The International Cricket Council (ICC) joined the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in commemorating International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) observed on 9 December annually. The day also creates awareness about the great work being done around the globe to help create a corruption-free world today for future generations to enjoy.

This year, the UNODC is focusing on the role of the youth in shaping tomorrow’s integrity, highlighting the importance of education and the role of young people as integrity ambassadors in their communities and beyond.

The campaign, ‘Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity,’ is designed to bring the battle against corruption to the forefront of conversation among young people and to provide a platform for them to express their concerns and aspirations as the future leaders and voices of integrity through the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (CoSP11), taking place in Qatar in 2025.

The ICC which has is passionate about the role that it plays in the UNODC’s sports corruption programme, helping to cultivate a clean and corruption-free environment in cricket across all format of the game in coordination with the respective national governing bodies of cricket including Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) through its Anti-Corruption Unit.

ICC Independent Anti-Corruption Unit Chair, Sumathi Dharmawardena P.C. said on the occasion said,  “The ICC is working closely with the UNODC in developing global anti-corruption training and education programmes and initiatives that will assist in the eradication of corruption in our sport and keep cricket clean”.

Having served as the Additional Solicitor General at the Attorney General’s Department of Sri Lanka, while representing the Government and its Ministry of Sport in numerous legal issues, he added. “We play an active and present role in helping ICC Members understand the risks posed by corruptors and the actions that they can take to help safeguard our sport and everyone involved in it. The youth make up nearly a quarter of the global population with an estimated 1.9 billion young people around the world. The UNODC’s youth campaign aligns perfectly with the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit’s education initiatives which include awareness workshops involving age-group players, support staff, match officials and cricket administrators around the world”.

 “The ICC believes that young people, as the future leaders of our sport, have a unique opportunity to play an integral and game-changing role in the fight against corruption and in shaping a future that will be enjoyed by all, ” concluded Dharmawardena who has been associated with Interpol and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, corruption matters overseeing prosecutions under the Prevention of Offences relating to the Sports Act.