“Corruption breeds disillusion with government and governance… Corruption can be a trigger for conflict,” notes António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General. “As conflict rages, corruption prospers. And even if conflict ebbs, corruption can impede recovery.”
Below, find out how corruption can exacerbate conflicts and impede sustainable peace plans – and how the United Nations is working to strengthen integrity, the rule of law and anti-corruption measures in peacekeeping and peacebuilding contexts.
There are several ways in which corruption shapes and fuels instability:
On the ground, corrupt processes – including diverted or inflated salaries, rigged procurement processes worth millions or bribes that allow illicit goods to flow across borders – often enable armed groups, political networks and economic actors to bypass rules or capture institutions.
During transitions or peace processes, corrupt actors may trade access to government officials, revenue streams or border posts in return for political loyalty.
Humanitarian operations have also faced risks: manipulation of beneficiary lists can fuel tensions between communities already struggling to survive.
In Haiti, for example, entrenched corruption and diversion of public resources have weakened the State’s ability to maintain sustainable public institutions and deliver even basic services to Haitian people, leaving space for armed groups to expand.
In Afghanistan, fraud and abuse of power and authority have undermined the effectiveness of national defence and security forces, subverted the rule of law, robbed the State of revenue and created barriers to economic growth.
These realities show that corruption does not just drain resources; it strengthens the very forces that undermine stability and fuel the conflict.
Corruption frequently serves as a tool to shield wrongdoing. In some settings, senior officials have interfered with the appointment of auditors or pushed aside oversight leaders to prevent scrutiny.
In other instances, members of security institutions have sold sensitive information to armed groups, helping them evade operations meant to weaken their influence.
These tactics foster a climate of impunity. When institutions responsible for oversight and accountability are threatened, weakened or politicized, corruption becomes entrenched and significantly harder to dismantle.
Addressing corruption in fragile settings is rarely straightforward. It is often hidden, supported by networks that span institutions and the private sector. These groups are adaptive and capable of using complex financial structures, front companies or offshore accounts to hide illicit gains.
There is also a human dimension: individuals who witness or experience corruption often fear retaliation. Where courts lack independence or law enforcement agencies are compromised, the risks of reporting misconduct can be substantial. This creates a vicious cycle where corruption goes unchallenged because people simply do not feel safe speaking up.
Understanding how corruption interacts with conflict is essential for designing effective peacebuilding strategies. Thus, safeguarding institutions responsible for fighting corruption remains key.
Where transparency and integrity measures are adopted, institutions tend to demonstrate more resilience when tensions resurface. Societies become more inclusive of vulnerable and marginalized groups and individuals.
The UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the only legally-binding instrument against corruption with close to universal ratification (192 Parties), includes standards, from corruption prevention to criminalization, international cooperation, and asset recovery, that provide a clear pathway to building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions.
Commitments by States to reinforce the rule of law and accountability show that integrity is increasingly understood as a core peacebuilding tool, not just a governance aspiration.
In the political declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was invited to increase coordination and cooperation with the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and the Department of Peace Operations of the Secretariat with a view to strengthening the rule of law and anti-corruption measures in United Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.
This was echoed by a resolution of the Conference of the States Parties (COSP) to UNCAC, which established a COSP mandate in this regard.
By reinforcing institutional and operational capacities, UNODC has supported Haitian authorities in delivering more robust anti-corruption results. Over the past three to four years, the Anti-Corruption Unit of Haiti (ULCC) has produced 55 investigation reports -more than in the previous 17 years combined (with crimes estimated to have cost the public more than USD 23 million) – and referred priority cases for prosecution. At the same time, compliance with asset declaration obligations among senior officials (Presidential Transitional Council – CPT, Ministers and state secretaries of the current government) reached 100 per cent.
UNODC’s new publication, jointly developed with DPO and DPPA, aims to provide strategic and practical guidance to UN missions and UN country teams in their efforts to strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability mechanisms in fragile settings.
It builds on the many lessons learned by the UN system, including ongoing partnerships of UNODC with UN peace operations (MINUSCA, MONUSCO, UNMISS) and special political missions such as the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).
Building integrity in conflict-affected settings is not simply a technical reform process. It is a way of repairing the social bond, rebuilding institutions and giving peace processes a real chance to last.
Learn more about UNODC’s work: https://www.unodc.org/corruption/en/learn/thematic-areas/conflict-affected-settings.html
