Bali Blog

Posted: 30 January 2008

What a strange twist of fate that former Indonesian President Suharto, who had been under investigation for corruption, was buried on the same morning as the opening of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption that is taking place this week in Bali.

But it is no coincidence that the meeting is being hosted by Indonesia. Indonesia is taking great strides to tackle corruption - a cancer that is regarded by the new President as "public enemy number one".

In Bali the debate has been about what governments are doing to prevent and fight corruption, what further assistance is needed, and how to review implementation of the world's only legally binding anti-corruption instrument.

Asset recovery is a hot topic here. The Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative that UNODC launched last September with the World Bank has generated a lot of interest. Expectations are high, perhaps unrealistically so. Some people - including the media - seem to think that locating and repatriating assets stolen by kleptocrats is quick and easy. In reality, it is slow and complicated - not a treasure hunt that will uncover a pot of gold. That is why we need the StAR Initiative - to help states break down the barriers that make this process so complex.

But this is not just an inter-governmental meeting because corruption is too big for governments to tackle alone. There is widening support to fight corruption in society at large.

That point was made in a special event called "Artists for Integrity", hosted by CNN anchor man Jim Clancy - a natural born master of ceremonies - that involved a well-known writer, actress, film director and two musicians talking about how popular culture can fight corruption. Colombian singer Cesar Lopez was there with his 'escopetarra', the gun turned into a guitar. The poor guy was held up in Singapore for several hours trying to explain why he had a strange looking AK-47 in his suitcase.

To raise the profile of our work in fighting corruption, I have appointed Hollywood actress Famke Janssen UNODC Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity. She is keen to champion this cause, as she has already done in some of her films.

I'm off to Aceh in northern Indonesia. You will hear about it soon.