ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the international community to effectively address the challenge of corruption to ensure a better future for people across the globe.
The foreign minister made the remarks during his virtual address to the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP9) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) late Monday.
He underscored that corruption hampered countries' efforts to eradicate poverty, improve living standards and provide quality healthcare and education to their people, adding that the existence of "financial safe havens" in the world is thwarting the efforts to hold the corrupt accountable.
Urging the CoSP9 to develop a comprehensive legal framework to halt and reverse illicit financial flows to stop grave economic injustice, Qureshi said the existing international anti-corruption framework remained inadequate to effectively ensure the recovery of stolen assets and their return to the developing countries.
He emphasized the need for a strong political will for the removal of all barriers and obstacles to the return of stolen assets. This can be done through timely sharing of information, simplification of administrative and legal procedures, and avoidance of undue delays, Qureshi added.
