According to Transparency International Nepal's most recent report published a few months ago, one-third of Nepalis are obliged to pay a bribe while receiving services from government offices. As a result, the Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI), 2015 ranks Nepal 130th out of 168 countries surveyed, with a lowly score of 27. This is an indication that corruption is on the rise and pervasive.Corruption is one of the big hurdles to socio-economic development, and to people's access to justice and social transformation. It undermines democracy, good governance and rule of law by corroding state institutions that are otherwise responsible for providing fair and equitable services to the people. It promotes impunity and contributes to inequality. It turns away funds and resources meant for education, health, development, housing, employment generation, etc. It directly affects the people living in poverty. The state's efforts to combat poverty come to a naught with rampant misuse of the budget allocated for poverty alleviation.
According to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: "Corruption undermines democracy and rule of law. It leads to violations of human rights. It erodes public trust in government." In our context, too, corruption has prevented many people from enjoying their human rights. It has also diminished the effectiveness of public institutions, corroded public trust in government services and undercut its ability to advance human rights.
Corruption has also impeded people's ability to enjoy economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. It is a threat to basic human rights principles such as equality, non-discrimination, dignity, inclusion, rule of law, accountability and transparency. For example, a few people with money have easy access to vital services and benefits. But those without the money are denied this access, which is against the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
Human rights and fight against corruption have common components such as transparency, accountability, rule of law, right to information, equality and non-discrimination. Since they have common tenets, a human rights-based approach could be an effective tool to combating corruption. The rights-based approach calls for a comprehensive strategy to strengthen government institutions, including formulation and implementation of anti-corruption laws and policies. The approach considers human rights principles and mechanisms as important means for combating corruption and upholding human rights.
As per this approach, the National Vigilance Center (NVC), the Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DMLI), the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the Office of Auditor General and the Judicial Council should be strengthened so that they can fulfill their obligation to combat corruption. On the other hand, the government ought to empower the common people through greater awareness about corruption and by enabling them to raise a voice against it.
Anti-corruption efforts should be integrated with human rights norms and values such as transparency, accountability, participation, rule of law, freedom of press, freedom of expression, access to information, etc. The promotion and adoption of these principles in government institutions, political processes and social sector are essential, both to reduce corruption and to ensure the human rights of the common people. Independent and impartial judiciary is another important component in the fight against corruption.
There are many institutions working against corruption; but the progress in corruption control is slow. The government's lack of commitment to enforce anti-corruption laws and policies is behind this lack of progress. Lack of accountability in political process and political parties' lack of will to take on corruption head on have only abetted corruption. So there is no alternative to strong political will, both at the level of the government as well as individual political parties, for effective corruption control.
The government should take concrete measures to implement the constitutional and legal provisions on corruption and reinforce legislative and institutional anti-corruption frameworks. Again, the onus lies on the government of the day to reform institutions to ensure participatory, transparent and accountable decision-making and implementation. The media can play a vital role in providing general people access to the right information. They can also exert pressure on the government to promote accountability and transparency in its decision-making processes and to create greater awareness on corruption.
The civil society should also be vigilant in order to maintain transparency and accountability. They must also put pressure on the government and political parties to fulfill their obligation to combat corruption. The National Human Rights Commission should undertake promotional campaigns against corruption and recommend necessary reform in service providing institutions in order to make them more transparent and accountable to the public.
Education on human rights and anti-corruption has to be provided to students from school level. The school-going students should be inculcated with values such as morality, integrity, dignity, equality, non-discrimination, accountability and transparency, which in turn will promote human rights and corruption control.
Various researches have shown that corruption can be tackled on a large scale if all official works are computerized. This would increase the transparency of decisions, procurement processes and resource mobilization. Social attitudes towards corruption should also be changed. The individuals who are strong financially are still regarded highly. They are respected even if their income sources are illicit.
Likewise, there is a high level of tolerance for corrupt people. For example, Khum Bahadur Khadka and others convicted of corruption are revered and rewarded when they are released from jail, as if they have made exceptional contribution for the society. The political color given to corruption in turn jeopardizes rule of law and justice delivery. It also diminishes the morale of honest people, along with the morale of individuals and institutions working on anti-corruption.
To sum up, corruption has been an old culture in our society. It is high time that human rights organizations, civil society, media and anti-corruption agencies forged a common alliance and together worked out a rights-based approach for successful and sustainable anti-corruption initiatives. This will also be the best way to guarantee the human rights of all Nepali citizens.
The author is a researcher on human rights, justice and social issues
madhabreg@gmail.com
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