On March 3, 2025, the UNCAC Coalition marked a significant milestone in its advocacy work by co-organizing a side event at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) during its 58th Session. This event was co-organized with the core group of the HRC resolution on the negative impact of corruption on the enjoyment of human rights, which includes Morocco, Austria, Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Poland, the United Kingdom, as well as the EU, Transparency International, and OHCHR. The event, titled “Upholding Human Rights as a Means of Countering Corruption,” brought together a distinguished panel of country representatives, UN officials, and civil society experts to explore how human rights are essential in advancing anti-corruption efforts.
🎥 You can watch the full event here
Why This Event Matters
By bringing the UNCAC Coalition into the space of the Human Rights Council, this event represented a growing consensus that anti-corruption efforts must not be siloed but fully integrated with human rights frameworks. The proactive participation of governments, UN agencies, and civil society experts reflected a shared recognition that the negative impact of corruption on individuals and communities can no longer be ignored.
This event was both a symbolic and practical step forward, underscoring our commitment to ensuring that anti-corruption measures do more than address wrongdoing. They must also uphold justice, protect human dignity, and safeguard the rights of all people. Additionally, the event highlighted the importance of international cooperation and cross-sector collaboration, calling for strengthened inter-agency ties between OHCHR and UNODC. Despite growing international consensus on the need to address corruption from a human rights perspective, significant gaps persist in translating these insights into practical, actionable strategies, highlighting an urgent need for clear guidelines to ensure the consistent implementation of concrete measures.
Setting the Stage for Dialogue
In his opening remarks, Mathias Huter, Managing Director of the UNCAC Coalition, emphasized that high levels of corruption are often linked with poor human rights records. He reminded participants that corruption is not just a governance issue. It is fundamentally a human rights issue. His remarks set the stage for a rich and multi-perspective discussion among the event’s speakers, who shared both national experiences and global recommendations.
Morocco and Austria: National Commitments and International Cooperation
H.E. Ambassador Omar Zniber, Permanent Representative of Morocco, highlighted his country’s long-standing involvement in anti-corruption efforts, including hosting the 2011 Conference of States Parties and embedding anti-corruption commitments in Morocco’s constitution. Ambassador Zniber stressed the necessity of political will, robust legal frameworks, public awareness, and international best practices to effectively combat corruption. He made a powerful case for seeing the fight against corruption as integral to the protection of development and peace, and essential components of human rights.
Christoph Wieland, Deputy Permanent Representative of Austria, underscored the urgent need for better coordination between human rights and anti-corruption communities, which often operate in silos. He called for stronger international and inter-agency cooperation, particularly between OHCHR and UNODC, and emphasized civil society’s central role. He emphasized a human-rights-based approach to anti-corruption and underlined the importance of training and education across public institutions, as well as the role the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) plays in providing such capacity building.
Latin America’s Lessons: Victim-Centered Anti-Corruption Strategies
Katya Salazar, Executive Director of the Due Process of Law Foundation, shared vital insights from Latin America, a region where grand corruption and systemic impunity often coexist with human rights violations. She made a strong case for human rights-based approaches to anti-corruption, stressing that corruption is not a victimless crime. Salazar highlighted pioneering legal strategies that allow specific victims and civil society organizations to participate in corruption proceedings, as seen in countries like Honduras, Argentina, El Salvador, and Mexico.
She called on the HRC to take the lead in advancing a comprehensive study on the practical implementation of human rights-based approaches in anti-corruption, with the aim of deepening states’ accountability.
Linking Corruption and Discrimination: A Call for Inclusive, Risk-Based Strategies
Andrea Rocca, Civic Space Lead at Transparency International, highlighted the strong interplay between corruption and discrimination, particularly in access to essential services like health and education. Drawing from TI’s latest research, he outlined key dynamics showing how discrimination increases vulnerability to corruption, how corrupt acts can be inherently discriminatory, and how both reinforce barriers to justice. He stressed that anti-corruption strategies must consider these intersectional impacts, moving beyond one-size-fits-all approaches. Risk assessments should account for how corruption affects different groups differently, and policies must meaningfully include those most affected.
Rocca also called on the UN human rights system to take a more active role, through clearer guidance, technical assistance, and stronger cooperation between OHCHR and UNODC. Better integration between the Geneva and Vienna processes, such as linking UNCAC reviews with the Universal Periodic Review, could help bridge the current gap between anti-corruption and human rights frameworks.
OHCHR’s Key Role in Bridging Frameworks
María José Veramendi Villa, Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Officer at OHCHR, reinforced that corruption is not just a law enforcement issue under the UNCAC but it is a human rights challenge. Since 2012, the Human Rights Council has addressed the issue, including through its landmark 2015 Advisory Committee report. The report emphasized prevention, transparency, and accountability as key principles for safeguarding rights and called for stronger coordination across institutions and mechanisms.
Veramendi Villa highlighted OHCHR’s efforts to support countries through technical assistance, legal reform, and capacity-building, promoting transparency, access to information, and stronger protections for victims, whistleblowers, and civil society. From Honduras and Iraq to The Gambia, and across Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe, OHCHR has worked to embed human rights principles at the heart of anti-corruption strategies. She drew attention to OHCHR’s continuing to implement its mandate, to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people, ensuring that anti-corruption efforts not only address wrongdoing but also promote justice, strengthen institutions, and place people and their rights at the center.
She called for stronger institutional links between OHCHR and UNODC, and the need to revisit the 2015 recommendations while incorporating new insights from the 2024 OHCHR expert seminar on the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights in anti-corruption efforts in the context of COVID-19 recovery. She emphasized the importance of conducting a comprehensive study to guide the implementation of human rights-based anti-corruption strategies.
Stay Connected
This event was a step toward bridging the anti-corruption and human rights communities. As we continue to advocate for a rights-based approach to tackling corruption, we encourage you to stay connected, learn more, and join us in advancing these essential discussions. Let’s work together to ensure that corruption is not only addressed through legal means but that people are placed at the heart of all anti-corruption efforts.
Learn more and join us here.
