With an election pending for April 2004, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) would like to take advantage of this opportunity to urge all political parties, candidates and leaders to publicly guarantee the ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).UNCAC is the main international umbrella for eradicating global corruption. The convention became open for signature as of December 2003, however only 110 signatories have been obtained thus far. TISL has appealed to the President, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs outlining the importance of Sri Lanka’s ratification of UNCAC. Although there has been no response to letters sent by TISL, there is optimism that through the election campaigning process, political parties will take a public stance on the convention and ratification. To date only the United People’s Freedom Alliance has made a statement that upon their election the UNCAC would be ratified by Sri lanka.
TISLrequests that the public, regardless of the election results, continue to apply pressure on political leaders to display their commitment to ending corruption both in Sri Lanka and globally, by ratifying the convention.