A global problem we must all fight
Corruption directly impacts the poor, who have no resources or power to demand remedial action, says former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Judge Navi Pillay. This is an edited version of her speech at the annual Strini Moodley Memorial Lecture at t
I KNEW the late Strini Moodley, as his lawyer, friend and colleague.
He was a political leader of immense stature and a truly committed freedom fighter.
Strini firmly believed a country’s natural resources belonged to the people.
To liberate the land, he said: “The continuing practice of oppression and exploitation of both the people and the land must be speedily brought to a halt. To free the land, we need to liberate our minds. We need to build up a new set of values.”
Being a pillar of integrity and honesty, he would have condemned corruption and acted against it.
Today, one cannot read a newspaper, watch television, or surf social media, without hearing of corruption.
This month we read of our city wiping off R30 million in unaccountable losses.
How many students could have gained admission to university with that amount of money?
How many houses could have been built? How much food, medical supplies and baby food could have been bought?
You don’t need a degree in rocket science to realise corruption has a direct impact on the human rights of people.
Corruption is a world-wide scourge and should be addressed globally, regionally and nationally.
Human rights carry normative value as a set of universally agreed values, standards and principles.
Every UN member state, including South Africa, has undertaken international legal obligations for the protection and promotion of human rights.
The UN Convention against Corruption has more than 168 state parties.
Our Constitutional Court has ruled our government is obliged to follow international law.
The corrupt management of public resources compromises the state’s ability to deliver services, including health, education and welfare, which are essential for the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.
Corruption leads to discriminatory access to to public services in favour of those able to influence authorities, including by offering bribes.
Economically and politically disadvantaged groups and persons suffer disproportionately in these circumstances because they are the most dependent on public services but least able to influence policies and corrupt officials.
When corruption is rampant, those in public positions fail to take decisions with the best interests of the public in mind.
As a result, corruption damages the legitimacy of governments leading to a loss of public support and trust for state institutions.
Corruption in the rule of law system weakens the very accountability structures, which are responsible for protecting human rights and contributes to a culture of impunity, since illegal actions are not punished and laws are not consistently upheld.
Anti-corruption efforts are more likely to be successful if they approach corruption as a systemic problem rather than a problem of individuals.
A rights-based approach to corruption calls for a comprehensive strategy to promote effective institutions, appropriate laws, good governance and the participation of all concerned stakeholders.
The adoption of legal frameworks and anti-corruption commissions are essential but may not be effective without a strong and engaged civil society and a culture of integrity in state institutions.
Likewise, civil activism can only thrive in the presence of a strong legal framework and an open political system.
The fight against corruption, like many efforts to promote the enjoyment of human rights, is a long-term process demanding a firm grounding in a country’s institutions, laws and culture.
An efficient anti-corruption strategy must be informed by key human rights principles.
An independent judiciary, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, access to information, independent investigation unit, transparency in the political system and accountability are essential for both anticorruption strategies and the enjoyment of human rights.
So too is a serious commitment to the progressive realisation of economic and social rights.
In promoting these basic elements of good governance, human rights and anticorruption efforts can be mutually reinforcing.
To further anti-corruption efforts, the characteristics of effective anti-corruption institutions need to be identified.
In this regard, the role of the judiciary, public prosecutor, public protector and national human rights institutions in addressing corruption and the potential for their co-operation with national and international anti-corruption agencies should be considered.
Whistle blowers, human rights defenders, investigative journalists, public interest lawyers, student activists and anti-corruption advocates must be protected under law.
Civil society, the private sector and social media can play a determining role in affecting institutional reform to strengthen accountability and transparency.
Transparency and accountability are among the human rights principles that are integral to successful anticorruption strategies.
Measures to enhance transparency and accountability and contribute to sustainable anti-corruption efforts include laws that ensure public access to information on governmental processes, decisions and policies, institutional reforms that guarantee participatory and transparent decision-making, laws that regulate the financing of electoral campaigns and parties, and audits to monitor and promote the effective delivery of public services, including through the criminal prosecution of corruption.
The UN Human Rights Council has passed many resolutions on corruption because of its impact on human rights.
The Council requested me, when I was High Commissioner for Human Rights, to carry out a study on the matter, including the negative impact of the nonrepatriation of funds of illicit origin to the countries of origin on the enjoyment of human rights.
In 2012, a cross-regional statement on corruption was delivered by Morocco to the 20th session of the HRC on behalf of 134 states.
South Africa was one of them.
The statement urged the anticorruption and human rights movements to work together to end corruption.
Corruption is not a localised problem specific to our country. Corruption is global. It is reported that from 2000 to 2009, developing countries lost $8.44 trillion to illicit financial flows, 10 times more than the foreign aid they received.
Corruption hits the poor first and hardest.
Bribes and funds siphoned from the public Treasury could have been spent on development needs, to lift people out of poverty, to provide children with education, to bring to families essential medicine and to stop the hundreds of preventable deaths and injuries during pregnancy and childbirth that occur every day.
The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act states that “Corruption undermines Rights enshrined in the Constitution, the credibility of government, the institutions and values of democracy, ethical values and morality and jeopardises the rule of law”.
In the face of widespread corruption and impunity, there have been concerned demands from the public for better implementation of this law.
A 2010 report on state-owned enterprises commissioned by the president recorded cases of corruption involving tenders and procurement for that year alone in Transnet, Eskom and South African Airways, that implicated members of the executive.
The public protector’s investigation of Prasa disclosed evidence of improper conduct in awarding tenders, revealing a “culture of systematic failure to comply with SCM policy”.
There has been extensive media exposure of allegations of improper influence by politicians and associated business people in the allocation of mining rights and contracts with SOEs such as Eskom.
Corruption Watch reported in 2015 that there had been “too little investigation into transgressions of laws regulating governance in SOEs”.
The Panama Papers leaked by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reveal the extent of money flowing illegally across borders linked to tax evasions, bribery, illegal arms dealing, and financial fraud, involving politicians, state officials, business people and corporates.
South Africa is ranked seventh in the world for illicit financial flows.
Between 2003 to 2014, our country lost $20 922bn (Global Finance and Integrity 2016).
Corruption directly impacts the poor, who have no resources or power to demand remedial action.
We should not sink into victimhood.
We should be the law.