Preventing and combating corrupt practices and the transfer of proceeds of corruption, facilitating asset recovery and returning such assets to legitimate owners, in particular to countries of origin, in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption A/RES/73/190 Noting with appreciation also the Lausanne process initiative, and welcoming the fulfilment of the mandate contained in resolutions 5/3 of 29 November 2013, 10 6/2 and 6/3 of 6 November 2015 9 and 7/1 of 10 November 2017 6 of the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention to develop practical guidelines on and a step by-step guide for the efficient recovery of stolen assets, in close cooperation with the International Centre for Asset Recovery of the Basel Institute on Governance and with the support of the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank, that provides effective and coordinated approaches to asset recovery for practitioners from requesting and requested States, Welcoming resolution 6/2 on facilitating international cooperation in asset recovery and the return of proceeds of crime, resolution 6/3 on fostering effective asset recovery and resolution 6/4 of 6 November 2015 on enhancing the use of civil and administrative proceedings against corruption, including through international cooperation, in the framework of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, 9 adopted by the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention at its sixth session, held in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, from 2 to 6 November 2015, and resolution 7/1 on strengthening mutual legal assistance for international cooperation and asset recovery, 1. Welcomes the holding of the seventh session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in Vienna from 6 to 10 November 2017, and also welcomes its report, 11 which reflects the outcomes and contributions of the Conference of the States Parties to promoting the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption; 4 2. Condemns corruption at all levels and in all its forms, including bribery, as well as the laundering of proceeds of corruption and other forms of economic crime; 3. Expresses concern about the magnitude of corruption at all levels, including the scale of stolen assets and proceeds of corruption, and in this regard reiterates its commitment to preventing and combating corrupt practices at all levels, in accordance with the Convention; 4. Welcomes the fact that 186 States parties have already ratified or acceded to the Convention, thus making it an instrument enjoying a status very close to universal adherence, and in this regard urges all Member States and competent regional economic integration organizations, within the limits of their comp etence, that have not yet done so to consider ratifying or acceding to the Convention as a matter of priority, and urges all States parties to take appropriate measures to ensure its full and effective implementation; 5. Encourages States parties to the Convention to review its implementation and commit to making it an effective instrument to deter, detect, prevent and counter corruption and bribery, prosecute those involved in corrupt activities and encourage the international community to develop good practices on asset return, and, furthermore, to strive to eliminate safe havens that create incentives for transfer abroad of stolen assets and for illicit financial flows; 6. Notes with appreciation the high-level debate of the General Assembly marking the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention, held in New York on 23 May 2018; 7. Also notes with appreciation the work carried out under the Mechanism for the Review of Implementation of the United Nations Convention against __________________ 10 11 18-22286 See CAC/COSP/2013/18, sect. I.A. CAC/COSP/2017/14. 7/15