Global Forum V
Hot Spots: non-state sectors vulnerable to corruption
Corruption DRC is set in the context of a country emerging from conflict, with weakened governmental institutions and extensive natural wealth in territories often controlled by armed groups. This has led to corruption in the extractive industries that has severely impacted the ability of the DRC to benefit from its own natural wealth, yet it is essential to economic recovery.
The way forward requires regional and governmental measures that will pave the way for ethical non-state actors to engage and squeeze corrupt players out, by raising the cost of corruption. Efforts must include consideration of the plight of the estimated two-million artisanal miners, who suffer enormously under the current systematized corruption but whose economic survival is dependent upon the status quo.
If the DRC is to collaborate effectively with regional and global partners it must have the capacity to implement relevant anti-corruption conventions. Functional legal institutions are indispensable for creating space for ethical non-state actors, including capacity for domestic prosecutions, asset forfeiture and mutual legal assistance. The DRC is far from having this capacity and will require significant domestic efforts and international support in order to meet the challenge.
BIO:
Harriet Solloway is the Director of the Rule of Law Unit in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the DR Congo. Previous positions include: Head of the Victims and Witnesses Unit at the International Criminal Court; Legal Advisor to the Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; Legal Advisor to the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (for Institution-Building); Legal Advisor for Sex Crimes in the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR); Investigator (ICTR); and criminal defense lawyer. She holds a Bachelor degree from McGill University, a Licentiate in Civil Law from Ottawa University, and a Master of Public International Law from Leiden University in the Netherlands.