National Press Club, Washington
Illicit Financial Flows
and Human Rights
Thomas Pogge
Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs, Yale
1
Persistent Optimism
2
World Poverty Today
Among 7.3 billion human beings, about
795 million are chronically undernourished (SOFI Report 2015, pp. 4,8,10,17),
>2000 million lack access to essential medicines
(Nyanwura & Esena, “Essential Medicines Availability And Affordability”),
748 million lack safe drinking water (MDG Report 2014, p. 40),
>1000 million lack adequate shelter (OHCHR, The Right to Adequate Housing 2014),
>1200 million lack electricity (World Bank, http://go.worldbank.org/6ITD8WA1A0),
1800 million lack adequate sanitation (MDG Report 2014, p. 45),
781 million adults are illiterate
(www.uis.unesco.org/literacy/Pages/literacy-data-release-2014.aspx),
168 million children (aged 5 to 17) do wage work outside their household —
often under slavery-like and hazardous conditions: as soldiers, prostitutes or
domestic servants, or in agriculture, construction, textile or carpet production
(ILO: www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm). 3
At Least a Third of Human Deaths
— some 18 (out of 57) million per year or 50,000 daily — are due
to poverty-related causes, in thousands:
diarrhea (2163) and malnutrition (487),
perinatal (3180) and maternal conditions (527),
childhood diseases (847 — half measles),
tuberculosis (1464), meningitis (340), hepatitis (159),
malaria (889) and other tropical diseases (152),
respiratory infections (4259 — mainly pneumonia),
HIV/AIDS (2040), sexually transmitted diseases (128).
WHO: World Health Organization, Global Burden of Disease: 2004 Update, Geneva 2008,
4
Table A1, pp. 54-59.
Millions of Deaths
450
Worldwide Poverty
Deaths 1990-2015
World War Two
1939-45
60
Mao's Great Leap
Forward 1959-62
30
Stalin's Repression
1924-53
20
World War One
1914-18
17
Russian Civil War
1917-22
9
Congo Free State
1886-1908
7.5
Korea and Vietnam
1951-54, 1965-74
5.5
0
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 4005
Income Shares of Global
Population Segments
3rd ¼:
3.17%
4th ¼:
1.22%
Next ¼:
10.64%
Top 5%:
42.77%
Next 20%:
42.20%
Wealth Shares of Global
Population Segments
Other 99%
51%
Richest 1%
49%
Wealth Shares of Global
Population Segments
How many billionaires does it take to match
the wealth of the poorer half of humanity?
Poorest 50%
0.6%
Rest
98.8%
Richest
0.6%
Wealth Shares of Global
Population Segments
How many billionaires does it take to match
the wealth of the poorer half of humanity?
Poorest 50%
0.6%
Richest
0.0000009%
0.6%
Rest
98.8%
66
Counter-Argument: Progress
As the success of the Millennium Development Goals
shows, the situation of the world’s poor is getting
steadily better and better.
10
Year
Undernourished … with “improved”
in Millions (2011) methodology (2012)
1969–1971
878
1979–1981
853
1990–1992
843
1995–1997
788
2000–2002
833
2005–2007
848
2008
963
2009
1023
2010
925
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (www.fao.org)
11
Year
Undernourished … with “improved”
in Millions (2011) methodology (2012)
1969–1971
878
1979–1981
853
1990–1992
843
1000
1995–1997
788
2000–2002
833
2005–2007
848
2008
963
2009
1023
2010
925
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (www.fao.org)
12
Year
Undernourished … with “improved”
in Millions (2011) methodology (2012)
1969–1971
878
1979–1981
853
1990–1992
843
1000
1995–1997
788
2000–2002
833
2005–2007
848
2008
963
2009
1023
867
2010
925
868
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (www.fao.org)
13
Year
Undernourished … with “improved”
in Millions (2011) methodology (2012)
1969–1971
878
1979–1981
853
1990–1992
843
1000
1995–1997
788
931
2000–2002
833
922
2005–2007
848
884
2008
963
867
2009
1023
867
2010
925
868
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (www.fao.org)
14
Counter-Argument: Progress
Global income polarization: much more would have
been achieved if the poor had merely participated
proportionally in global economic growth.
In any case, what matters morally
is the comparison with what would now be possible:
How much of today’s severe poverty is reasonably
avoidable through better supranational institutional
design?
15
History
Always, a majority of humankind has lived in severe
poverty. New is the easy avoidability of poverty: the
grotesque mismatch between the human and the economic
extent of the world poverty problem. Fully one third of
all human deaths and more than one third of all health
deficits are poverty-related. Yet, what the poorer half
of humanity need to avoid severe poverty is merely
an extra two percent of global household income.
Avoidable poverty has never been greater.
16
Explanation
Rich and powerful persons, companies and governments
make successful efforts to shape in their own favor the
important economic, social and political rules, on both
the national and supranational levels, as well as the
application of these rules (“lobbying”).
Insofar as they succeed, they increase their share of
income, wealth and political power and thereby become
even more capable of influencing in their own favor the
rules and their application.
17
Corporate Tax Abuse (GFI Estimates)
2003-12 decade:
$6.6 trillion
2012:
$1.0 trillion
of GDP of developing countries:
3.9%
of GDP in Africa:
5.5%
2012 official development aid:
$0.127 trillion
18
Private Financial Wealth Kept Abroad
Africa and the Middle East:
31%
Latin America:
28%
Europe:
8%
North America:
2%
19
Loss in Tax Revenues (Christian Aid)
$160 billion per annum, $2.5 trillion 2000-2015.
“If that money was available to allocate
according to current spending patterns, the
amount going into health services could save
the lives of 350,000 children under the age of five
every year.”
20