Secretary-General announces plans to launch a new Commonwealth ‘kitemark’ against corruption

Secretary-General Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC has announced plans to launch a new Commonwealth ‘kitemark’ against corruption, alongside an Office of Civil and Criminal Justice Reform to help countries enhance policy-making and legislation.  
In an address before a conference of High Commissioners and judges in London on Monday 18 April, the Secretary-General made clear her determination to help governments and national bodies across the Commonwealth’s 53 member countries to confront corruption in all its forms.  Stating that, “Every dollar lost to corruption is a dollar lost to investing in a child’s education, healthcare or much needed infrastructure.”
According to the SG, fraud and corruption potentially destroys the Commonwealth Advantage and the benefits of having similar institutions.   “If we are to have common standards and common approaches to tackling corruption, it is going to be important for us to create a mark or badge as a way of identifying which bodies, institutions, and entities are adhering to best practice.”
Scotland proposed the development of “a kitemark or yardstick against corruption” in order to identify organisations who share the aspirations in relation to tackling corruption within the commonwealth.