HE Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center Dr Ali bin Fetais al-Marri said that combating corruption has been neglected for decades until His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani decided to tackle the dangerous issue. He added that while the life of regular people is measured in years, the lives of leaders are measured by their achievements instead.
He was speaking at Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award and said that the continuation of the award for a sixth edition wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the Amir's support. He announced the establishment of the association of the winners of Anti-Corruption Excellence Award. He said the association will consist of the previous winners, who will meet once a year in Vienna, in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
HE Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center expressed his appreciation to Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Ghada Fathy Waly for the United Nation's support for the award. He added that there will be a fifth award category, dedicated to combating corruption in sports. He expressed his thanks in this regard to FIFA President Gianni Infantino for supporting this new category.
HE al-Marri also reviewed the capitals and cities that hosted the previous editions of the award, as the first and second editions were celebrated at the United Nations headquarters in Vienna and Geneva, respectively, while the third edition was celebrated in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. The fourth edition was held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, with the direct support of President of Rwanda Paul Kagame. The fifth edition was held in Tunisia, while the sixth edition was held on Thursday in Doha.
He stressed that this award has given hope to many who have suffered from corruption or who have fought against it, assuring them all that this award will not be satisfied with being an award given and its role will end after that, but rather it will be transferred to an institution dealing with corruption issues and fighting corruption and supporting them. HE al-Marri then congratulated this year's winners.
