This article was received from Project Syndicate, an international not-for-profit association of newspapers dedicated to hosting a global debate on the key issues shaping our world.
By Leonard McCarthy
and Dimitri Vlassis
VIENNA – Of the many problems that weak global economic conditions have brought into relief, corruption is among the most persistent. Without collective efforts to combat it, corruption will continue to erode public confidence in institutions and governments, impeding economic, political, and social development.
The global crisis has made anti-corruption measures more urgent than ever. Economic insecurity and political volatility create new opportunities for exploitation and inspire increasingly sophisticated methods for carrying out corrupt activities. As businesses struggle to compensate for falling domestic revenue by increasing their global market share, resisting temptation becomes increasingly difficult. And some studies have noted a sharp rise in illicit financial flows – a phenomenon that inevitably drains money from the poorest countries.
International institutions like the United Nations and the World Bank are working hard to encourage action in this area. December marks the tenth anniversary of the UN Convention Against Corruption – the only global, legally binding treaty of its kind. The UNCAC, to which more than four-fifths of the world’s countries are committed, is underpinned by a peer-review mechanism that monitors its effectiveness. With more measures set to be implemented and enforcement steadily improving, the challenge now is execution.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) supports the UNCAC’s peer-review mechanism and is helping countries to reform and strengthen their anti-corruption capacity through legislation, institution-building, and enforcement. For its part, the World Bank is investing in programmes that promote good governance worldwide, while maintaining a robust investigation, enforcement, and prevention capacity to manage risks and root out shady practices. Through the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, the World Bank and the UNODC are bringing to bear their knowledge, skills, and experience to help countries recover assets siphoned off by corrupt officials.
Acknowledging such achievements does not obviate the danger of complacency. Keeping corruption at the top of political and business leaders’ agenda and ensuring that societies remain vigilant will require strong and sustained effort from actors at all levels – from international institutions to governments, businesses, and ordinary citizens. While it may not be possible to eradicate corruption in our lifetime, much can be done to lay the groundwork for a corruption-free future.
A crucial first step is to eliminate damaging misperceptions. Corruption is not “how business gets done” or “how the world works.” Indeed, experience shows that a zero-tolerance policy improves companies’ bottom lines and enhances governments’ effectiveness. Likewise, corruption is not limited to the developing world, nor is it “culturally biased.” No one prefers to live in a society where bribes must be paid to secure basic public services like health care and education.
Eliminating corruption will be possible only with an effective combination of smart prevention strategies and robust law enforcement, underpinned by the belief that greed can be unlearned, accountability can be taught, and impunity can be terminated.
Prevention should begin with education aimed at raising citizens’ expectations of their leaders. In politics and business, integrity and accountability must be the rule, not the exception. Knowledge-sharing across countries could illuminate the most effective strategies for achieving this goal.
To strengthen enforcement, penalties for misconduct must be proportionate not only to the crime’s severity, but also to the perpetrator’s profits. A corporate giant has little incentive to change its practices if the fines imposed on it amount to, say, less than a week’s earnings. Moreover, settlements that resolve transnational bribery cases must satisfy two basic criteria: a settlement in one country should not preclude another from enforcing its own laws and prosecuting the bribe’s beneficiaries; and any settlement must allow affected countries to recover stolen assets, regardless of where they end up.
Global economic malaise is no excuse to delay anti-corruption reform. In fact, a more honest, transparent global system free of corruption would support stronger, more inclusive economic growth and development.
