Corruption Perceptions Index 2021

HUMAN RIGHTS AND CORRUPTION Transparency International’s analysis demonstrates that upholding human rights is crucial in the fight against corruption, with countries who violate civil liberties scoring lower on the CPI. From the repression of opposition supporters in Belarus , 11 to the closing of media outlet s 12 and civil society organisation s 13 in Nicaragua, the deadly violence against protesters in Suda n 14 and the killing of human rights defenders in the Philippines , 15 human rights and democracy are under threat. Since 2012, 90 per cent of countries have stagnated or declined in their civil liberties score . 16 Corruption undermines the ability of governments to guarantee the human rights of their citizens . 17 This affects the delivery of public services, the dispensation of justice and the provision of safety for all. In particular, grand corruption committed by high- level officials usually combines the large-scale, transnational theft of public funds with gross human rights violations. Our analysis shows that such corruption schemes – often facilitated by advanced economies who score well on the CPI – exacerbate repression by allowing autocrats to: 1. Enjoy looted funds. Employing complicit bankers, lawyers and real-estate brokers in major financial centres, the corrupt can store their illicit gains, reward cronies and further concentrate their power. 2. Launder their reputation abroad. By bribing foreign politicians and employing western public relations firms and lobbyists , 18 authoritarian and kleptocratic regimes soften international pressure on their human rights record. 3. Evade accountability. Through the abuse of secret companies and anonymous investments, the corrupt can hide their wrongdoing from law enforcement or judicial bodies and escape consequences. Human rights are not simply a nice-to-have in the fight against corruption. Authoritarianism makes anti-corruption efforts dependent on the whims of an elite. Ensuring that civil society and the media can speak freely and hold power to account is the only sustainable route to a corruption-free society. Delia Ferreira Rubio Chair, Transparency International Photo: World Economic Forum/Benedikt von Loebell / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL 8