Corruption is not a crime, it’s a human rights violation

Human rights are enforced by international treaties, backed by judicial bodies with teeth such as the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and regional bodies such as the African Court on Human and People’s Rights.

Bilateral trade agreements should be based on commitments to end corruption.

The United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council can impose sanctions in response to violations of political, economic, social or cultural rights, or to deal with torture, genocide and war crimes. And countries and international bodies have an obligation to act when human rights are breached.

Yet there is no such obligation to act against endemic corruption. International agreements define various corrupt practices as a crime, but not corruption itself. Instead, it is passively defined as a technical flaw in governance, its horrors disguised in legalese. Corruption’s victims get little mention.

That’s why so little progress has been made by the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). This global agreement elevated anti-corruption action to the world stage. But UNCAC relies on states for implementation, and – unlike global protocols governing human rights – there is no effective sanction for those in breach.

An absence of enforcement creates space for corrupt officials and business people to hide without fear of pursuit or prosecution. And there is little political will to change things.

We need to give UNCAC muscle by joining the moral and legal dots between corruption, human rights abuses and international crimes. Acknowledging the negative human rights impact of corruption makes it imperative for African states to provide better protection for their citizens. Africans have the most at stake in getting anti-corruption efforts to work, because corruption disproportionately affects poor people.

A more rights-based approach to corruption is a good strategy for African and European governments. It would mean greater political stability and provide an environment for sustained social and economic development. This, in turn, would have a positive effect on the drivers of conflict, terror groups and migration.

The human rights community built an arsenal to protect people. Now anti-corruption activists need to do the same. – ISS Today

By Anton du Plessis- executive director of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.

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