“The Fight against Corruption for Development, Peace and Security” an exhibition timed to the International Anti-Corruption Day, runs in the documents of international organizations room (207g), from December 7 to January 15.

The International Anti-Corruption Day was proclaimed by the 58th session of the United Nations General Assembly, on October 31, 2003 (resolution A/RES/58/4) and is observed annually, on December 9. On this day, 2003, the high-level political conference opened in Merida (Mexico) for signing the United Nations Convention against Corruption . The Convention entered into force on December 14, 2005. To date, it has been signed by 140 states.

The Convention covers five main areas: preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange. The Convention covers many different forms of corruption, such as bribery, trading in influence, abuse of functions, and various acts of corruption in the private sector. The Convention requires countries to establish criminal and other offences to cover a wide range of acts of corruption, if these are not already crimes under domestic law.

Corruption is a serious crime, undermining socio-economic development in all societies. At different stages of social development, corruption has always been one of the most destructive phenomena. The abuse of power for personal gain has accompanied mankind since ancient times. Despite the fact that history knows many examples of the fight against this evil, unfortunately, it has not been eradicated so far. In the 21st century, corruption remains among the most pressing problems inherent in all countries without exception.

Corruption within and between public and private sectors has become one of the leading problems for businesses all over the world. The recent inclusion of an anticorruption principle in the United Nations Global Compact, endorsed by more than 3,800 members, further emphasizes the ever-growing importance of the private sector in the global fight against corruption. Just to get an idea of the dimensions of corruption, it is worth mentioning that, according to the World Bank Institute, more than $1 trillion dollars (US$ 1,000 billion) are paid in bribes every year, which means that each year the cost of corrupt activities is equal to a full 3 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product.

In Belarus, an effective legislative framework has been created to combat corruption. Our country was one of the first participating States to ratify the UN Convention against Corruption. In addition to this convention, the Republic of Belarus has ratified and strictly implemented such major international acts as the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the Civil Law Convention on Corruption. In fulfillment of relevant international obligations, the Republic of Belarus consistently takes legislative, administrative and other anti-corruption measures. The basic document on the basis of which anti-corruption activities are organized in our country is the Law of the Republic of Belarus of July 15, 2015 No. 305-З “On Combating Corruption”. Currently, a regular program to combat crime and corruption for 2017–2019 is being implemented.

The exhibition features more than 60 documents of international organizations (UN, European Union, Council of Europe, etc.) in Russian and English languages: books, periodicals, UN mimeographed materials, brochures, booklets.

The exhibition consists of the following sections:

The concept, forms and types of corruption. The impact of corruption on the development of society
International legal documents aimed at fighting corruption
The main methods and principles of the fight against corruption and its individual manifestations
Combating corruption in the Republic of Belarus

The exhibition will be of interest to employees of public authorities and administration, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, as well as teachers, graduate students and law students.

The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the library’s opening hours.
Admission is by library card or by ticket of the library's social and cultural center. Information and tickets may be obtained at the registration desk.

For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 34.