The right to development (RTD) is a multidimensional human right comprising civil and political as well as socio economic rights all aiming to foster human dignity. States are duty bearers and have the obligation to respect, protect, fulfil and promote this right as well as other human rights. Yet to discharge their mandate States need financial resources. At the same time millions of dollars are taken out of the African continent through illicit financial flows.
It is against this backdrop that this paper will analyse the impact of illicit financial flows on the realisation of the RTD in Africa. To this end the paper unpacks the RTD concept, examines the political economy of illicit financial flows including their forms and effects on the RTD. As part of assessing the impact of illicit financial flows on the RTD, thepaper explores the linkages between the RTD and financial transparency, examines the data on illicit financial flows from Africa and their correlation with extreme poverty or lack of RTD, before mapping the way forward in providing remedies to the problem.