Ukraine Contributes to the Fight Against Corruption at the World Summit of Top Prosecutors

KYIV, Ukraine, July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Ukraine contributed to the Seoul 2011 Declaration "New Initiatives of the Prosecution Service - for Honest and Fair Society." Following the initiative of the Ukrainian delegation, statements regarding the fight against corruption at the top government levels as well as counteraction to the attempts to influence the work of prosecutors and criminal investigators were added to the document elaborated during the Fourth World Summit of Prosecutors General, Attorneys General and Chief Prosecutors, organized by the United Nations.

The Fourth World Summit of Prosecutors General, Attorneys General and Chief Prosecutors took place in Seoul, South Korea, on June 29 through July 2, 2011. Almost 400 participants gathered for the Summit, including Prosecutors General from 115 countries and top officials from the influential international organizations in the field of criminal justice. The objective of the Summit was to promote efficiency of the criminal justice institutions.

Ukrainian delegation was headed by the Deputy Prosecutor General Yuriy Udartsov who made a suggestion to include in the Summit's closing document statements on support of corruption prevention policy, fight against corruption processes that involve high officials, and counteraction to the attempts to influence the work of prosecutors and criminal investigators.

The Ukrainian high official also delivered a speech on "Ultimate Fight Against Corruption as a Top Priority for the Modernization of Ukraine." In his address Udartsov emphasized the fact that for the first time in the history of Ukrainian criminal justice the top officials are facing corruption charges - the former and current government members are accused of bribery, exceeding and abuse of authority, and embezzlement of state property.

During the summit the Ukrainian delegation conducted bilateral negotiations to enhance criminal justice institutions cooperation with the representatives of the Republic of Korea (Prosecutor General Joon Gyu Kim), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Uganda, the USA, as well as the UN officials.

Ukraine joined the World Summit of Prosecutors General, Attorneys General and Chief Prosecutors in 2009 for its third meeting. The first Summit was held in 2004 with an aim to  enhance cooperation between the Prosecutor General's Offices in different countries.