Every dollar lost to corruption, is a dollar lost to investing in a child’s education, healthcare or much needed infrastructure.
- Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
No country in the world is untouched by corruption. It affects least developed countries and advanced economies alike.
Corruption can take many forms, for example bribes by businesses to politicians or officials to obtain licences or to bypass regulations.
Corruption undermines the rule of law and stifles economic development and growth. It is usually a symptom of poor governance.
Commonwealth action
The Commonwealth helps governments, judges, the police and other public institutions tackle systemic corruption by:
- sharing best practices
- training
- policy research.
We are trusted because we have no vested interest other than a desire to support our member countries.
Examples of our work include:
- helping build the skills of national anti-corruption institutions
- writing laws to make sure industries like oil and minerals are protected from abuse
- helping countries stamp out bribery and match fixing in sport.
