Why did the OECD develop the Anti-Bribery Convention?
The momentum to develop this Convention was born out of the conviction that bribery of foreign government officials in international business transactions is a serious threat to the development and preservation of democratic institutions. Not only does it undermine economic development, it also distorts international competition by seriously misdirecting resources. With this Convention, the OECD sought to level the competitive playing field in international business transactions. The OECD realised that strong multilateral co-operation was necessary in any serious fight against corruption. This realisation led OECD to adopt a Convention—a rather unusual action at the OECD—to have a more binding text with monitoring mechanisms.
