UN welcomes Afghanistan’s renewed efforts to fight corruption

Beijing. May 16. Silkroadnews - The new report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) points out the need to accelerate the justice system reform to improve the lives of the entire population of Afghanistan, the Afghan Telegraph Agency (AfTAG) reports.
UNAMA stated that the United Nations firmly supports Afghanistan in the fight against corruption.
“The United Nations stands firmly in supporting Afghanistan’s reinvigorated efforts to fight corruption. The United Nations is especially encouraged by the new reforms brought about in a short time by the Civil Service Commission as well as by the increased activity of the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre in prosecuting and adjudicating complex corruption cases,” the agency quoted Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General’s special representative for Afghanistan, saying.
The second UNAMA report on combating corruption, entitled “Afghanistan’s fight against corruption: from strategy to implementation”, analyzes the contribution of civil society and independent institutions, as well as all three branches of government – executive, legislative and judicial.
The report emphasizes the need to accelerate the reform of the justice system to improve the lives of all Afghan people. It refers to Afghanistan’s New Anti-Corruption Strategy as a powerful tool, but notes that a short-term strategy will have a limited impact.
“It has become clear that all Afghan institutions, along with all segments of society, must now engage in fighting corruption to rebuild integrity, accountability and transparency in the country, with a long-term agenda,” Yamamoto, who is also the head of UNAMA, said.
The report details how the country is currently fulfilling the requirements of the United Nations Convention against Corruption with regard to the criminalization of corruption crimes.
The report also contains a number of recommendations recognizing that the government’s ongoing efforts to combat corruption has no impact on the majority of Afghans so far, and concludes that, despite numerous legal and policy reforms, corruption remains a significant obstacle on the path to Afghanistan’s long-term peace and prosperity.
“While Afghanistan has made significant and notable progress in fighting corruption, new reform strategies and laws have yet to be fully applied to bring tangible benefits to Afghans suffering from the impact of corruption. We are confident our recommendations will be well received and will help Afghanistan in advancing its anti-corruption reform agenda,” said the UN envoy, the report reads.