About this ebook
Too often, the perpetrators of Grand Corruption are able to use their illicit wealth and power to pervert and co-opt the national institutions that should call them to account. As a result, the worst offenders are always the least likely to face domestic justice.
In such cases, when national authorities are unwilling or unable to act, we believe that the international community has a responsibility to step forward.
Akaash Maharaj wrote this paper for and on behalf of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), the worldwide alliance of parliamentarians working together to combat corruption, strengthen good government, and uphold the rule of law.
The paper guides their efforts to build new international instruments to hold kleptocrats to account, to bring them to justice, and to make their victims whole.
About the author
Akaash Maharaj is a Canadian peacemaker, athlete, and conservationist. He serves as Ambassador-at-Large for the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), and as Head of Policy for Nature Canada. He was leader of the Canadian Equestrian Team and a triple gold medallist in Equestrian Skill-at-Arms.
As GOPAC's Ambassador-at-Large, he represents the international alliance of democratically-elected legislators in its work combatting corruption, strengthening good government, and upholding the rule of law. He leads GOPAC's project on international prosecution of Crimes Against Humanity, its work on reconciliation in post-conflict states, and its efforts to strengthen integrity in the global sport system.
The United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration selected him to speak for the world's legislators in the General Assembly Chamber, on bringing kleptocrats to justice.
A noted contributor to international debate, his articles have appeared in newspapers in every populated continent. He was a broadcast essayist with TV Ontario's The Agenda, and Maclean's magazine named him as one of Canada's 50 "most well known and respected personalities".
As a Director of Nature Canada, he focusses on bringing Canada and other states into compliance with their commitments under global treaties to protect biodiversity, endanger species, and natural habitats.
Earlier in his career, he was a triple gold medallist at the International Championships of Equestrian Skill-at-Arms. He subsequently led the overall Canadian Equestrian Team and federation as CEO, to the team's most successful Olympics and Paralympics of all time.
Akaash earned his MA from Oxford University in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and was the first overseas student elected President of the student government in the history of the 900-year-old University. He completed further studies at the Sorbonne Université and the United Nations University. He is a Governor and Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a Senior Fellow of the Munk School of Global Affairs, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
He has been decorated three times in Canada's national honours: for services to peacemaking in the Middle East; for services to integrity in international sport; and for services to the exploration and protection of the natural world. He was also commissioned a Kentucky Colonel, the state's highest honour, for his contributions to global affairs.
