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Two presidents blog about climate change

With the biggest climate summit in years a month away, two presidents from one of the countries most vulnerable to rising sea levels, the Maldives, have written for Transparency International about the importance of transparent and accountable responses to the challenge of climate change. Governance and climate change in the Rio +20 The Maldives is […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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Nigerian oil in turmoil

The removal of fuel subsidies in Nigeria has hit the poorest sections of society hardest. Amid huge protests, the government has used corruption and smuggling in the oil industry to justify its actions. There are other ways to tackle oil industry corruption that do not have such unfortunate side effects. 2012 kicked off with the […]

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G8 action on asset recovery for the Arab world

The G8 have just released an ambitious and comprehensive asset recovery action plan as part of the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition. It is timely and necessary to reinforce the momentum behind stolen asset recovery processes. The first step by G8 countries was to freeze the accounts of the authoritarian leaders Mubarak, Ben […]

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Italy needs strong anti-corruption laws now

With Italy once again awash with corruption scandals and parliament delaying the approval of new, tougher anti-corruption laws, Transparency International’s latest assessment of Italy’s ability to fight corruption and the strengths of its institutions, published on 30 March, was well timed. The scandals, according to Maria Teresa Brassaiolo, chair of Transparencia Italia, should not surprise anyone, which is […]

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Europe’s hunger for energy needs an integrity check

Europe’s thirst for energy remains high as regulations in the Eurozone tighten and the focus on energy efficiency grows. At the same time, an energy infrastructure that allows EU countries to quickly shift power to where it is most needed when shortages occur still needs to be built. With this in mind, the drive to […]

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The roadmap to a new beginning

Peace agreements offer the possibility for a new beginning. They allow the international community and national governments the opportunity to strengthen governance and embed some anti-corruption controls which, in turn, will help build durable state institutions. Recent studies demonstrate that change can be achieved with the appropriate mix of political pressure, incentives, and creativity. As […]

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Pushing Forward G8’s Anti-Corruption Agenda

In India more than 200 million people live without secure access to food, the most of any county in the world, the Wall Street Journal reported last month. As the report argued, this is not because India lacks the resources to provide for its population. On the contrary, India’s domestic food production would be more […]

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