Statement by
Mr. Djauhari Oratmangun
The Representative of Indonesia
Before the Plenary of the 58th Session of
the U .N. General Assembly
On Agenda Item 108:
"Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice"
New York, October 31,2003
Mr. President,
On behalf of my delegation I would like to thank the Ad Hoc Committee
for the report we have before us on the work it did to produce the
Convention against Corruption. My delegation notes that it took the
Committee less than two years to complete work on the proposed Convention
which is, without a doubt, a truly effective, comprehensive and workable
legal instrument as it stands. We therefore take this opportunity
to commend the Committee for the high level of efficiency with which
it fulfilled its mandate.
Because no society is immune from the scourge of corruption, Indonesia
welcomes the adoption of the Convention against Corruption as an important
legal instrument that will be available to all societies to combat
this evil. Indeed, the basic premise of the Convention is that positive
action must be taken by all segments of society for social and economic
justice to prevail.
Mr. President,
A society inflicts injury on itself if it is aware that there is corruption
in its midst, yet tolerates it as a necessary evil of politics. Politics
is about the public good, not private gain for crooked politicians
and businessmen. Developing countries, especially those burdened with
debt, can ill afford to suffer the economic and social losses caused
by corruption. Any developing country that is casual about corruption
will put its progress at risk.
Not only does corruption cause a haemorrhage of funds needed for investment
to promote sustainable development but it threatens the fabric of
society in many ways. It undermines democracy, can destabilize governments,
taints public service, and can in the long run breed poverty. Because
of its connection to organized crime, corruption can also lead to
increased violence in society. And without peace, societies cannot
concentrate on their development goals.
Mr. President,
What this means is that there must be national and international efforts
to combat the scourge of corruption. The Convention does just that.
Its provisions call for collaboration within, between and among nations
to prevent and combat the transfer of funds of illicit origin, derived
from acts of corruption. More than that, it approaches corruption
through the doorway of good governance, including among its many provisions
activities that will encourage transparency and accountability in
public and private sector affairs.
However for international efforts to be strong and effective, national
and regional efforts must be strong and effective. While Indonesia
firmly supports international cooperation, such as extradition and
mutual legal assistance between States, and while it has been involved
in regional activities to combat
corruption it has also taken decisive legal steps in recent times
to combat corruption at home.
To deal with corruption and prevent the transfer of funds derived
from acts of corruption, the Government of Indonesia had Law No 31
passed in 1999 and later amended and improved by Law No 20 in 2001.
By Law No 30/2002, it established an anti-corruption commission and
passed Law No 15/2002 to counteract money laundering, and its amendment
has removed the 500 million Rupiah threshold. And an independent financial
intelligence unit to prevent and eliminate money laundering has also
been set up. In that same year, the Government also initiated action
to establish the National Coordination Committee on Money Laundering.
Mr. President,
Indonesia is therefore very pleased that the Ad Hoc Committee has
completed work on the Convention against Corruption. The Convention
is a significant instrument available to nations in their fight to
eliminate corruption at the national and international levels. Its
true value will only be known when the Convention is signed, ratified
and implemented by all States. Indonesia is committed to achieving
these objectives in due course.
In this regard, Indonesia welcomes the High-Level Political Conference
for the signing of the UN Convention against Corruption to be held
in Merida, Mexico, in December.
Mr. President, I thank you.
