By Naghmana A. Hashmi
Detecting corruption and finding the right policy initiatives is, however, not always easy or inexpensive.
There is a growing worldwide concern and increasing realization that irrespective of the cause, scope and scale of corruption. It has serious negative effects on the economic growth of a country and the protection of the basic human rights. Corruption erodes trust, weakens democracy and hampers economic development further exacerbating inequality, poverty, social division and the environmental crisis.
Many now feel that corruption should receive priority attention in a country’s development agenda. Countries of the OIC are also very apprehensive about this problem and are in agreement that corruption is a major constraint that is hindering their economic, political and social development, and hence view it as a problem requiring urgent attention at the highest level as good Governance only flourishes in an essentially corruption free environment.
Detecting corruption and finding the right policy initiatives is, however, not always easy or inexpensive. There is now increasing consensus that fight against corruption is not independent of the reforms of the state. Therefore, if timely reforms are not undertaken by the concerned states, corruption is likely to remain a problem, irrespective of the actions taken to diminish or control it.
Exposing corruption and holding the corrupt to account can only happen if there is clear understanding of the way corruption works and the systems that enable it. Corruption can happen anywhere: in business, government, the courts, the media, and in civil society, as well as across all sectors from health and education to infrastructure and sports. Corruption can involve anyone: politicians, government officials, public servants, business people or members of the public.
The Islamabad Declaration is a very important and historic document in the fight against corruption particularly in the OIC member states.
Detecting corruption is however, very difficult and proving it against those involved even harder as it happens in the murky shadows, often with the help of professional enablers such as bankers, lawyers, accountants and real estate agents, opaque financial systems and anonymous shell companies that allow corruption schemes to flourish and the corrupt to launder and hide their illicit wealth, particularly in assets abroad and in safe haven around the world and adapts to different contexts and changing circumstances
Allegations and charges of corruption now play a more central role in politics than at any other time. Governments have fallen, careers of world renowned public figures ruined, and reputations of well-respected organizations and business firms badly tarnished on account of it. The international mass media feeds on it and scandals and improper conduct, especially of those in high places, are looked upon as extremely newsworthy, and to be investigated with zeal and vigour.
The rising trend in the use of corruption as a tool to discredit political opponents, media’s preoccupation with it as a highly marketable commodity and the general public’s fascination with seeing prominent personalities in embarrassing situations have brought scandalous and corrupt behaviour into the limelight of international attention.
The significance of corruption is highlighted by the fact that whenever a political regime has crumbled in Pakistan and in some other OIC countries, a major and often decisive cause has been the prevalence of official misconduct amongst the politicians and the administrators and the concomitant spread of corruption amongst businessmen.
Corruption remains a substantial obstacle for OIC countries, including Pakistan. The current Pakistan regime has therefore, rightly concluded that in order to provide sustainable system in the future, corruption from all segments of society must be eliminated.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has regularly highlighted the need to combat the scourge of corruption at the international level, particularly to address the phenomenon of illicit financial flows. This organized theft and illegal transfer of assets has profound consequences for the developing nations. Pakistan has been fighting vulnerabilities in the financial sector to prevent large sums from being transferred across borders outside the scrutiny of regulators.
It was therefore, very heartening to see Pakistan call on OIC to establish an Ad-hoc intergovernmental committee to tackle corruption in the OIC member states. Pakistan made this call at the two-day seminar co-organized by the Pakistan and the OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) on the side lines of the 17th Emergency OIC Foreign Ministers Meeting in December 2021 in Islamabad.
Under the theme of “Combating Corruption – A Prerequisite for the Full Enjoyment of all Human Rights and Sustainable Development,” the seminar attracted around 200 representatives of international organizations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The committee would work an OIC protocol and implementation mechanism for mutual legal assistance between member countries to monitor illicit financial flows and the return of stolen assets. Billions of US Dollars stolen by corrupt elements in society and transferred abroad, including to some of the affluent OIC member states, have had a disastrous effect on the socio-economic development of these countries.
Pakistan emphasized that OIC countries must actively explore innovative ideas and initiatives to strengthen the existing international framework to prevent corruption and to end impunity. Pakistan asserted that as a first step, the OIC may consider establishing an open-ended intergovernmental ad hoc committee to prepare concrete and technical proposals for supplementary legal frameworks.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) urged member states to strengthen institutional mechanisms by establishing fully equipped, empowered and independent accountability institutions, enhancing the capacity of the judiciary, prosecution services and law enforcement agencies to combat corruption across the Muslim countries.
The Islamabad Declaration urged all OIC States to undertake accelerated actions to combat corruption in a comprehensive manner through strengthening the legal frameworks, with human dignity at the heart of policies, to address existing structural disadvantages and inequalities which reflect both causes and consequences of various forms of corruption in respective societies and systems as no country alone can combat corruption, it requires cooperation at the national, regional and international level.
It was also stressed that requisite training be provided, with adequate resources, to personnel to ensure the implementation of various laws related to anti-corruption.
It called for the mobilization of all relevant national mechanisms to fight corruption in close cooperation with media, religious institutions and civil societies while ensuring that victims and all those involved in reporting, investigating and prosecuting corruption are protected from intimidation and harm.
The Declaration called upon the international community to translate the global focus on human rights protection and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which has been a central issue for international cooperation, into concrete, measurable actions on the ground to effectively address transnational corruption.
It stressed on establishing accessible, visible and independent channels to report corruption and introducing procedures that enable all individuals and groups to demand action when their rights are suppressed due to corruption. It also encouraged member states to cooperate with international partners to reinforce efforts and resources to assist in implementing integral measures that end corruption, enhance accountability and contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights.
Practical, targeted and coordinated steps are required for combating corruption, especially illicit financial flows as well as for the promotion and protection of all human rights.
The Islamabad Declaration is a very important and historic document in the fight against corruption particularly in the OIC member states. It is hoped that the efforts of community, especially through civil society and media would help in limiting if not eliminating corruption as it is the main epidemic in full realization of human rights and the socio-economic development of the any country. Practical, targeted and coordinated steps are required for combating corruption, especially illicit financial flows as well as for the promotion and protection of all human rights.
The United Nations High-Level Panel on Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) has calculated that a staggering 7 trillion dollars in stolen assets are parked in the financial ‘safe havens’ destinations. Pakistan has urged the developed countries to return the recovered assets without any condition to the states of origin. Immediate and robust national and international action is therefore needed to stop the bleeding of developing countries.
Various efforts over the past years have been made in Pakistan to develop institutional mechanisms to address these problems. A National Anti-Corruption Strategy, which was developed in 2002, offered a plan for tackling corruption. The executing agency, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), was endowed with comprehensive powers to investigate and prosecute cases.
To keep the Government clean, the current regime has shown its will to eradicate corruption by initiating a crusade against it through the efforts of NAB and other Anti-Corruption Agencies thereby, strengthening the stability and durability of its social and political institutions. The fight against corruption by the present government is unmatched as the party came to power essentially on the slogan of eliminating corruption and bringing those responsible to justice.
The efforts made by Saudi Arabia to crack down on corruption in recent years are also commendable and need to be emulated by other OIC member states to break free of the vicious cycle of under development and poverty. The Saudi anti-corruption campaign led to dozens of arrests and confiscation of illicit money, earning it popular support and praise.
In a sign of the seriousness of Saudi efforts to contain the phenomenon of corruption and of the implementation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz’s statement three years ago that “whoever is proven to be involved in a corruption case will be held accountable, whoever he may be”, the Control and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) launched a new anti-corruption campaign that touched senior figures in the country who had long been shielded from any form of accountability.
It is quite clear that completing this task and accelerating the pace of reform, strengthening the principle of transparency, pushing forward with the implementation of the “the Kingdom’s Vision 2030” and restoring spoiled rights to their rightful owners will go a long way in ensuring a corruption free environment and boost economic development and delivery of Basic human rights to all citizens.
Recovering and returning confiscated assets and illicit financial flows, in accordance with UNCAC, can contribute to effective resource mobilization, poverty eradication, sustainable development and the enjoyment of all human rights, particularly for developing OIC countries. OIC undoubtedly has immense power to mobilize collective efforts to combat corruption.
The OIC collectively can play a very strong role internationally to stop corruption, illegal flow of money and money laundering.
The writer is the former ambassador.
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