UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for more efforts from member states to fight corruption.
Corruption is present in all countries, rich and poor, North and South, developed and developing, he told the Security Council.
People across the world continue to express outrage at the corruption of their leaders, and at how deeply corruption is embedded in societies. They are rightly calling for political establishments to operate with transparency and accountability, or make way for those who will, he said.
"I call on leaders everywhere to listen, to nurture a culture of integrity and to empower citizens to do their part at the grassroots. We must all do more to fight corruption, strengthen governance and build trustworthy institutions that can ensure probity and progress for all."
Member states must be on the front lines in the fight against corruption. It is especially important to build up the capacity of national anti-corruption commissions and prosecutorial efforts, he said.
The World Economic Forum estimates that the cost of corruption is at least 2.6 trillion U.S. dollars, or 5 percent of global gross domestic product.
And according to the World Bank, businesses and individuals pay more than 1 trillion dollars in bribes each year, he said.
