Amnesty International, Transparency International and the UNCAC Coalition hosted a special event on corruption and human rights, alongside GIZ, Switzerland, OHCHR, and UNODC at the CoSP10, which took place from 11 to 15 December 2023 in Atlanta, USA.
It is now widely acknowledged that there is a clear and intrinsic link between corruption and human rights. This has been recognised in Geneva, where the UN Human Rights Council, its special procedures, and UN human rights treaty bodies have discussed the negative human rights impact of corruption for several years. However, much less attention is paid to it within UNCAC mechanisms and UNODC. The two sets of UN institutions – one focused on human rights in Geneva and the other on anti-corruption efforts in Vienna – have, so far, largely worked in silos. And even in Geneva, much more work needs to be done to effectively address the linkages between corruption and human rights. This is why we convened the special event at CoSP10, hoping to initiate discussions on how to bridge existing gaps and enhance collaboration between the two fora – as challenging as this may sound.