A practical tool for fighting corruption in humanitarian emergencies
by Guest on 3:38 pm on Monday, 1. February 2010 | 1 Comment
The following post was written by John Uniack Davis, Country Director for CARE International in Madagascar. We have put together more information on the new handbook in this special section on our website.
Humanitarian NGOs have a social contract with donors and the grassroots populations with whom they work. Emergency workers are stewards of scarce funds – We are entrusted with resources in order to use them in the most efficient way possible to better the lives of those affected by disasters. Transparency International’s brand-new Handbook on Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Operations is a great tool to help use scarce funds efficiently to achieve the greatest impact for the greatest number. CARE International (along with six other major international NGOs) has signed on to this important initiative and participated in the Handbook development, as we believe that it will be a useful tool for reducing the risk and pernicious effects of corruption in humanitarian programming.
The TI Handbook is organized around a series of practical topics, including targeting of beneficiaries, procurement, finance, human resources, and the like. For each topic, the authors describe the nature of the risk of corruption, as well as a number of “red flags” that can tip one off to something fishy. The Handbook is a very-user friendly reference and is not intended to be read cover-to-cover. Rather, it is to be consulted as needed to improve performance on specific topics. It provides concrete, actionable recommendations on how to reduce corruption risk while under time pressure to produce quick results. My colleagues and I at CARE Madagascar are already using a draft version of the Handbook and we look forward to the final version.
In a perfect world, all aid workers would have great integrity and be guided by their best instincts in implementing programs for those most in need. Each and every one of us would take seriously our accountability to local communities and to the donors providing the wherewithal to get the job done. Unfortunately, experience shows that emergency programs experience the same corrupt practices as other fields. Moreover, given the haste with which emergency programs have to get up and running, controls on the use of funds are often a bit less rigorous than in development programming, when organizations have more time to build a foundation for rigor and transparency. Thus, as stated in the Introduction of the Handbook, “There were numerous examples of corruption during the massive Asian tsunami humanitarian response, and examples of substantial diversion of aid resources have been reported recently in Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia and Somalia.”
Given the challenges, the TI Handbook is a great collection of tips of what to look out for in humanitarian situations. Emergency professionals at all levels should have it at their fingertips when responding to man-made and natural disasters. This will permit them to get the best bang for their buck in saving lives and helping victims return to normal lives as quickly as possible. Mobilized humanitarian workers should stuff the planned “pocket book” version in their cargo pants as they board planes and Land Cruisers to mobilize to the epicenters of suffering.
The unfolding tragedy in Haiti is a timely and moving reminder of the high stakes we face. The TI Handbook on Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Operations can help us make sure that the giant sums being injected are used well and for the greatest good. While Haiti is an extreme example of a huge humanitarian disaster, the Handbook is practical and useful for emergency professionals at all levels in a wide array of disasters. I highly recommend it.
Tags: aid > CARE > handbook > humanitarian aid > integrity > preventing corruption > tools
Courage to face down corruption – Russia’s endemic problems
by Guest on 12:42 pm on Friday, 29. January 2010 | 1 Comment
The following post has been written by Samuel Bakowski, working in the Communications Department at Transparency International.
Alexei Dymovsky, the former police major who spoke out against corruption in a series of videos that appeared on YouTube, has been arrested on fraud and corruption charges. On 22 January he was taken into custody under allegations he embezzled money allocated to agents under his command, during his time in the anti-drug department. His arrest has been criticised by human rights activists, who believe the arrest is purely revenge for the shock his whistle-blowing videos caused in November.
Blowing the whistle on YouTube
Pale and still in his stiff blue police uniform, Alexei Dymovsky takes a deep breath. A brief eye flutter of uncertainty is the only clue that the ordinary police officer from Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk appears to realise the enormity of what he has planned, and its possible consequences. Then nerves subside, as deep conviction takes hold; perhaps this is partly relief that thoughts previously stifled or simply shared across a kitchen table will now be out in the open.
“Hello fellow comrade officers. I am talking to those officers for whom words such as, ‘honour’ and ‘dignity’ are not just words or sounds.”
Tags: corruption > embezzlement > Russia > whistleblowing > YouTube
Can bribes paid by private firms cause “social damage”?
by ahernandez on 10:30 am on Tuesday, 26. January 2010 | 4 Comments
Yes! It is possible that firm pays for the damages caused to a society at large when caught bribing governmental officials! This is the case now in Costa Rica where Alcatel-Lucent, the French-American communications company, agreed to pay US $10 million to the Costa Rican State as a compensation for the “social damage” provoked to the Costa Rican society after a scandal that involved US $2.5 million in bribes to ensure a cell-phones contract under the Costa Rican presidential term 1998-2002.
The concept of “social damage” implies that a financial retribution should be made by those found guilty of a corruption crime to repair the damage caused to a society. It is a quite innovative concept introduced in 1998 in Costa Rica – unique in Latin America - that has been used by the Office of the Public Ethics Prosecutor in their investigations against two former Costa Rican Presidents and European firms, including Rodríguez and Alcatel-Lucent, involved in major corruption cases.
The total amount requested by the Office of the Public Ethics Prosecutor as a result of the damage caused to society by the seven parties accused of corruption has been set in this case at US $52 million. The agreement reached with Alcatel-Lucent – by which the company accepted paying the bribes – is expected to be validated by a Court in the next few days and it won’t stop the Prosecutor’s Office, the General Attorney and other damaged institutions from continue seeking further civil and penal consequences for those involved in the scandal.
A landmark for the anti-corruption struggle?
Definitively yes! The concept of “social damage” is meant clearly for all of those who try to keep governments and companies accountable for their acts, mostly when huge amounts of tax payers money are in question and even more when such major corruption scandals occur in societies in need. Now, the concept can count on legal arguments and a specific reference of success. While the “social damage” concept achieves a wider use in other countries and regions, those advocating for private firms’ responsibility in fighting corruption can look at Costa Rica to continue building their demands.
What if all major multinationals that have paid bribes to ensure contracts going in the millions recognise their faults in local courts and compensate societies for their corrupt practices without further conditions? …we are getting there!
PS: By the way, isn’t this a case of transnational bribery falling under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention? An Alcatel-Lucent executive was indeed condemned in the US in 2008 for this case, any echo in Europe?
PPS: And most importantly: congratulations to all Costa Ricans and the Office of the Public Ethics Prosecutor!
Tags: accountability > Americas > Anti-corruption Conventions > bribery > Costa Rica > Private Sector
Justice, not excuses, still sought a year after the killing of Lasantha Wickramatunga
by Guest on 3:53 pm on Tuesday, 12. January 2010 | No Comments
The following post has been written by Samuel Bakowski, working in the Communications Department at Transparency International.
A year has passed, yet the investigation into the murder of Lasantha Wickramatunga has achieved nothing. Revealing only ineptitude, a growing sense of impunity, and a loss of public faith in the rule of law and media freedom in Sri Lanka. Not a single arrest has been filed since the assassination of the leading Sri Lankan newspaper editor, not a single suspect.
Lasantha Wickramatunga
Lasantha Wickramatunga was the first journalist to receive Transparency International’s Integrity Award, in 2000. Bestowed as an act of recognition from the international anti-corruption community for his contribution to the defence of press freedom rights in Sri Lanka, and for his investigative journalism abilities in fearlessly exposing corruption within Sri Lankan politics for over a decade.
In the years that followed, Lasantha Wickertunga continued to work tirelessly. He became the most vocal critic of president Rajapaksha, using newsprint to staunchly advocate a political solution to the ethnic conflict, and expose arms deals at critical moments during the civil war.
In a posthumous editorial that was published in the Sunday Leader a few days after his death, he wrote. “Murder has become the primary tool whereby the state seeks to control the organs of liberty…Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last”.
The brutal murder, followed by the editorial speaking of its inevitability, sent shockwaves through a Sri Lankan society still reeling from the attack on the television channel Sirasa, which had occurred two days previous. The widely publicised editorial stemmed international outcry and drew intense media scrutiny, which forced the government to make a statement outlining its intention to conduct a vigorous investigation into the murder.
Despite 23 court hearings taking place in the previous year, the police are yet to file an investigative report. The investigation has now been transferred to the criminal investigation unit, however there is scepticism that this has only been done to pass the responsibility on to the former army commander, General Sarath Fonseka, who is the opposition candidate for the elections on 26 January.
Once again, a year on – with the parody of an impotent investigation continuing to fruitlessly limber on – civil society urges the Sri Lankan authorities to bring to justice those responsible for the assassination of Lasantha Wickramatunga.
It is incumbent on the government of Sri Lanka to demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law, and human rights, especially the right of individuals to free expression. An investigation that contained, even just a fraction, of the commitment demonstrated by Lasantha Wickramatunga to his values and beliefs, would be a start.
Events have taken place across the globe to mark the first anniversary of the loss of Lasantha Wickermatunga. It is a tribute to the impact his work achieved that his loss is felt in so many circles.
Tags: anti-corruption activits > Human Rights > investigative journalism > judiciary > Sri Lanka
Desafíos de las Convenciones para el 2010 y la Declaración Anticorrupción de la XIX Cumbre Iberoamericana
by Guest on 5:29 pm on Wednesday, 6. January 2010 | No Comments
The following post has been written by Ximena Salazar, Coordinator for the Anti-Corruption Conventions Programme in the Americas at Transparency International.
Estamos comenzando el 2010 y dentro de los desafíos para este año está que comience a operar el mecanismo de seguimiento de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas contra la Corrupción (UNCAC), recientemente aprobado en la Conferencia de Estados Parte de Doha.
A este respecto, me llamó poderosamente la atención que en el marco de la XIX Cumbre Iberoamericana celebrada en Portugal, se haya sacado un comunicado especial sobre la lucha contra la corrupción, en el cual se reconoce a las convenciones internacionales anti corrupción, me refiero específicamente a la UNCAC y a la Convención Interamericana contra la Corrupción (CICC), como instrumentos que deben ser promovidos e implementados por los Estados.
Da gusto ver que los Estados Iberoamericanos reconocen a la UNCAC como el mayor avance normativo internacional en la lucha contra la corrupción y que promueven la recuperación de los activos, que son recursos que los Estados dejan de poder aplicar en inversión social. Esta mirada es la que esperamos se instale no sólo en los Jefes de Estados de Iberoamerica, sino en los ciudadanos, en los funcionarios públicos, en los empresarios, y en la sociedad civil de cada uno de los Estados.
Participar del nuevo mecanismo de monitoreo que se acaba de aprobar en Doha, es ahora el desafío. Ojalá sean justamente los países de Iberoamericana quienes den el ejemplo de publicar los informes, de desarrollar las visitas in situ y que integren la sociedad civil de sus países en el proceso.
La colaboración internacional entre este nuevo mecanismo que se iniciará a mediados del 2010 y el mecanismo de seguimiento de la CICC, MESICIC de la OEA, es prioritario para el monitoreo del cumplimiento de las recomendaciones que en este sistema se han hecho a los 28 países que lo integran en cada una de sus rondas. A este respecto un estudio desarrollado por TI en cuanto al cumplimiento de los mandatos de las Cumbres de las Américas en transparencia y anti corrupción y su vinculación con el MESICIC, destacó que la mayoría de las recomendaciones menos implementadas se relacionaban con la apertura a consulta, con la protección de denunciantes, la cooperación internacional y la participación de la sociedad civil en la revisión de la implementación. Por otra parte, y si bien el número de recomendaciones convertidas en leyes nacionales ha aumentado dichas leyes aún no han sido incorporadas en las prácticas y políticas nacionales.
Es por ello que el cumplimiento de las recomendaciones formuladas a los Estados es la verdadera señal que las convenciones están cumpliendo el fin para el cual fueron creadas, y no tan sólo buenas intenciones.
No me cabe más que felicitar a los Estados Iberoamericanos por esta señal y esperar que efectivamente la Declaración de luchar contra la corrupción no se convierta en letra muerta sino en un instrumento en que se inspiren las normas nacionales y las nuevas políticas anti corrupción en los países. La sociedad civil estará atenta!
Tags: Anti-corruption Conventions > civil society > corruption > Doha > Latin America > uncac
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