In less democratic countries, the presence of resources such as diamonds, gold, oil and forestry increases the prevalence of corruption. Corruption includes industrial corruption, consisting of large bribes, as well as minor corruption, such as a poacher who pays a forest ranger to ignore poaching. The presence of fuel extraction and export is clearly linked to corruption, while mineral exports have only increased corruption in poor countries. In wealthier countries, exports of minerals such as gold and diamonds are actually associated with less corruption. The International Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative aims to create best practices for good governance of gas, oil and minerals, with a particular focus on government management of revenues from these resources. Any valuable natural resource can be affected by corruption, including water for irrigation, land for cattle grazing, forests for hunting and logging, and fishing. [39] In 1994, the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag in Bonn presented a comparative study on “legal corruption” in the industrialised OECD countries. [133] They indicated that foreign bribery was legal in most developed countries and that their foreign bribery practices ranged from simple state subsidies (tax deductions) to extreme cases such as Germany, where foreign bribery was encouraged. while the internal market has been prosecuted.
The German Bundestag`s finance committee has rejected an opposition parliamentary proposal to limit German foreign bribery on the basis of the US Foreign Bribery Practices Act (FCPA of 1977) and thus promote domestic exporting companies. [134] In 1997, its members signed an OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. [135] [136] It was not until 1999, after the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, that Germany withdrew the legalization of foreign bribery. [137] The inclusion of optional criminalization provisions was considered necessary because there may be offences that some countries may already have included in their national legislation or whose establishment could be considered useful in the fight against corruption, but other countries would not be able to do the same, often due to constitutional obstacles. Further details on the Convention against Corruption are available in module 14. Corruption and crime are endemic sociological events that occur regularly in virtually every country at the global level to varying degrees and degrees. Each nation allocates national resources to control and regulate corruption and deter crime. Anti-corruption strategies are often summarised under the umbrella term anti-corruption. In addition, global initiatives such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 also aim to significantly reduce corruption in all its forms.
[2] Transparency means knowing who, why, what, how and how much. This means shedding light on formal and informal rules, plans, processes and actions. Transparency helps us as a public hold all powers accountable for the common good. Although there is no universally accepted definition of corruption, it has been described in general terms as the use of public office for personal gain or as an abuse of power entrusted to it for personal gain. It undermines legitimate government processes, misspends public funds, and undermines public confidence in government. Corruption fosters the continued existence of organized crime because corrupt officials protect organized crime groups from prosecution and disruption (Rose-Ackerman and Palikfa, 2016; Rowe, Akman, Smith, & Tomison, 2013; Transparency International, 2017; White, 2013). Corruption, the abuse of power entrusted to private purposes, as defined by Transparency International[94], is systemic in the health sector. The characteristics of health systems, with their concentrated service delivery, the high discretion of their supply-side members and the low accountability to others, are the exact constellation of variables described by Klitgaard on which corruption depends. [95]: 26 Bribery can sometimes be part of the systematic use of corruption for other purposes, for example to commit other acts of corruption.
Corruption can make officials more vulnerable to extortion or extortion. The country is frowned upon and corruption severely harms the economy despite the wealth of the booming oil industry. [57] Major corruption is defined as corruption that occurs at the highest levels of government in a manner that requires significant damage to the political, legal, and economic system. This corruption is often found in countries with authoritarian or dictatorial governments, but also in countries where corruption is not adequately monitored. [14] We have learned from more than twenty-five years of experience that corruption can only be contained if representatives of government, business, and civil society work together for the common good. As no sector is immune to corruption, it is necessary for States parties to recognize the special role and vulnerability of justice sector institutions with regard to corruption and to constantly strive to establish independent, ethical and accountable justice sector institutions. In order to assist States parties in addressing the problem, the United Nations is adopting various approaches. It takes an in-depth look at corruption in the judiciary and other justice sector institutions and examines the organizational level, including the separation of powers, mandates and processes, as well as the individual level, including professional ethics, protection against interference and training. On the basis of this analysis, the United Nations seeks to identify best practices and ways to address the risk of corruption and mitigate risks and promote integrity in all justice sector institutions. Political corruption is the abuse of power, public office or resources by elected government officials for personal gain, through blackmail, solicitation or bribery. It can also take the form of incumbents who stay in office by buying votes by passing laws that use taxpayers` money. [40] There is evidence that corruption can have political consequences – citizens who are asked for bribes are less likely to identify with their country or region.
[41] Favouritism, nepotism and clientelism mean that it is not the corrupter who is favoured, but someone related to him, such as a friend, family member or member of an association. For example, hiring or promoting a family member or employee for a role for which they are not qualified, who belongs to the same political party as you, regardless of merit. [111] Corruption reduces the returns of productive activities. If revenues from production decline faster than revenues from corruption and rent-seeking activities, resources will shift from productive to corrupt activities over time.