Topic: 2025 – Criminal Accountability of UN Officials
Country: Brazil
Delegate Name: Keegan Miller
Committee: LEGAL
Topic: Criminal Accountability of UN Officials
Country: Brazil
Delegate: Keegan Miller
The corruption of officials in the UN is an issue of the utmost importance and strong action is required to stop corruption among officials. Recently in the UN allegations against representatives from Haiti, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have revealed that many UN officials are corrupt. As well, numerous other incidents in the UN have put this on display like the former UN general assembly president with him being involved in a “$1.3 million bribery scheme” (Bribery Scheme).
Brazil believes that corruption in the UN is unacceptable with them joining UNCAC in 2006 to further show this claim. Aswell, Brazil has made strong anti corruption laws that punish harshly for corruption. The effectiveness of these laws is questionable as there is poor enforcement of these laws within the country. This is reflected in the people’s perception of corruption in the country with them only scoring a 34 on CPI according to transparency International (The CPI is an index that rates confidence in the government based on public perception), ranking them at 107 out of 180 countries. Another big problem in recent history was an attempted coup on the government from Jair Bolsonaro significantly affecting the public’s opinion of the government.
The UN does not take to corruption kindly and is starkly against it. One example of how the UN is against corruption is the UNCAC which stands for the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. This group helps fight corruption globally as well within the UN itself. It does this by helping member countries set up stricter laws and criminalizing corruption in general. It is able to do this as its policies are legally binding to member nations which helps discourage politicians and representatives from taking bribes and doing other corrupt actions. According to UNCAC there are 192 states that have signed and joined into the convention making it almost universal in fighting corruption. While it has universal authority, the effectiveness within countries has varied and more dependent on each individual country’s dedication to fighting corruption.
Brazil believes that corruption must be stopped as Brazil itself has suffered in the past and continues to suffer from the effects of corruption. Brazil believes that a more formal committee must be formed to investigate corruption among specifically UN representatives that will randomly select representatives for corruption. This will prove effective in both preventing corruption of UN representatives by making them fearful of investigation as well as finding already corrupt figures.
Work Cited
Corruption Perceptions Index 2024 – Transparency.Org, www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2024. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
“UNCAC Signature and Ratification Status.” United Nations : Office on Drugs and Crime, www.unodc.org/corruption/en/uncac/ratification-status.html. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
“Former UN General Assembly President and Five Others Charged in $1.3 Million Bribery Scheme.” Southern District of New York | Former UN General Assembly President and Five Others Charged In $1.3 Million Bribery Scheme | United States Department of Justice, 6 Oct. 2015, www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-un-general-assembly-president-and-five-others-charged-13-million-bribery-scheme.
