CAT/C/52/2 those in positions of vulnerability, who are more likely to be more exploited and less able to defend themselves. In this way, corruption reinforces their exclusion and the discrimination to which they are exposed. 82. Accordingly, there is a strong correlation between the levels of corruption within a State and the levels of torture and ill-treatment found there. One reason is that in States with high levels of corruption there may be less likelihood of torture and ill-treatment being either discovered or prosecuted. The struggle to promote human rights and the campaign against corruption share a great deal of common ground. A corrupt government that rejects both transparency and accountability is unlikely to respect human rights. Indeed, the rejection of transparency and accountability make the protection of human rights difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, eradicating corruption and preventing torture and ill-treatment are not disparate processes, but are interdependent. Corruption within a State seriously impedes the eradication of torture and ill-treatment. Hence, to prevent torture and illtreatment it is also critical to prevent and eradicate corruption. There must be vigilance, and where corruption is present it must be rooted out and punished appropriately, in accordance with the law. E. Under what circumstances does corruption thrive? 83. The interrelationship of torture and ill-treatment and corruption is influenced by the extent of economic development and the level of functioning democracy within a State. Although it is sometimes thought that corruption is more prevalent in developing than in developed countries, that is not always the case. Indeed, some developed countries and corporations from the developed world bear responsibility for corruption in developing countries. While corruption in developed countries is often more sophisticated, subtle and less visible than in developing countries, and hence may be more difficult to detect, that does not mean that it is not present. In general, however, democratic States with strong economies tend to have a lower incidence of human rights violations. 84. In the context of torture and other ill-treatment, this may be for a number of reasons. (a) States vary in their financial ability to achieve a common and acceptable standard of detention conditions. Where the general conditions of detention fall below minimum acceptable standards, it is more likely that corrupt prison officers may extort money from inmates with financial means in order for those detainees to have access to certain privileges, services or benefits. (b) State agents in countries with unstable governments, including those which have experienced war and political instability, may be more ready to use violence to maintain control of a politicized population. In a culture where violence has become normalized, corruption, such as extorting protection money, is more likely to occur. (c) In countries where State agents may not receive proper or adequate pay for their work, there will be a greater temptation to resort to corruption, abuse of power and extortion of money from detainees in vulnerable situations as a means of supplementing incomes. Likewise, in understaffed institutions, a system based on the use of trusted inmates is more likely to be in place, and the trusted inmates themselves may take advantage of their privileged position to extort money or favours from other, more vulnerable, inmates. 85. Similarly, in States which do not subscribe to democratic principles and the rule of law, corruption and human rights abuses are more common. The open engagement of States in international political and economic life, in accordance with international law and within 18