Alice Elizabeth Taylor, 04 June 2021
The Maltese government has signed a United Nations declaration promising to “investigate, prosecute, and punish threats and acts of violence” against journalists, provide a “Safe and enabling environment” for whistleblowers, and ‘take effective measures” to “prevent, investigate, and prosecute” corruption involving public officials.
The declaration on “challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation” was signed yesterday at the first-ever UN General Assembly Special Session against Corruption, which started yesterday and will close on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the UN confirmed to The Shift that “the document was adopted by consensus, meaning that all have supported it, including Malta.”
Malta’s problems with corruption across government and state-run enterprises have multiplied over the last few years. Transparency International earlier this year published its corruption perception index showing Malta had dropped even further, to reach its worst-ever result. Scoring 53 out of a possible 100, it has lost seven points since 2015. TI highlighted the country as one of only 22 that had “significantly” worsened their score during 2020.
As well, a Eurobarometer survey published at the start of the year showed that almost 90% of the population thought corruption was “widespread”. This is a growth of 10 points in two years.
