18 February 2016: The High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (HLPIFF) discussed its findings with UN Member States at a special briefing of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The HLPIFF was established at the 2011 meeting of the Joint African Union Commission (AUC)-UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. It has produced a report assessing the volumes and sources of illicit financial flows (IFF) from Africa and recommending ways to address these outflows. Thabo Mbeki, HLPIFF Chairperson, recognized a direct link between curbing IFF and financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, saying one cannot be achieved without the other.

Chaired by ECOSOC President Oh Joon, the special event took place on 18 February 2016, in New York, US.

Mbeki said the report finds that there is a clear commitment from within the African region to stem IFF, not just await assistance from outside. However, he noted important challenges in the areas of taxation, financial intelligence, and other aspects of IFF, which require strong institutions and for which the UN must help build capacity. Mbeki added that IFFs could represent a “negative cost measure” to fill the resource gap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He supported cooperation between the African Union (AU) and ECOSOC in implementing IFF strategies.

Member States shared opinions and concerns on the findings of the Panel’s report. All interventions, including developed and developing countries, stressed the importance of tackling IFFs in order to finance the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. In particular, according to Benin, Sweden, South Africa and others, tackling IFFs can be a major source of development financing in the face of decreasing official development assistance (ODA) and other more traditional ways of financing development. South Africa suggested creating an intergovernmental instrument to curb IFFs by tackling inherently international issues, such as trade mispricing. [IISD RS Sources] [UN Press Release] [ECOSOC Event Webpage] [Panel Members] [HLPIFF Website] [Report of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa] [IISD RS Story on HLPIFF at 24th AU Summit]