Corruption and Human Rights - Foundation Office South Africa
Expert conference
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What is the connection between corruption and fundamental rights?
"There can be no gainsaying that corruption threatens to fell at the knees virtually everything
we hold dear and precious in our hard-won constitutional order. It blatantly undermines the
democratic ethos, the institutions of democracy, the rule of law and the foundational values of
our nascent constitutional project. It fuels maladministration and public fraudulence and
imperils the capacity of the state to fulfil its obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfil
all the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights. When corruption and organised crime flourish,
sustainable development and economic growth are stunted. And in turn, the stability and
security of society is put at risk (para 166)." (Constitutional Court)
The Constitutional Court further provided some examples of fundamental human
rights that are threatened by corruption, such as ‘the rights to equality, human
dignity, freedom, security of the person, administrative justice and socio-economic
rights, including the rights to education, housing, and health care’ (para 198).
At an international level the link between corruption and human rights has also been
made. Both the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN
Human Rights Council follow a human rights-based approach to anti-corruption
efforts.