Urban planning, major infrastructure projects, and resource extraction are some of the clearest examples of human rights violations and corruption. To clear the way for these large land projects, often houses and heritage sites must be demolished and ecosystems at risk. This can lead to confrontation, violence and gross violations of human rights, as states and developers strive to quickly clean up any human, environmental barriers or heritage sites.
It is also often found that large land projects such as development, mining and road construction are affected by corruption by entities seeking to increase profits, gain an edge over their competitors, and overcome community resistance.
Investigating and documenting the potential impact that corruption has on the implementation of unwanted projects, despite social resistance, is a critical factor for social movements advocating for the democratic development of urban and rural spaces that are consistent with international human rights standards.
In order to support communities and civil society in conducting low-cost city reconstruction investigations, major infrastructure projects, and resource extraction projects, the Anti-Corruption and Human Rights Initiative has created an easy-to-use methodological guide for investigations. The methodological guide contains tips and tricks on how to conduct corruption investigations using the basic resources available to everyone. With a few simple research tricks, you can find significant evidence of misbehaviour that can transform the results of public campaigns to save homes, ecosystems, and heritage sites.