An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
2017-2021 ARCHIVED CONTENT

You are viewing ARCHIVED CONTENT released online from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021.

Content in this archive site is NOT UPDATED, and links may not function.

For current information, go to www.state.gov.

Anti Corruption and Transparency
Policy Issues

Anti-Corruption and Transparency

Share this page on:

Around the world, corruption saps economic growth, hinders development, destabilizes governments, undermines democracy, and provides openings for dangerous groups such as criminals, traffickers, and terrorists. The Department of State has made anti-corruption a national security priority and works across the globe to prevent graft, strengthen investigation and prosecution of corruption, promote accountability and transparency, and empower reformers.

By prioritizing anti-corruption, the Department seeks to make it even harder for criminality and terrorism to take root and spread, to promote governments that are more stable and accountable, and to level the playing field for U.S. businesses to compete in every region.

Read more about what specific bureaus are doing to support this policy issue:

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL): INL leads anti-corruption policy development, coordinates U.S. participation in multilateral fora focused on anti-corruption, and oversees programs to build partner capacity to prevent and combat corruption. Read more about INL

Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (EB): EB leads a number of anti-corruption initiatives, such as enlisting others in the fight against foreign bribery; leads the development and publication of the congressionally mandated Fiscal Transparency Report; and implements the Fiscal Transparency Innovation Fund, a congressionally mandated grants program. Read more about EB

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL): DRL promotes freedom, protects human rights, and advances transparent and accountable governance worldwide as a means of preventing and combating corruption. DRL leads U.S. government engagement in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and provides assistance to civil society organizations fighting corruption. Read more about DRL

Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR): ENR leads the U.S. commitment to the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) as a Supporting Country. The U.S. government has been a strong supporter of EITI since its founding in 2003, recognizing that transparency is a critical component of sound governance in countries’ extractive sectors. Read more about ENR

U.S. Department of State

The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future