Corruption would reduce if western countries don’t keep money for looters - Falana
Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says corruption would have reduced in
Africa if western countries do not help in keeping looted funds.
He said this at the African non-governmental organisation (NGO) forum held in Banjul, Gambia.
The lawyer accused the western media and Transparency International (TI)
of failing to join the campaign for the repatriation of the looted
wealth of Africa.
“If the western countries do not warehouse such loot, corruption by
criminally minded politically exposed persons will be greatly reduced,”
he said.
He charged African NGOs to challenge the narrative on corruption by
rejecting the “western propaganda peddled by the Transparency
International which has continued to paint Africa as the most corrupt
continent on earth”.
Falana asked why TI has deliberately refused to classify Switzerland, UK
US and France as corrupt when the bulk of the billions of dollars
stolen from Africa by corrupt rulers has been traced to banks and other
financial institutions in these countries.
Calling on NGOs to lead the battle against corruption in their
countries, Falana said majority of African governments are wallowing in
impunity to the detriment of the development of the country.
He said: “Despite initial pessimism about its potential and relevance,
the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has over the years
contributed significantly to the development of human rights law through
its expansive case-law and jurisprudence. In some respects, such as
those involving economic and social rights, the commission’s
jurisprudence has been ground-breaking, leading to some effective
remedies for victims of violations of human and peoples’ rights.”
He urged African NGOs to shift attention and focus to the promotion and
defence of socioeconomic rights which are enshrined in the constitutions
of African countries and African charter on human and people’s rights.
“This only way to seriously wage the battle against the menace of
corruption in Africa is to mobilize the masses who are the principal
victims of corruption to demand accountability from the governments,” he
said.
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