Even when governments commit to reform, human rights abuses can persist. A primary reason for this is the existence of a deep-seated ‘culture of impunity.’ This term refers to the systemic failure to hold perpetrators of state violence accountable, whether in criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings. When state agents believe they can commit abuses without fear of punishment, it creates a dangerous environment where violations become normalized and continue unchecked.
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⚖️ What is a Culture of Impunity?
Legal scholar Diane Orentlicher defines impunity as ‘the impossibility, de jure or de facto, of bringing the perpetrators of violations to account’. This failure sends a powerful message to state security forces that their superiors either do not care about unlawful conduct or, even worse, tacitly endorse it. A culture of impunity is generated by long-standing institutional deficiencies, particularly a weak judiciary and a corrupt coercive apparatus (the military and police), which are common problems in many Global South nations.
👮♂️ The Role of Corrupt Police and Military Agencies
In countries like the Philippines and Thailand, state security agencies have historically been involved in politics and corruption. Even during the reformist 1990s, when national policy shifted toward human rights, residual abuses continued. This was often because private actors, such as mining companies or local business elites, would contract individual soldiers or police officers to harass or kill activists who opposed their projects. These state agents acted with impunity, motivated by financial rewards and the knowledge that they were protected by a deficient justice system.
🏛️ Why an Ineffective Judiciary is a Critical Failure
An ineffective judicial system is a key ingredient for impunity. This can manifest in several ways: a lack of judicial independence from political pressure, bureaucratic inefficiencies that lead to massive case backlogs, and the absence of adequate laws to protect human rights. In the Philippines, for example, a 2000 World Bank survey found that 57% of Filipinos believed most judges could be bribed. When victims and their families cannot access justice due to exorbitant costs, fear of retaliation, or the belief that courts are corrupt, it erodes the rule of law and allows abusers to act without consequence.
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Regilme, Salvador Santino F., Jr. Aid Imperium: United States Foreign Policy and Human Rights in Post-Cold War Southeast Asia. University of Michigan Press, 2021.
More Topics
- What is ‘Strategic Localization’ and How Does It Work in Foreign Aid?
- What is the ‘Aid Imperium’ in U.S. Foreign Policy?
- How the Philippines Reversed Its Human Rights Crisis Under Aquino and Obama
- How Thailand’s 1990s ‘Human Rights Renaissance’ Happened
- How Thaksin’s ‘War on Drugs’ Devastated Human Rights in Thailand
- How ‘Interest Convergence’ Shapes Foreign Aid’s Impact on Human Rights
- How the Philippines Achieved a Human Rights Renaissance in the 1990s
