The United States on Monday unveiled its first-ever strategy to counter corruption both at home and abroad, the White House announced
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2021) The United States on Monday unveiled its first-ever strategy to counter corruption both at home and abroad, the White House announced.
"Today, in line with the President's direction, the Biden-Harris Administration is releasing the first-ever United States Strategy on Countering Corruption. The Strategy outlines a whole-of-government approach to elevating the fight against corruption," the statement said.
In particular, the US aims to better understand and respond to the threat's transnational dimensions, "including by taking additional steps to reduce the ability of corrupt actors to use the U.S. and international financial systems to hide assets and launder the proceeds of corrupt acts," it added.
The administration has presented five pillars of the strategy. They will include modernizing, coordinating, and resourcing the efforts; curbing illicit finance; holding those behind corruption accountable; strengthening the multilateral anti-corruption architecture; and improving diplomatic efforts to battle the issue.
"Taken together, these efforts can bolster partner governments' capacity and will to counter corruption, and support civil society and others engaged in advocacy and action," it said.
Speaking on the new strategy, a US official told journalists at a briefing on Monday that the strategy will condition the provision of foreign and security assistance on the level of corruption in recipient states.
Corruption evaluation will affect the provision of humanitarian aid as well. The US Agency for International Development will be in charge of implementing the strategy by focusing on anti-corruption in its operations and "better assessing and addressing corruption risks across all US development and humanitarian assistance."
As the architects of the strategy claim, corruption compromises governments' trustworthiness and reliability, undermines the rule of law, exacerbates inequality and creates unfavorable business environment. All that leads to democratic backslide and rampant human rights violations.
