This event took place amid growing global awareness of corruption’s harmful impact, building on the Human Rights Council’s work—notably Resolution 59/6 adopted in July 2025. That resolution affirms the now widely accepted idea that fighting corruption and protecting fundamental rights are intrinsically linked and mutually reinforcing. International commitments like the UN Convention against Corruption, the 2011 Marrakech Declaration, and the UNGASS 2021 political declaration all stress the need for a preventive approach rooted in the rule of law, democracy, and human rights.
Within this framework, Morocco highlighted its integrated approach, based on the convergence of public policies, national institutions, and international commitments. Ambassador Omar Zniber, Morocco’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, moderated the discussions and underscored the initiative’s importance, calling it “very significant” at the multilateral level. He emphasized “the contributions of senior Moroccan officials” and “Morocco’s role as a leader in this process within the United Nations,” stressing the 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, grounded the debate on a more fundamental level, noting that “corruption also constitutes a major obstacle to the effective enjoyment of human rights.” Going beyond traditional governance or punitive approaches, he highlighted concrete impacts: “When it affects access to justice, healthcare, education, or employment, it deprives individuals of legitimate rights.”
Belkouch recalled 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.
Emphasizing responses, he stated that “prevention now 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 urged stronger synergies between institutions, noting that their coordination is “a major priority to improve the effectiveness of public policies.”
Mohamed Benalilou, president of the National Authority for Probity, Prevention and Fight against Corruption, echoed this view, giving the link an even more structural dimension. According to him, the relationship between these two fields “is gradually evolving toward structural interdependence,” reflecting a profound 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 moving beyond traditional paradigms. He also highlighted insufficiently addressed dimensions such as “gender-based corruption,” which he considers “an intrinsic obstacle to equality.”
Benalilou also emphasized a major conceptual shift, asserting that “corruption prevention is evolving into 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 advocated “preserving civic space” and “recognizing whistleblowers as human rights defenders,” while calling for a transition to a model of “institutional integrity,” where institutions “are not limited 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,” stressing that obligations under the UN Convention against Corruption and those related to human rights “are two sides of the same commitment.” He called for establishing “structural bridges” between institutions and for the emergence of “preventive governance based on human rights.”
Throughout the discussions, a consensus emerged among participants on the urgency of strengthening synergies among states, international institutions, and civil society 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—seen as indispensable tools for promoting good governance, enhancing transparency, and preventing abuses.
