Highlight 16/2024 – The nexus between Anti-corruption and Sustainable Development
Adriana Isabella Gamboa Figueroa, 30 April 2024
In September 1997, then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressed the audience of the Eighth International Anti-Corruption Conference, celebrated in Lima – Peru[1] with a firm message calling corruption a “curse and an attack on the foundations of any civil society (…), [it] undermines morality, democracy, good governance and the rule of law (…), [it] is evil and insidious and must be opposed at every turn”.
After more than a quarter of a century, former Secretary-General Annan’s words are more relevant than ever. Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI)[2] 2023 shows that corruption is thriving around the world, with over two-thirds of 180 countries scoring below 50 out of 100 (on a scale where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean) and a global average only reaching 43/100. There is ample literature on the definition of corruption. Evidence of its discussion has been found in Arthashastra, the Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft and political science by Chanakya[3]. In modern times, most academic sources agree on several features of corruption: (i) it is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon; (ii) it implies the abuse of power and influence for private gain; (iii) it erodes trust, weakens democracy, hampers economic development; and (iv) it has a disproportionate impact on the poor and most vulnerable.
The popular old saying goes “corruption is the root cause of all evil”. This is not only accurate in general terms, but particularly regarding the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the threat that corruption poses to this matter.
The UN Global Compact stresses that anti-corruption efforts are critical to building sustainable, inclusive, and transparent societies. Sustainable development cannot thrive in corrupt environments. When corruption is present in a country, economic growth and social progress are slowed down or impeded, there is a loss of citizens’ trust in their government and institutions – which UN Secretary-General António Guterres has come to describe as the “trust deficit” and a distortion of the development priorities of the State. Corruption specifically thwarts the achievement of the 2030 Agenda due to the exhaustion of valuable resources and diminishing the quality of public services.
The nexus between the fight against corruption and sustainable development is then inextricable. All 17 goals from the Sustainable Development Agenda can be effectively impacted by corruption, beginning with SDG number one, No Poverty. Corruption affects poor and vulnerable communities the most by increasing costs and reducing access to services. This starting point is linked to SDG No. 2: Zero Hunger, for depleted State resources cannot provide the poor and vulnerable with adequate nutrition and maintain food security. A similar situation occurs with the following SDGs, however, goals number 3, 4, 5 and 16 will be further elaborated as examples.
SDG 3, Good Health and Well-being is highly vulnerable to corruption in the sense that a corrupt state is unable to provide good healthcare for all. In places where corruption is rampant, the availability and quality of health services are reduced and medications and treatment costs tend to be inflated, preventing the most vulnerable patients from receiving proper treatment.
SDG 4, Quality Education, is directly linked with the previous goal considering that corruption can jeopardise the future of children and young by limiting their educational opportunities in life, chances of employment and access to healthcare services.
For SDG 5, corruption has the potential to disrupt Gender Equality because women are at greater risk of suffering from its consequences. Funds which are intended to improve living standards, facilitate access to housing, health, education and clean water are diverted under corrupt contexts, putting women in a vulnerable position, and reducing their changes of academic and economic advancement.
It is also relevant to underscore Goal 16, Peace, justice and strong institutions, which promotes peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. This SDG could turn implausible under corrupt activities, whether they are petty or grand, given that corruption -in all of its forms[4]– subverts the very institutions on which a state relies on. No country is free from corruption, and as such, anti-corruption collaboration and greater commitment to curb this substantial challenge are required from different stakeholders (governments, civil society, businesses, NGOs, international organisations, etc.) at the various levels (local, national, regional and international level). It all comes down to a matter of governance in the fight against corruption. As global issue, multilateral institutions have a crucial role, and despite the existence of frameworks such as the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) -a legally binding international anti-corruption treaty with 190 State Parties– and the assistance that Transparency International and the World Bank have been providing to national governments, more needs to be done in terms of policy solutions and innovative business practices that strengthen transparency and integrity.
[1] Message by SG Kofi Annan was delivered to the audience by Fernando Zumbado, then Regional Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
[2] Transparency International (TI) is a global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption. TI’s CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the globe by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
[3] Chanakya was a philosopher, jurist, and royal advisor. His original name was Vishnu Gupta yet he is recognized for his pen name Kautilya. He wrote ‘Arthashastra’ on the Science of Politics and Economics between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE. He worked as a political advisor for the famous Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta.
[4] Types of corruption: Money laundering, embezzlement, bribery, nepotism, graft, conflicts of interest, theft and fraud, extortion and blackmail, mismanagement of public funds, opaque lobbying practices. The list is not exhaustive.
Adriana Isabella Gamboa Figueroa, Highlight 16/2024 – The nexus between Anti-corruption and Sustainable Development, 30 April 2024, available at www.meig.ch
The views expressed in the MEIG Highlights are personal to the authors and neither reflect the positions of the MEIG Programme nor those of the University of Geneva.