The ManicaPost
Anton Du Plessis
Corruption is the most neglected human rights violation of our time. It fuels injustice, inequality and deprivation and is a major catalyst for migration and terrorism. The social and political consequences of corruption rob nations of resources and potential, and drive inequality, resentment and radicalisation in Africa. Corruption stands in the way of successful cities, sustainable economies and safe societies.Corruption taps African governments’ fiscus to the tune of $50bn annually. A report by the African Development Bank and Global Financial Integrity found up to 65% of lost revenue disappeared in commercial transactions by multinational companies. Oxfam says as much as 30% of African financial wealth is estimated to be held offshore, costing about $14bn in lost tax revenues annually.
Corruption discourages donors and destroys investor confidence. It strangles development and prosperity. Corruption is the antithesis to the rule of law at the heart of the social contract. When this contract collapses, fragility and conflict emerge.
Across the continent, socio-political dissatisfaction at corruption provides fertile ground for radicalisation, and extremist organisations are adept at portraying Islamism as the solution to corruption and injustice.
Corruption stimulates recruitment of Nigerian youth into Boko Haram. In a recent study, 70% of those interviewed in the Nigerian state of Sokoto cited corruption as a factor driving radicalisation. By understanding corruption’s full effects and seeing it through the eyes of its victims, we can create new weapons to combat it. This is worth considering as we approach the first review of the Sustainable Development Goals. Among them is Goal 16, which aims to reduce bribery and corruption, develop accountable institutions, cut the flow of illicit money and weapons, and strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets.
More can be done at a global level to support these ambitions. For example, bilateral trade agreements should be premised on commitments to end corruption and protect human rights, and protocols to prevent corruption should be built into development aid and loans.
There are some encouraging signs on the continent. When leaders from countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and Tanzania highlight corruption as the biggest threat to their countries, we might just be seeing the final days of impunity. The test now is whether they deliver on this fresh anti-corruption narrative in credible ways that take account of human rights.
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. The UN Security Council and the AU’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.
Countries and international bodies have positive obligations to act when human rights are breached. Yet there is no such obligation to act against endemic corruption, which is treated with relative inaction incongruent with its effect.
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 is why too little progress has been made by the UN Convention Against Corruption. Unlike global protocols governing human rights, there is no effective sanction for those in breach. We need to give the convention muscle by joining the moral and legal dots between corruption, human rights abuses and international crimes.
Acknowledging the human rights effects of corruption triggers an enforceable moral and legal obligation on African states to provide better protection to citizens. Africans have the most at stake in getting anti-corruption efforts to work, because corruption disproportionately affects the poor.
A more rights-based approach to corruption is good strategy for African and European governments. Less corruption means greater political stability, and an environment for sustained social and economic development.
This has a positive effect on the drivers of conflict, terrorism and migration.
The human rights community built an arsenal to protect people. Corruption needs the same.
Du Plessis is executive director of the Institute for Security Studies. He is a lawyer, prosecutor and former counter-terrorism adviser to the UN.
