Addressing the human rights dimension of the issue of corruption at the UN Treaty Bodies and the UPR

Representatives of Civil Society Organisations from Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan participating in the workshop

The CCPR-Centre organised a workshop to better address the issue of corruption in the context of the UN Treaty Bodies and the UPR of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. This took place on 26-27 September 2017 and was addressed to civil society organisations (CSO) of both countries.

It is now widely admitted corruption negatively impacts the enjoyment of the fundamental human rights, 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 issue of corruption has been raised several times within the UN Treaty Bodies and the Universal Periodic Review of various States.

Activities of the workshop included a general session on recommendations of the UPR related to corruption, country analyses, a session on the approach taken by several treaty bodies and a case study of strategic advocacy on UPR in Colombia.

The workshop provided a useful avenue to discuss how the issue of corruption could be targeted under the ICCPR and ICESCR provisions as well as within the UPR. It also explored how the issue of corruption could be better taken into consideration by UN Treaty Bodies other than the Human Rights Committee, in particular by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), and in under other human rights provisions other than article 14 of the ICCPR.

The workshop resulted in two reports that were submitted to the Working Group of the Human Rights Council prior to the UPR of the two countries.

The report on Azerbaijan primarily focused on corruption in public administration and in public service delivery. It also addressed the independence of the judiciary. Uzbekistan’s report focused on corruption in relation to the administration of justice, torture, forced labour in the cotton sector and restrictions on the freedom of movement.

This workshop was part of a larger project to address the human rights dimension of the issue of corruption, with focus in the proceedings of recovery of stolen assets. The outcomes of the workshop will be presented during a conference within this project, which will be held in February 2018.