Archive | Accountability RSS feed for this section

The financial sector: a culture of transparency?

The recent global financial crisis highlighted the need to broaden the discussion about regulation and oversight of the financial system. Transparency and related risk assessments of financial institutions have surged to the top of the agenda. In our study on transparency and disclosure of measures for reducing corruption risk among the world’s largest companies published […]

Read full story Comments { 8 }

Hamburg’s Transparency Law to open government more than ever

The Beatles played their first concert in Hamburg. Hamburg’s harbour is one of Europe’s largest. Now Hamburg, one of Germany’s 16 federal states, also has one of the world’s best transparency laws. Passed in mid-June, the new law sets a precedent that might resonate in the worldwide open government community. The new 10-page Hamburg Transparency […]

Read full story Comments { 12 }

Korupedia.org: New sanctions for corruptors

No one disagrees with the importance of law enforcement to diminish corrupt practices. Yet, sometimes social sanctions are much more effective. This is the idea behind www.korupedia.org, the first online list of corruptors in Indonesia. Initiated by anti-corruption figures and prominent journalists, the site was launched in Warung Daun Kafe, Jakarta on June 12. Korupedia […]

Read full story Comments { 3 }

Keeping elections clean: TI-Malaysia launches Election Integrity Pledge

Uncontrolled and unchecked spending and a culture of money politics can disrupt the proper functioning of Malaysia’s political system. For example, Transparency International Malaysia’s research on political financing shows that the party leading the ruling coalition held assets of more than EUR 350 million in 2004. The EUR 50,000 limit on campaign spending is rarely […]

Read full story Comments { 2 }

Can I see your badge, officer?

“The action went surprisingly well. It showed the importance of public control over police. Many of us were afraid it would all end with detentions or beatings, but we managed to avoid violence. The most important thing we achieved is that the majority of Moscow cops started wearing their badges. We can repeat the action […]

Read full story Comments { 3 }

Did you know that you have a right to know? Spreading the word in Papua New Guinea’s forests

“Welcome to the jungle!” George flashes me a wry smile as our jeep begins its stuttering ascent up the mountain, into an endless expanse of thicketed green. George had sent a message over the radio three days earlier, in the hope that news of our visit would travel to Leileiyafa in time. He and his […]

Read full story Comments { 3 }

Open Government Partnership: From openness to transparency?

Spanish version / ver en español The following is adapted from a speech by Elisabeth Ungar, Member of Transparency International’s Board of Directors and Executive Director of Transparencia por Colombia, at the Open Government Partnership‘s annual meeting in Brasilia on 15 April 2012. The full speech is available here. I hope that the Open Government […]

Read full story Comments { 3 }

Alianza para el Gobierno Abierto: De la apertura a la transparencia

Ver en inglés / English version Adaptado del discurso de Elisabeth Ungar, Miembro del Directorio de Transparency International y Directora Ejecutiva de Transparencia por Colombia, en la reunión anual de la Sociedad de Gobierno Abierto en Brasilia el 15 de Abril de 2012. El discurso completo puede encontrarse aquí. Esperamos que la Alianza para el […]

Read full story Comments { 2 }

Voting Day in Egypt: why I am optimistic — for now

With the sun beating down and temperatures reaching 41 degrees in Cairo, I went to my local polling station to vote in an election where, for the first time in our history, no one knows the outcome. This was a remarkable moment for me and my fellow Egyptians.  And because of that, I have to […]

Read full story Comments { 3 }
Image of New Scotland Yard sign

Who will police the police?

Claims of UK police bribery are usually shocking enough on their own to elicit a strong reaction. Recent allegations, however, that bribes were paid to members of London’s Metropolitan Police Service Anti-Corruption Unit shock deeper still. One of the officers in question is accused of selling information regarding a Nigerian official, James Ibori, who laundered […]

Read full story Comments { 3 }