A/HRC/41/20
and human rights action plans and capacity-building of law enforcement officials and
judicial organs. Participants also saw potential in engaging other stakeholders, including
civil society and the private sector, in technical cooperation and dialogue.
47.
Different organizations of the United Nations system were identified as offering
important support to States in human rights-based anti-corruption activities, including all
organs of the human rights system. One delegation recommended that corruption should be
a specific item in guidelines for reporting to the treaty bodies. It also recommended that
country-specific concluding observations of treaty bodies and special procedures should
address corruption specifically. Another delegation suggested that the treaty bodies could
consider drafting general comments on topics relating to corruption and anti-corruption
measures. Speakers encouraged the Human Rights Council to raise awareness of human
rights-based anti-corruption measures, including by means of events and platforms for the
exchange of good practices. One delegation pointed out that such initiatives would be
preferable to “naming and shaming”. OHCHR was encouraged to provide countries with
technical cooperation and legal advice on anti-corruption initiatives. It was suggested that
human rights mechanisms could recommend that States ratify the United Nations
Convention against Corruption and regional anti-corruption conventions, and engage with
the relevant review mechanism. Human rights mechanisms were also encouraged to
cooperate with UNODC and other international and regional anti-corruption mechanisms.
Other speakers suggested that anti-corruption mechanisms should improve the access and
participation of civil society in their working processes. The workings of the international
human rights mechanisms provided good examples and lessons learned in this regard. One
delegation welcomed the closer engagement of civil society with the Implementation
Review Mechanism of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, but stressed that
its technical and non-political nature should be preserved.
48.
Participants addressed several questions to panellists on the support provided by the
organizations of the United Nations system. They asked them, for example, to describe the
biggest challenges to international cooperation. Questions were raised on how to address
the problem of illicit financial flows and the challenges to the return of confiscated assets,
and also their negative impact on human rights. One speaker asked how the international
community could address the negative impact of transnational corruption, especially in
cases where non-State armed groups were involved. Another question concerned the role of
United Nations human rights mechanisms in the fight against the negative effects of
corruption, in particular with regard to technical assistance, international cooperation and
the scope of the international legal framework against corruption. One delegation asked
whether there would be any benefit in drafting a joint general comment on the issue of
human rights and corruption. Another speaker asked whether and how UNODC and
OHCHR could provide legal assistance to combat corruption. Panellists were also asked
what further steps the United Nations system, in particular the Human Rights Council and
its special procedures, could take to support States in fighting and preventing corruption.
One delegation asked how United Nations bodies could work in multi-stakeholder
partnerships to combat and prevent corruption, with specific reference to the Open
Government Partnership. One speaker asked how best to engage in real and truthful
dialogue with stakeholders; not only with civil society and businesses, but also with
countries reluctant to open up to multi-stakeholder dialogue.
49.
Speakers also discussed issues relating to methods for measuring the effects of
corruption. For some, the assessment of the collective impact of corruption remained
underdeveloped; they therefore recommended that further research be conducted in this
area to develop specific multiparty responses and to exchange good practices. According to
delegations, developments concerning human rights indicators could provide lessons
learned to the anti-corruption community. One participant called upon all stakeholders not
to be afraid of measuring and giving visibility to the impact of corruption on human rights.
Speakers considered that measurable information could contribute to the dialogue and
exchange within and between the two communities. Speakers suggested that attention
should be focused more on human rights indicators as the most important indicators of the
impact of corruption, rather than only measuring financial losses caused by corruption.
Delegations saw Sustainable Development Goal 16 and its targets 16.4, 16.5 and 16.6 as
establishing an important momentum for developing methods for measuring the impact of
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