The United Nations Global Compact on Tuesday called upon the private sector entities to move against corruption.
The UNGC called on all stakeholders — Government, civil society and business leaders — to work together to create an environment in which fair business, which can lead to sustainable growth benefitting the poor, can take place.
With the deadline of 2015 for the Millennium Development Goals inching closer, the UN is now looking at developing a new development framework — Post-2015 UN Development Agenda. The international body sees graft as one of the biggest hurdles in inclusive and sustainable development.
Olajobi Makinwa, Head of Transparency and Anti-Corruption Initiative for the UNGC, said that often it is difficult for companies or entities to fight graft on an individual level but when they come together to take a call on not giving bribes then there is strength in unity.
She added that business houses, especially multinational organisations, should not take shelter under the argument that laws are weak in a particular country. “Companies should abide by international standards and raise the bar instead of saying the laws or policies are not there,” Makinwa said.
She added that often anti-graft debates centre on the Governments and the lack of stringent policies, but this is an incomplete way of looking at it since corruption is also fostered by those who give bribes, that is, the private entities.