On Monday, September 10, 2018, the United Nations Security Council hosted a first-ever session on the critical and devastating connection between corruption and conflict. John Prendergast, Enough’s Founding Director and co-Founder of The Sentry, joined UN Secretary-General António Guterres as one of the two featured speakers.
This explainer accompanies John Prendergast’s speech to the United Nations (UN) Security Council on September 10, 2018 and further explains the different tools of financial leverage – both at a national level and multilaterally – that can be used to prevent conflict and mass atrocities in Africa. Concepts and processes covered in this document include the concept of “network sanctions,” the process for enacting asset freezes and travel bans at the UN, the Panels of Experts, an overview of existing relevant UN sanctions programs, the consequences of UN asset freezes and travel bans, an explanation of money laundering and description of anti-money laundering tools, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and a basic overview of how prosecutions for atrocities and human rights abuses work and relevant authorities.
Financial tools of pressure such as network sanctions and the implementation of robust standards for anti-money laundering frameworks at the national and multilateral level have vital roles to play in combating the ability of kleptocratic regimes to profit from the ongoing abuses in their countries. Corruption and the illicit exploitation of natural resources is a fundamental driver of mass atrocities in countries such as South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, and the Central African Republic (CAR). It is thus incumbent on policymakers, financial institutions, and international organizations to work towards exposing and disrupting the exploitation of natural resources and movement of ill-gotten gains by the elites at the expense of innocent civilians in order to transform the systems of governance in these countries.
Click here to read the explainer on multilateral tools to counter corruption linked to conflict.