Morocco warns at Geneva about corruption’s toll on fundamental rights

The event took place against a global backdrop of growing recognition of corruption’s destructive effects. It builds on the work of the Human Rights Council, particularly resolution 59/6 adopted in July 2025, which enshrines the widely accepted idea that fighting corruption and protecting fundamental rights are intrinsically linked and mutually reinforcing. International commitments—whether the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the 2011 Marrakech Declaration, or the 2021 UNGASS political declaration—all stress the need for a preventive approach grounded in the rule of law, democracy, and human rights.

Against this framework, Morocco highlighted its integrated approach, which brings together public policies, national institutions, and international commitments. Moderating the discussions, Ambassador Omar Zniber, Morocco’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, underscored the significance of the initiative, calling it “very important” at the multilateral level. He noted “the contributions of senior Moroccan officials” and “Morocco’s role as a leader in this process at the United Nations,” emphasizing the coordinated mobilization of national institutions and alignment with the Kingdom’s strategic directions on transparency and governance.

Interministerial Delegate for Human Rights El Habib Belkouch grounded the debate on a more fundamental level, stating that “corruption also constitutes a major obstacle to the effective enjoyment of human rights.” Moving beyond classic approaches focused on governance or repression, he stressed its concrete effects: “When it affects access to justice, healthcare, education, or employment, it deprives individuals of legitimate rights.”

El Habib Belkouch reminded attendees that “every resource embezzled or wasted due to corruption is a resource no longer available to fund a school, a hospital, or a public policy,” illustrating the direct impact on citizens’ daily lives. He also drew attention to the fact that its effects “often weigh more heavily on the most vulnerable groups,” particularly women and marginalized populations.

Stressing the necessary responses, he asserted that “prevention today appears as one of the most effective levers,” highlighting key principles such as “transparency, the right to access information, citizen participation, and accountability,” which he described not only as fundamental rights but also as “essential tools for preventing corruption.” He finally advocated for strengthened synergies between institutions, noting that their coordination constitutes “a major priority to improve the effectiveness of public policies.”

Mohamed Benalilou, president of the National Authority for Probity, Prevention, and the Fight against Corruption, echoed these sentiments and gave a more structural emphasis to this linkage. According to him, the connection between these two fields “is gradually evolving toward a structural interdependence,” reflecting a deep transformation of analytical and action frameworks.

Adopting a victim-centered approach, he stressed that “it is no longer just about embezzled funds, but about real victims of corruption deprived of their rights,” calling for a shift beyond traditional paradigms. He also shed light on dimensions still insufficiently addressed, such as “gender-based corruption,” which he considers “an inherent obstacle to equality.”

Mohamed Benalilou further underscored a major conceptual turning point, asserting that “corruption prevention is evolving toward a positive obligation for states to protect rights and freedoms.” In this logic, it becomes “an essential element of human rights due diligence.”

He also called for “preserving civic space” and “recognizing whistleblowers as human rights defenders,” while advocating a transition toward a model of “institutional integrity,” where institutions “do not limit themselves to the absence of corruption, but actively protect rights and guarantee equality.”

On the international front, he stressed the need to “ensure greater coherence between the processes in Geneva, Vienna, and New York,” noting that obligations under the United Nations Convention against Corruption and those related to human rights “constitute two facets of the same commitment.” He thus called for “structural bridges” between institutions and the emergence of “preventive governance based on human rights.”

Throughout the exchanges, a consensus emerged among participants on the urgency of strengthening synergies between different actors—states, international institutions, and civil society—in order to make corruption prevention a key lever for protecting human rights. Emphasis was placed on the role of education, capacity building, citizen participation, and digital technologies, all seen as indispensable tools for promoting good governance, enhancing transparency, and preventing abuses.