South Sudan – institutional corruption and human rights
This article, by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), reported on the very depressing situation in South Sudan. When we talk about corruption, usually it’s not so brazen, but in South Sudan it is so overwhelming that simple government services are just not available. The OHCHR Commissioner Carlos Castesana Fernandes noted that “Three-quarters of child deaths [in South Sudan] are preventable — yet funds go to patronage and private pockets, not medicine or clean water and sanitation. Even as we speak, nepotism and kleptocracy in government are further entrenching. South Sudan’s international partners must make clear that this situation is unacceptable, cannot lead to peace, will not address rights indispensable to the survival of the population, and sabotages credible elections and the political transition.” The fact that this can and does occur highlights the extremes of corruption.
Why is this important? South Sudan shows the failure of international support and oversight cannot stop extreme corruption when the stakes are very high. The average South Sudan citizen is the victim as oil and non-oil revenues are siphoned off through opaque off-budget schemes and politically connected contracts while they are denied basic services. Additionally, significant donor funds are being used to prop up the government and the citizenry, and this also needs to be addressed, since donor countries are accountable to their citizens, and the essential problem of massive misuse of funds, due to the redirection of government funds, by government officials, needs to be addressed publicly. Barefaced corruption should not be tolerated, as the citizens of South Sudan and those of donor countries, deserve more from the international community and South Sudan.
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