Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called on Thursday for immediate and robust national and international action to curb illicit financial flows from the developing world to financial safe-havens.
The minister made the remarks during his address to the 7th international seminar jointly organized by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission on ‘Combating Corruption – A Pre-Requisite for the full realization of All Human Rights and Sustainable Development’.
FM Qureshi maintained that in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision, fighting corruption and ensuring the protection of all human rights were the top priorities of the incumbent government.
“Corruption is an enormous obstacle to the realisation of all human rights – civil, political, economic and cultural – as well as the right to development.” he said, adding that corruption struck at the very root of good governance and democracy.
He further stated that corruption eroded public trust in the legitimacy of state institutions, undermined the rule of law and violated the values of transparency, accountability, justice and fair play. “It also undermines the successful implementation of all 17 sustainable development goals by hampering economic growth, increasing inequality and inhibiting prosperity,” the foreing minister added.
According to Qureshi, corruption stifled opportunities for the poor and marginalised and condemned them to a life of misery and inequality. “Corruption leads to massive illicit financial flows out of developing countries,” he reiterated.
Foreign Minister Qureshi underlined that inclusive and sustainable development was not possible unless transparency and accountability were ensured. He highlighted the efforts of the Government of Pakistan in combating corruption, especially illicit financial flows as well as promotion and protection of all human rights. He presented an actionable way forward for the OIC group in curbing corruption and realizing the human rights agenda including through creation of an inter-governmental committee, establishment of an OIC protocol and mechanism for mutual legal assistance, reviewing unequal investment treaties, and formation of a global beneficial ownership registry. The Foreign Minister said that in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision, fighting corruption and ensuring protection of all human rights were the top priorities of the present government.
The foreign minister referred to a report of the UN High-Level Panel on Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) and said that a staggering 7 trillion dollars in stolen assets were parked in financial “safe havens” destinations. “This organized theft and illegal transfer of assets has profound consequences for the developing nations. There is no doubt that this stolen money siphoned off from the public treasury could have been spent to meet development needs; to lift people out of poverty; to provide children with education; to bring essential medicine to families; and to stop hundreds of preventable deaths and injuries that occur every day,” he added.
The foreign minister said that the Covid-19 pandemic had further widened existing inequalities, pushed millions of people into extreme poverty, and resulted in loss of millions of jobs. “Allowing corruption and illicit financial flows to continue in these circumstances is nothing short of criminal. Immediate and robust national and international action is needed to stop the bleeding of developing countries,” he stressed.
The Foreign Minister said that 15 years have passed since the adoption of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which remains the only legally binding international instrument on anti-corruption. “Unfortunately, despite explicit UNCAC provisions, there are increased barriers in the asset recovery process as well as their speedy return to countries of origin. Curbing illicit financial flows and recovering and returning stolen assets can contribute to effective resource mobilization for achieving SDGs,” he added.
The Foreign Minister said, “We continue to emphasize that the requested States should return the recovered assets without conditionalities to the States of origin. We should explore the possibility for an additional protocol on asset recovery under UNCAC.”
At the same time, he said, framing corruption as a human rights issue and pursuing a ‘human rights-based’ approach to corruption can help complement the efforts to prevent and combat corruption and promote more effective implementation of international anti-corruption instruments.
“So long as corruption remains undefeated, efforts to promote the realization of human rights can achieve little,” he added.
