Corruption as a Threat to Human Rights : A Proposal for Reform of the International Corruption Legal Regime

Abstract

Corruption is a global problem that undermines the rule of law, democratic governance and sustainable development. Widespread corruption also leads to systemic human rights violations. The current legal framework dealing with corruption, as represented by the UNCAC, focuses on the criminalization of corrupt acts. The reason for such a narrow legal regime can be found in the impetus of the anti-corruption movement in the 1990s which was focused on the international economy rather than on social issues. Therefore, it is the argument herein that the law does not fully encompass the magnitude of the corruption problem due to the fact that it lacks any consideration for third parties whose human rights are violated by such acts. This paper demonstrates the inadequacy of the law by applying it to the situation of grand corruption plaguing the logging industry in Papua New Guinea. Current law in place to combat corruption does not adequately address the human rights implications involved in corruption, both in causing it and as a result of it. A change in the perception of corruption must occur in the international community whereby human rights is an integral part of the overall understanding of corruption. Then may the existing gap in international corruption law be bridged so as to include a human rights component. The law should not only address the victims whose human rights have been violated but provide them an effective remedy as well. Two alternatives are proposed for how the corruption legal regime can be expanded to provide for human rights protection, the use of a soft law instrument and a binding protocol to the UNCAC. A more holistic corruption legal regime which includes human rights would be better able to prevent and control corruption.