A/HRC/22/42 and that, in two cases, a politically exposed person had deliberately been treated as a normal customer, although banking staff were aware of the high-risk nature of the customer.49 Similarly, while the Annual Report of the Money Laundering Reporting Office of Switzerland for 2011 showed a surge of 40 per cent in suspicious activity reports to it by Swiss commercial banks from 2010 to 201150 and some observers have concluded that this is a sign that official measures against money laundering have increasingly become effective, Swiss NGOs have disputed this, pointing out that the surge of reporting to the Office was rather a reflection of international pressure as many Swiss banks had been engaged for years with corrupt customers from North Africa until the Government of Switzerland decided to freeze their assets. 51 40. The Independent Expert considers that it is desirable that all measures to tackle illicit financial flows are designed with the need to promote the realization of human rights of the populations of the countries of origin of illicit funds, particularly the poor who disproportionately suffer the negative effects of the shortage of resources resulting from illicit financial outflows. Indeed, such an approach would be consistent with the recognition (explicit or implicit) in most anti-corruption conventions of the negative impact of illicit financial flows on development, governance and human rights. 52 C. Other initiatives 41. A number of non-governmental organizations have played an important role in exposing corruption and lack of due diligence on the part of international banks, as well as drawing attention to the negative impact of illicit funds on the rule of law and the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. They include Global Financial Integrity, Global Witness, Transparency International, Publish What You Pay, Tax Justice Network, Christian Aid, Eurodad, Aktion Finanzplatz Schweiz and many others. Some of these organizations have been active in the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, a consortium of Governments and research and advocacy organizations that focuses on achieving greater transparency in the global financial system for the benefit of developing countries. 42. Some organizations have campaigned for improved national legislation and policies to reduce the flow of illicit funds from developing countries or to ensure their repatriation, or provided technical assistance to Governments focusing on anti-money-laundering and 49 50 51 52 Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), “Due diligence obligations of Swiss banks when handling assets of “politically exposed persons: An investigation by FINMA” (Bern, 2011), p. 7. Switzerland, Money Laundering Reporting Office, Annual Report 2011 (Bern, Federal Office of Police, 2012), p. 3. Bern Declaration, “Geldwäscherei - Sorgfaltspflicht der Banken greift nicht”, 14 May 2012. Available from www.evb.ch/p25020100.html. For example, the African Union and Council of Europe anti-corruption conventions recognize the threat that corruption poses to the enjoyment of human rights. Thus, the preamble to the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption refers to the States parties‟ awareness of “the need … to foster the promotion of economic, social and political rights in conformity with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples‟ Rights and other relevant human rights instruments” (fourth para.), while article 2, paragraph 4, states as one of the objectives of the Convention the promotion of “socio-economic development by removing obstacles to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights”. The preambles of both Council of Europe Conventions stress that corruption threatens the enjoyment of human rights (Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, fifth para., and Civil Law Convention on Corruption, fifth para.). 15