1 National Press Club, Washington Thomas Pogge Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International...

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National Press Club, Washington

Thomas PoggeLeitner Professor of Philosophy and International

Affairs, Yale

Illicit Financial Flows and

Human Rights

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Persistent Optimism   

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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).

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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, Table A1, pp. 54-59.

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Millions of Deaths

Korea and Vietnam 1951-54, 1965-74

Congo Free State 1886-1908

Russian Civil War 1917-22

World War One 1914-18

Stalin's Repression 1924-53

Mao's Great Leap Forward 1959-62

World War Two 1939-45

Worldwide Poverty Deaths 1990-2015

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

5.5

7.5

9

17

20

30

60

450

Income Shares of Global Population Segments

Top 5%:42.77%

Next 20%:42.20%

Next ¼:10.64%

3rd ¼:3.17%

4th ¼:1.22%

Wealth Shares of Global Population Segments

Richest 1%49%

Other 99%51%

Wealth Shares of Global Population Segments

Richest0.6%

Rest98.8%

Poorest 50%0.6%

How many billionaires does it take to match the wealth of the

poorer half of humanity?

Wealth Shares of Global Population Segments

Richest 0.0000009%0.6%

Rest98.8%

Poorest 50%0.6%

How many billionaires does it take to match the wealth of the

poorer half of humanity? 66

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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.

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Year

Undernourished in Millions

(2011)

… with “improved”

methodology (2012)

1969–1971 8781979–1981 8531990–1992 8431995–1997 7882000–2002 8332005–2007 848

2008 9632009 10232010 925UN Food and Agriculture Organization

(www.fao.org)

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Year

Undernourished in Millions

(2011)

… with “improved”

methodology (2012)

1969–1971 8781979–1981 8531990–1992 843 10001995–1997 7882000–2002 8332005–2007 848

2008 9632009 10232010 925UN Food and Agriculture Organization

(www.fao.org)

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Year

Undernourished in Millions

(2011)

… with “improved”

methodology (2012)

1969–1971 8781979–1981 8531990–1992 843 10001995–1997 7882000–2002 8332005–2007 848

2008 9632009 1023 8672010 925 868UN Food and Agriculture Organization

(www.fao.org)

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Year

Undernourished in Millions

(2011)

… with “improved”

methodology (2012)

1969–1971 8781979–1981 8531990–1992 843 10001995–1997 788 9312000–2002 833 9222005–2007 848 884

2008 963 8672009 1023 8672010 925 868UN Food and Agriculture Organization

(www.fao.org)

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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 morallyis the comparison with what would now be possible: How much of today’s severe poverty is reasonably avoidable through better supranational institutional design?

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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.

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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.

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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

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Private Financial Wealth Kept Abroad

Africa and the Middle East:

31%

Latin America: 28%

Europe: 8%

North America: 2%

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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.”