16th IACC

Entrenched networks of corrupt political and economic elites show great resilience in weathering complex political transitions. This is a result of the inability or unwillingness of many countries to tackle such forms of systemic corruption amongst the powerful. This often takes place in a context of complex political trade offs between an old corrupt autocratic regime and a new democratic political order promising change. 

This session aims to contribute to an emerging international debate on the need to focus on economic crime during (and after) transitional justice processes. This has received insufficient airing in either transitional justice or corruption debates.  Confronting this issues is a key element of ensuring that cycles of impunity involving corrupt networks are broken, or at least sufficiently slowed down to allow for greater democratic participation. Without it social justice and ultimately a restoration of trust amongst the citizenry are difficult to achieve.

The session will discuss comparative experiences in an interactive Q&A format. It will propose ways in which the IACC community of practitioners can collaborate in changing public discourse on this issue. Participants are encouraged to contribute in answering the central question: Why do attempts to challenge old corrupt networks of power and privilege fail and what can we do to change this?