The history of the 10th Principle

Corruption is a global problem that requires global action. This makes the United Nations the organization best positioned to be at the vanguard of the ongoing battle against corruption and explains why the inclusion in 2004 of the 10th Principle against corruption in the United Nations Global Compact is so important. Since its inception in 2000, the United Nations Global Compact had always envisaged a need to address the issue of corruption. It was not included in the first nine Principles for the simple reason that the United Nations had no legal instrument in place to enforce its provisions. The ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2003, and its introduction in 2005, provided this framework.

On 24 June 2004, during the United Nations Global Compact Leaders Summit, participants unanimously agreed to add a 10th Principle to the Global Compact: ‘Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.’ Speaking on the day the announcement was made, Peter Eigen, founder and then chairman of Transparency International (TI), who was on the UN advisory board to the Global Compact, put it succinctly: ‘By tackling corruption, you also strike at a root cause of environmental, human rights and labour abuses.’