Improving the Human Rights dimension of the fight against corruption - Expert consultation
Expert Consultation on the draft of a practitioner guide on corruption and human rights violations - June 2018
Experts during the consultation on the draft of a practitioner guide in Geneva
It is now widely admitted that corruption negatively effects the enjoyment of civil and political rights as well as economic social and cultural rights. It not only has a negative impact on the States that are not in position to implement the treaty based human rights obligations, but it also directly affects the population of such countries. This concern was raised several times by the various UN Treaty Bodies in charge of monitoring the main human rights treaties.
Moreover, in the context of the Sustainable Development Goal 16 “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”, the 2030 Agenda for development refers to concrete actions to fight against corruption, namely “significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime to corruption”.
However, in the UN Human Rights Machinery and in particular in the UN Treaty Bodies and in the UN Human Rights Council the corruption issue is rarely addressed in a comprehensive and systematic manner. These gaps were discussed at length during an international conference organised on the 19th and 20th February 2018 by the Centre for Civil and Political Rights. At this occasion several anti-corruption activists shared their willingness to better use the various human rights avenues within the UN and at the same time expressed their concerns about the difficulties to properly access the mechanisms. Members of Committees attending the conference strongly emphasized the necessity to receive more information and reports on corruption regarding the States scheduled to be reviewed by their respective body.
The expert consultation was designed to address the above-mentioned gaps and strengthen the participation of the anti-corruption groups within the UN Mechanisms and in particular the UN Treaty Bodies. It built on previous research undertaken by the Geneva Academy and OHCHR, which tries to provide the substantive base for a practical user-friendly guide for anti-corruption practitioners which explores how a human rights –based approach – and the human rights system, can be used to strengthen anti-corruption efforts.
The outcome report of the conference is available here.
