Strengthening anti-corruption efforts through human rights: 

Opportunities for action at the UNCAC CoSP11

12 December 2025 –

Integrating human rights into the anti-corruption agenda is a practical, feasible pathway to strengthen accountability, address impunity, and protect those most at risk.

Corruption as a human rights challenge

The fight against corruption and the promotion of human rights are often treated as separate agendas. Yet, in practice, they are deeply intertwined. Corruption undermines the rule of law, weakens institutions, and erodes public trust. It denies individuals access to justice, health care, education, and other fundamental rights.

Using a human rights lens to understand the consequences of corruption, in turn, exposes the real and often devastating impact on people’s lives, especially those most vulnerable to abuse of power. Approaching anti-corruption through human rights not only strengthens prevention and accountability but also ensures that efforts remain people-centred.

The legal foundation for integration

As outlined in the Policy Guide: Systemic Integration of Human Rights in Anti-Corruption Frameworks, developed by the Human Rights & Corruption Working Group together with the Cyrus R. Vance Center for Justice, there is a robust legal basis for linking anti-corruption and human rights. The UN Charter places human rights at the core of the UN system, making them an essential principle guiding all UN activities. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties reinforces this through the principle of systemic integration, which requires that treaties be interpreted in harmony with other relevant rules of international law.

The UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) itself recognises this connection. Its preamble and several of its provisions echo the values of human dignity, transparency, and justice. Together, these instruments affirm that anti-corruption obligations cannot be interpreted in isolation from States’ existing human rights commitments.

Viewing the UNCAC through a human rights lens helps bridge the gap between law and lived experience. It reminds policymakers that effective anti-corruption measures must respect freedom of expression and association, promote access to information, protect civic participation, and provide access to remedies for those harmed by corruption.

Why CoSP11 matters

The upcoming Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC (CoSP11) provides a unique opportunity to strengthen the integration of human rights and anti-corruption. Several draft resolutions on the agenda provide potential entry points to make this connection more operational. These include resolutions on the prevention of corruption (follow-up to the Marrakech Declaration), the protection of journalists, and strengthening the integrity of children and young people through education as an essential pillar to prevent corruption and build trust in public institutions. Other relevant resolutions focus on combating migrant smuggling through more effective anti-corruption measures, the Doha Declaration on AI and corruption, corruption measurement and follow-up, the next phase of the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism, and transparency in political financing.

The UN system has increasingly acknowledged the need to address the human impact of corruption. Numerous General Assembly and Human Rights Council (HRC) resolutions underscore the role of good governance and the rule of law in protecting rights and freedoms. Relevant examples include the UNGASS resolution on effectively addressing challenges and implementing measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation,  the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice  the HRC resolution on the negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin, and the HRC resolution on the negative impact of corruption on the enjoyment of human rights.  In addition, the interpretive work of human rights treaty bodies under core conventions has clarified States’ obligations in ways directly relevant to anti-corruption efforts. These precedents provide a solid foundation for building stronger linkages between UNCAC and human rights frameworks.

In light of the discussions expected at CoSP11, agreed language from the HRC could be usefully integrated into UNCAC processes.  This includes language from resolutions on civil society space, on new and emerging digital technologies and human rights , and on the safety of journalists, among others. 

CoSP11 provides an excellent opportunity to strengthen coherence across the UN system on human rights and anti-corruption. The CoSP was established to improve States’ capacity to implement the Convention and to enhance cooperation among them in achieving its objectives. Fostering collaboration among countries, institutions, and actors with a shared purpose is central to this effort. Human rights mechanisms, anti-corruption bodies, and development actors all contribute to the same goal: fair, transparent, and accountable governance.

Areas for concrete action

Promoting synergies and cross-referencing

Explicitly referencing relevant Human Rights Council resolutions in UNCAC CoSP resolutions can help to align anti-corruption efforts with human rights obligations and promote coherent policy-making across the UN system. At the national level, fostering cooperation between anti-corruption and human rights institutions strengthens both prevention and enforcement. Existing human rights obligations can be leveraged to guide action, and forthcoming guidance, such as the upcoming Human Rights Council Advisory Committee report on corruption-related human rights obligations, can inform discussions in the UNCAC Working Groups and shape their recommendations. States should uphold human dignity and human rights in all anti-corruption measures, also drawing on other frameworks like the Kyoto Declaration.

Key asks:

  • Encourage cooperation between anti-corruption and human rights institutions.
  • Reference human rights obligations explicitly in anti-corruption policies and strategies.
  • Integrate guidance from Human Rights Council into UNCAC discussions.

Promoting the meaningful participation of civil society and groups in vulnerable situations

Civil society participation is essential for combating corruption and holding governments accountable. Yet, civil society often faces significant limitations and risks in carrying out anti-corruption work, including harassment and threats, legal barriers, insufficient funding, and challenges to access decision-makers and decision-making processes.  Furthermore, corruption affects different groups unequally, with women, girls, and marginalised communities experiencing its impacts most severely, including sexual exploitation and abuse of authority. Meaningful participation requires strong legal and administrative safeguards to ensure that civil society actors can operate without undue government interference or fear of reprisals as well as structured consultation mechanisms, effective access to information (see section below), and early warning and monitoring systems to protect those who speak out.

Key asks:

  • Ensure a safe and enabling environment for civil society actors to operate, free from threats, harassment, intimidation, and violence, including by adopting protection laws in accordance with international human rights standards.
  • Promote efforts to enhance the transparency and inclusiveness of the next phase of the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism.
  • Establish structured consultations to promote meaningful civil society participation in decision-making processes to promote implementation of UNCAC commitments, including in national-level country reviews of the UNCAC Implementation Review Mechanism and in follow-up to relevant CoSP resolutions.
  • Develop gender-sensitive policies to address abuses of authority, including sexual corruption.
  • Carry out research and surveys to collect data on the specific impacts of corruption, including on women and marginalised groups, through the collection of disaggregated corruption data.

Enhancing access to information

Transparency is essential for fostering accountability. Citizens, civil society organizations, whistleblowers, the media and other members of society need reliable access to government information to spot corruption risks, track public spending, shed light on the activities of the administration, and hold those in power to account. Robust legal and institutional frameworks should ensure digital access to anti-corruption and governance data, including through open data platforms. Proactive disclosure, independent oversight, and safeguards against obstruction are crucial, and information should, whenever possible, be easily accessible and presented in reusable formats.

Key asks:

  • Adopt and implement robust access-to-information laws, aligned with international standards.
  • Ensure timely, effective access to information in practice.
  • Protect whistleblowers and those making good-faith disclosures.
  • Proactively publish official data in structured  and easily accessible formats.
  • Provide for effective and independent administrative oversight bodies
  • Share national experiences and good practices globally through UNODC platforms.

Recognising victims of corruption

Victims of corruption are often invisible in legal processes, leaving them without recourse. A victim-centred approach ensures individuals affected by corruption can access justice, participate in proceedings, and receive restitution. States should align their practices with the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, which provides a framework for fair treatment, access to remedies, and protection from retaliation. Oversight mechanisms should trace the damage caused by corruption and help enforce UNCAC Article 35, ensuring stolen resources can be returned to society.

Key asks:

  • Adopt a victim-centred approach that recognises the impact of corruption on people’s dignity and access to basic services.
  • Protect victims from retaliation or harm.
  • Engace efforts to trace stolen public assets and facilitate restitution.
  • Incorporate victims’ views into criminal proceedings while balancing the rights of the accused.

Looking ahead

A human rights-based approach makes anti-corruption more sustainable, legitimate, and effective. It places people, not processes, at the centre of governance. Taking steps to integrate human rights considerations into CoSP11 resolutions, such as cross-referencing human rights resolutions or encouraging institutional cooperation between the two areas of expertise, can make a meaningful difference. Human rights and anti-corruption are not parallel paths. They are two sides of the same effort to build societies grounded in justice, dignity, and trust.

This blog is based on previous work done with the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre (hyperlink to the U4 blog). Nonetheless, this version takes a more advocacy-focused angle that aligns with the nature of the Global Civil Society Coalition for the UNCAC. The views expressed here do not represent those of U4 but solely those of the author.”