Anti-corruption efforts in the context of recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Your Excellencies, 
Distinguished delegates, 
Dear participants,

It is my honour to welcome you to this expert seminar.

Corruption is an increasing threat to the stability and security of our societies. It fuels social and political grievances by fostering inequality and a sense of injustice, distorting Government decisions and depriving the State of crucial resources, undermining the provision of essential public services. Corruption dreadfully transforms State institutions into tools for private gain.

UN Secretary-General has warned that when the public perceives Government performance as poor or corrupt, it undermines the social contract and contributes to the “trust deficit” in public institutions. And when corruption ignites social grievances and erodes public trust, it hinders development of peaceful societies anchored in the rule of law.

More importantly, corruption significantly undermines the ability of States to uphold their international legal obligations and advance human rights: it narrows their fiscal space reducing available resources for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. This was striking during the COVID response and continued across recovery.

Indeed, in the area of health for example, it is estimated that, every year, US$500 billion in public health spending is lost globally to corruption.^[1] A 2020 survey of 58 countries found that corruption in healthcare services weakened healthcare delivery, undermining services, quality of healthcare and contributed to COVID-19 deaths in every third country surveyed.^[2] Moreover, according to the Secretary-General's 2024 SDG report , corruption continues to divert resources from sustainable development with one in five people reported being asked to or having paid a bribe to a public official in the previous 12 months.

According to a UNDP recent report , each year billions of dollars are stolen, laundered, and hidden from Governments and communities from around the world. As a result, some the world’s poorest countries are stripped of resources that could have been invested locally and used for much-needed public services and the fulfilment of human rights.

Comprehensive reliable data remains missing. Given its illicit nature and its multiple forms – from bribery, embezzlement, nepotism, extortion, to money laundering, fraud, and conflicts of interest across countries and sectors, measuring the impact of corruption, including its impact on human rights, represents a technical challenge.

That said, corruption is not a crime without a victim. Every part of society is affected by corruption: individuals, communities, businesses and public institutions themselves. It touches on all sectors, from health and education, access to justice and social protection to business activity and long-term environmental impacts.

Marginalised and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, migrants, children, youth, older persons, Indigenous Peoples, and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by corruption, further deepening inequalities and hindering inclusive development.

Ladies and gentlemen,

To address this scourge, member states have taken steps through legally binding treaties, including the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and repeated public commitments to combat and significantly reduce corruption and illicit financial flows,^[3] in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 16 on justice and good governance.

Most recently, the Pact for the Future commits States to strengthen ongoing efforts to prevent and combat illicit financial flows, corruption, money-laundering and tax evasion, to eliminate safe havens and recover and return assets derived from such illicit activities.

This is one important step. Further concerted efforts are needed by the international community, the private sector and civil society to tackle corruption and ensure good governance and public service delivery. Over the past years, our Office has stepped up its own work to raise awareness on the negative impact of corruption on human rights and support for anti-corruption initiatives.

We have enhanced our engagement with Member States, anti-corruption bodies, civil society, and various other stakeholders to help combat corruption through a human rights and victim centered approach. We developed tools and benchmarks to enhance the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts and guide national efforts. It further involves strengthening rights-based approaches to fighting corruption through research, analysis and data gathering. It also includes supporting countries in strengthening national accountability mechanisms and legal frameworks on transparency, accountability, access to information, participation of victims and civil society, as well as witness, and whistleblower protection.

A concrete recent example is our work in Honduras, where we are raising awareness on the link between corruption and human rights among State officials. We are working with civil society organizations, individuals and community members whose human rights have been impacted by corruption offences and developing tools to support civil society to enhance their use of the UN Human Rights Mechanisms.

In Iraq, we are supporting the National Commission of Integrity to integrate a human rights-based approach in its work, providing technical assistance and capacity building to government officials as well as civil society organizations.

Dear participants,

The Human Rights Council’s support is crucial to allow our Office to continue to carry out this work, including in partnership with the UN family.

We greatly welcome the pledge of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime on the occasion of the commemoration of the 75^th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and we look forward to continue working together to strengthen human rights mainstreaming in anti-corruption programming.

This as an important step towards ensuring greater policy coherence among the intergovernmental processes in Geneva, Vienna, and New York on the issue of corruption and its impact on the enjoyment of human rights, as also called for by the Human Rights Council.

I trust that this expert meeting will be a fruitful platform for all participants to examine the links between human rights and corruption and the synergies we can create between UN human rights mechanisms, anti-corruption frameworks, and a human rights-based approach to alleviating the negative impacts of corruption and realizing all human rights for all.

Thank you.