Published on 1 February 2026

United Nations Convention Against Corruption

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption enables Switzerland to work at global level to prevent corruption and, as a result, overcome obstacles to development.

Switzerland is actively involved in worldwide efforts to fight corrupt practices. On 24 September 2009, it ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). With 191 states parties, UNCAC is the only international agreement on combating corruption.

Content

UNCAC imposes obligations on the states parties in the following areas of implementation:

• Preventive measures
• Criminalisation and law enforcement
• International cooperation
• Asset recovery
• Technical assistance and information exchange

Peer review mechanism

In 2009, a peer review mechanism was established, allowing the implementation of obligations by each member state to be assessed. States are reviewed in five-year cycles covering two chapters and subject areas of UNCAC. Two states parties are randomly selected to assess another state party.

The review process is mainly based on a self-assessment checklist. The state under review may engage in direct dialogue with the reviewing states and amend, adjust, correct and add information to the self-assessment. The state under review is responsible for finalising the draft country report produced through this process. An executive summary of each final report is published, while other documents may be published on a voluntary basis.

An Implementation Review Group (IRG) was established to improve and assist with the review process. It serves as a forum where states parties can share experiences and evaluate country reports.

The eleventh session of the Conference of the States Parties to UNCAC was held in Doha, Qatar, from 15 to 19 December 2025. At that session, the states adopted a resolution on the next phase of the review mechanism, with a stronger focus on the implementation and follow-up of the recommendations made in the country reviews.

Review of Switzerland

In the first review cycle, Algeria and Finland reviewed Switzerland's compliance with Chapter III ‘Criminalisation and law enforcement’ and Chapter IV ‘International cooperation’.

In the second cycle, Bangladesh and Sweden reviewed Switzerland's compliance with Chapter II ‘Preventive measures’ and Chapter V ‘Asset recovery’. This review was completed in early 2025.

The FDFA's Prosperity and Sustainability Division is responsible for coordinating the UNCAC review process on behalf of Switzerland. Switzerland's focal point for this process is Urs A. Tschanz, secretary of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Combating Corruption (IDWG on Combating Corruption).

Switzerland is committed to ensuring transparency by making all UNCAC documents public. It is also one of the few countries to fully comply with the UNCAC Coalition's Transparency Pledge. Switzerland's UNCAC country profile includes the self-assessment questionnaires, country reports and executive summaries for the first two review cycles.

In addition, the IDWG on Combating Corruption held a workshop on 10 September 2025 to discuss in depth the recommendations made to Switzerland in the second UNCAC review cycle, in line with the Transparency Pledge. Civil society representatives in particular were actively involved in the event, including the Basel Institute on Governance, Public Eye and Transparency International Switzerland.