the responsibility of the government alone. Corruption occurs where the private and public sectors intersect. There is both a demand (bribe solicitation) and supply (bribe giving) to corruption, and the supply often takes the form of bribes paid by the private sector. Till today, strategies for fighting corruption in the region have focused on the demand.
