Corruption is increasingly being challenged as unacceptable across Asia and the Pacific. This Report shows how why eliminating corruption that plagues people’s daily lives must become a priority.  The police, social services, and environment are areas countries should consider focusing on.  Now is the time to seize the moment, to combine pressure from above, in government and the private sector, with the voice of the people from below. Successes are emerging, alongside growing international commitment - history does not have to become the region’s destiny.

Overview:

People across the Asia-Pacific region are becoming increasingly concerned about corruption, and governments are starting to react. Hauling the rich and powerful before the courts may grab the headlines, but the poor will benefit more from efforts to eliminate the corruption that plagues their everyday lives. Corruption has to be tackled from the top down and from the bottom up, with vigorous support from the media and organizations of civil society. An international response is needed to counter cross-border corruption in this increasingly globalized world as well.

Corruption has many damaging effects: weakened national institutions, inequitable social services, and blatant injustice in the courts – along with widespread economic inefficiency and unchecked environmental exploitation. And it hits hardest at the poor – who often depend heavily on public services and the natural environment and are least able to pay bribes for essential services that should be theirs by right.

Politicians in the region are starting to respond. Nowadays most want to be associated with fighting corruption. Indeed the need to combat corruption has been used as a justification for overthrowing elected governments, sometimes even with an element of public support. Civil society groups too are making greater efforts to hold public- and private-sector organizations to account, and the media are also focusing on this issue and finding new ways to expose and publicize it.

There is also greater commitment at the international level. By the end of 2007, 140 state parties had signed the first global anticorruption instrument, the 2005 United Nations Convention Against Corruption. It requires acceding and ratifying countries to implement far-reaching reforms.

Corruption is an important development issue – developing countries do not want to follow the slow historical path of the now developed countries, for corruption to be better controlled. Just as they are putting in place conscious policies for poverty reduction, so too they would like to speed-up the process of tackling corruption. ...

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Accelerating Human Development in Asia and the Pacific

Published for the United Nations Development Programme. 2008

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Preface:

The real price of corruption is not paid in currency, after all. The true costs are eroded opportunities, increased marginalisation of the disadvantaged and feelings of injustice. The myth that nothing can be done to curb corruption seems to be nearly as pervasive as corruption itself. This Asia Pacific Human Development Report, Tackling Corruption, Transforming Lives, shows that widespread corruption does not have to be an inevitable part of going about one’s everyday life and doing business.

The Report prioritises tackling corruption in areas that can improve daily lives, particularly of the poor. Improving justice systems, preventing misuse of the region’s abundant natural resources and ensuring the effective delivery of public services, such as clean water, energy, health and education, touch people everyday. These improvements are also critical for progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

The Report aims to demystify certain misconceptions surrounding a complex phenomenon – aspects of corruption that are less well known and hence tend to be ignored. Sometimes behind closed doors, sometimes openly on the floors of parliaments, laws are passed, which allow corruption to be legal. Meanwhile, misleadingly termed ‘petty corruption’ can be just as, if not more, crushing as grand corruption, hitting hard especially at the poor.

Tackling corruption in the Asia-Pacific is a responsibility to be shared by governments, the private sector, international organizations, civil society and the media. Individuals must also assert themselves as citizens and consumers. As corruption is not confined to country borders, it is necessary for solutions to be a global responsibility to be shared by multi-national companies, international banks and aid agencies alike. This Asia Pacific HDR proposes combining political will from the top with people’s voices from below, each strengthening the other.

How best can social policy be shielded from the power of narrow special interests? How can the poorest segments of society have a stronger voice? Particular solutions will depend on every country’s specific circumstances.

Reducing corruption is ultimately in the long-term interest of all layers of society, promoting justice and legitimacy of institutions, with the disadvantaged benefiting the most. We hope that this Report will contribute to constructive debate. The Asia Pacific region, well known for its dynamism, can seize the momentum for change to mobilise support within and across borders to build more just societies. There is much to be gained.

The publication of this Report is especially opportune. The year 2008 started with the Second Session of the Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) held in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, in January. The UNCAC is the first legally binding international anticorruption instrument, providing a unique opportunity for a global response to a global problem that pervades institutions within countries and crosses national borders.

The Report benefited enormously from the ongoing guidance and support of Hafiz Pasha. He worked with the Team more like a member than a Bureau Director and saw the this work. On behalf of the Regional Centre Human Development Report Unit through in Colombo, we would like say a very special the many twists and turns in the course of thank you to him.

Omar Noman
Chief of Policies & Programmes
UNDP Regional Center in Colombo 

Anuradha K. Rajivan
Regional Programme Coordinator
Human Development Report Unit
UNDP Regional Center in Colombo

About the Asia-Pacific Human Development Report:

The Asia-Pacific Regional Human Development Report (APHDR) is an important resource and instrument to explore critical development concerns. The Report thus informs policies from a human development perspective, putting people at the centre of development debates. As a regional public good, the APHDR focuses on issues that are of common concern to several countries in the region, have sensitivities that are better addressed at a regional level, or have clear cross-border dimensions.

The APHDR is an independent intellectual exercise developed through a regional participatory process that draws from the contributions of many. The theme for each Report is also selected through consultations that include participants within and outside UNDP. The more nuanced focus of the Report is guided by substantive and diverse inputs that bring together Asia-Pacific stakeholders from governments, civil society, academia, research institutions, the media, the private sector and others. Technical background papers are prepared by eminent experts drawn largely from the Region.

An established peer review process contributes to quality and impartiality. The work is enriched by a moderated discussion on the Asia-Pacific Human Development Network, which comprises members from the Region and beyond. Drawing from this rich material, the Report is prepared by the Human Development Report Unit team.

The APHDR is disseminated widely, helping to promote dialogue and bring together the people of Asia Pacific to accelerate human development.

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