On 31 October 2003, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption by the resolution 58/4 of October 31, 2003. The United Nations General Assembly designated the 9^th December as International Anti-Corruption Day. This resolution aimed at raising people’s awareness on consequences of corruption and their role in preventing and fighting against it.

The Chief Ombudsman of Rwanda, Honorable Nirere Madeleine declared that for the purpose of raising awareness on the evil of corruption, the Office of the Ombudsman is organizing a week campaign against corruption from 28^th November to 09^th December 2021 under the theme “Eradicating corruption to achieve sustainable development”.

The Chief Ombudsman has revealed that “much has been done to prevent and fight against corruption in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, Public Institutions, Private Sector, Civil Society but it has not reached the desired zeal. For instance Rwanda has been ranked the 4^th       in Africa and the first country in East African Community and this was a result of the zero tolerance to corruption policy, the Policy which was initiated by H.E the President of Rwanda. The Anti-Corruption Week will be another opportunity to remind all citizens that corruption still exists and continues to hamper the economic development of the Country. Therefore, people will be reminded that the fight against corruption is everyone's responsibility and they should actively contribute to that struggle”.During this Week, in partnership with different stakeholders, the Office of the Ombudsman is organizing different activities aiming at raising public awareness on the evils of corruption and encouraging them to participate actively in the battle against it.

The following activities are planned within that period:

• Talk show on Radio and Television on Isango Star and other radios will connect. It will be held on 28^th November with the theme “Eradicating corruption to achieve sustainable development”
• Anti-corruption Campaign in Provinces on 2^nd December 2021. The dialogue will mainly focus on the functioning of District Anti-Corruption Advisory Councils and how they coordinate Sector Anti-Corruption Advisory Councils.
• Talk shows on Television Rwanda connecting to other radios on 4^th December 2021 with the theme of “Strategies which were established by the Government of Rwanda in preventing and fighting corruption as well as asset recovery based on convicts of corruption”
• Dialogue on fighting corruption in construction services on 6^th December 2021. The dialogue will have the theme of “Risks of corruption in construction services, its causes and strategies to prevent and fight it”;
• Youth Anti-Corruption Congress on 7^th December 2021 under the theme of “The role of the youth in the struggle of preventing and fighting corruption in Vision 2050”.
• Dialogue on fighting corruption in public procurement on 8^th December 2021. The theme of the dialogue will be “The role of Justice Sector in preventing and fighting corruption in public procurement and payments of executed tenders”.
• Celebration of the International Anti-Corruption Day and Journalism Anti-Corruption Award on 9^th December 2021. On that Day, there will be a dialogue on the duties and functioning of the Anti-Corruption Committees in Public Entities, Private Sector and Civil Society.

The Office of the Ombudsman acknowledges the role of the media in preventing and fighting against corruption. It is with this regards that the Office of the Ombudsman encourages the media to report on these activities in order to inform the entire public about all activities that will be carried out during the whole week.