Sweden’s foreign policy work to fight corruption
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Corruption is one of the main obstacles to democracy, human rights and the rule of law globally. It is a serious impediment to the rule of law, accessibility and the efficient use of resources in many parts of society – including health care, social protection, education, job creation, enterprise, the political system, law enforcement authorities, the security sector, etc. – in a way that directly affects individuals and their rights. Persons in particularly vulnerable situations and poverty are hardest hit. Corruption results in lost social development and undermines trust in society and the social contract.
In some countries, corruption has become synonymous with the prevailing political system and is very difficult to address. At the same time, it undermines political stability and peace. The scale of global corruption is enormous – according to some estimates, it could account for 5 per cent of the global economy. Much of the funds related to corruption, tax evasion, money laundering and organised crime are hidden in tax havens and financial centres through illegal financial flows.
Sweden’s work within anti-corruption focuses on preventing Swedish development assistance being exposed to corruption, supporting actors who combat corruption both within countries and globally, and strengthening society’s various institutions.
Sweden provides support to independent media and investigative journalism such as the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, to civil society organisations such as Transparency International and to research. Sweden also supports efforts that indirectly counteract corruption, such as stronger rule of law, party-political systems and improved political participation, as well as strengthened public institutions such as tax authorities, audit authorities and other parts of public administration. Sweden actively seeks to integrate the anti-corruption perspective in all development assistance, and more than 40 Swedish development assistance strategies have fighting corruption as one of their goals.
On Sweden’s initiative, the Council of the European Union has adopted joint Council conclusions on corruption as an obstacle to development. The document stresses the importance of including a robust anti-corruption element in all development assistance operations in EU partner countries. The Council’s conclusions also call on the European Commission to work in a strategic and integrated way to prevent corruption as an obstacle to the eradication of poverty and sustainable development.
Globally, Sweden actively works on this issue within the OECD, provides core support to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (the UN’s anti-corruption body), actively participates in negotiations on the UN Convention against Corruption, and pursues the issue within the Financing for Development agenda. Within the EU, we work to ensure that large-scale and systematic corruption and money laundering are also subject to sanctions.
External sources for further information about the work to fight corruption.
Sweden’s foreign policy work for human rights, democracy and the rule of law
This webpage is part of the theme page about Sweden’s foreign policy work for human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
