Morocco raises alarm on corruption’s toll on fundamental rights in Geneva

Held amid a growing global awareness of corruption’s harmful effects, this event builds on the work of the Human Rights Council, particularly Resolution 59/6 adopted in July 2025. That resolution enshrines the now widely accepted idea that fighting corruption and protecting fundamental rights are intrinsically linked and mutually reinforcing. International commitments—from the UN Convention against Corruption to the 2011 Marrakech Declaration and the 2021 UNGASS political declaration—all stress the need for a preventive approach grounded in the rule of law, democracy, and human rights.

In this framework, Morocco highlighted its integrated approach based on convergence between public policies, national institutions, and international commitments. Moderating the exchanges, Ambassador Omar Zniber, the kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, underscored the importance of this initiative, calling it ‘very important’ at the multilateral level. He highlighted ‘contributions of senior Moroccan officials’ and ‘Morocco’s role as a leader in this process at the United Nations,’ emphasizing coordinated mobilization of national institutions and alignment with the kingdom’s strategic directions on transparency and governance.

For his part, the interministerial delegate for human rights, El Habib Belkouch, framed the debate on more fundamental ground, stressing that ‘corruption also constitutes a major obstacle to the effective enjoyment of human rights.’ Moving beyond classical approaches centered on governance or repression, he insisted on concrete effects: ‘When it affects access to justice, healthcare, education, or employment, it deprives individuals of legitimate rights.’

El Habib Belkouch recalled that ‘every resource diverted 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 of this phenomenon 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.

Insisting on the responses needed, he stated that ‘prevention appears today 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 ‘essential tools for preventing corruption.’ He finally argued for strengthening 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 Fight against Corruption, gave an even more structural scope to this link. According to him, the connection between these two fields ‘is gradually evolving towards a structural interdependence,’ reflecting a profound transformation of analysis and action frameworks.

Adopting a victim-centered approach, he stressed that ‘it is no longer just about diverted funds, but about real victims of corruption deprived of their rights,’ calling for moving beyond traditional paradigms. He also highlighted dimensions still insufficiently considered, such as ‘gender-based corruption,’ which he sees as ‘an intrinsic obstacle to equality.’

Mohamed Benalilou further emphasized a major conceptual shift, arguing that ‘corruption prevention is evolving towards 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 argued for ‘preserving the civic space’ and ‘recognizing whistleblowers as human rights defenders,’ while calling for a transition to 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 level, he insisted on the need to ‘ensure greater coherence between the processes in Geneva, Vienna, and New York,’ noting that obligations from the UN Convention against Corruption and those related to human rights ‘constitute two facets of the same commitment.’ He thus called for setting up ‘structural bridges’ between institutions and the emergence of ‘preventive governance based on human rights.’

Over the course of the exchanges, a consensus emerged among participants on the urgency of strengthening synergies between various actors—states, international institutions, and civil society—to make corruption prevention an essential lever for protecting human rights. Emphasis was placed on the role of education, capacity building, citizen participation, and digital technologies, considered indispensable tools for promoting good governance, strengthening transparency, and preventing abuses.