International Anti-Corruption Day - Part II

                    This post is a summary of four articles. The first was published at   https://ungass2021.unodc.org/ungass2021/index.html. The second was published at   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_2416. The third was published at https://www.ifes.org/publications/ifes-helps-shape-uns-international-anti-corruption-agenda. The fourth was published at https://www.idlo.int/news/policy-statements/statement-idlo-special-session-general-assembly-against-corruption-2021

                   On 17 December 2018, the General Assembly adopted resolution 73/191 entitled "Special session of the General Assembly against corruption", in which it decided to convene in the first half of 2021 a special session on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation. The Assembly invited the conference of the states to lead the preparatory process for the special session by addressing all organizational and substantive matters in an open-ended manner and requested the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime to provide substantive expertise and technical support. The Conference approved a draft resolution entitled "Special session of the General Assembly against corruption", for subsequent adoption by the General Assembly, in which it decided that the special session will be held from 2 to 4 June 2021. The UNGASS 2021 website was created as a first step in the preparatory process and it is expected to function as a repository for all relevant information relating to the special session. The website will be updated on a continuing basis to reflect the progress made by the Conference in the preparatory process for the special session.                                                                                                                                                                                         The European Commission has taken a number of measures to address corruption in the E.U. Important progress has been made on legislation on anti-money laundering, public procurement, whistle-blower protection and asset recovery. The fight against corruption is among the topics addressed in country-specific recommendations. Further E.U. measures including the new European Public Prosecutor's Office, with a mandate to investigate, prosecute and bring to judgment crimes against the E.U. budget. The recent E.U. Rule of Law Report highlights the fight against corruption as a fundamental pillar for upholding the rule of law. Corruption also has an impact on the business environment, which is why anticorruption is also an important component of the Recovery and Resilience Plans. On the global stage, the E.U. has played an important role in the adoption in the resolution that paved the way for the Special Session of the U.N. General Assembly to combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation, planned for June 2021. The Commission also organises regular anti-corruption workshops across the E.U. to support Menber States and provide funds. Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said: "Corruption is a threat to democracy and it has no place in the E.U. Institutions. By setting out our plans for an anti-corruption review at E.U. level, we are fulfilling our international commitments and we are strengthening the E.U. role in the global fight against corruption.                                                                                                                      The International foundation for  Electoral Systems (IFES) welcomes the opportunity to inform this agenda and believes that global commitment and cooperation on anti-corruption has become even more imperative as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has undermined existing transparency and accountability mechanisms globally and increased the risks of corruption. As part of our contribution to preparations for UNGASS 2021, IFES has recommended that the General Assembly include the following six priority areas in the agenda:  1) Increasing transparency and accountability in political finance.   2) Addressing election-related corrupt practices.   3) Strengthening anti-corruption authorities and other independent institutions.   4) Strengthening judicial ethics and independence.   5) Leveraging civil society to bolster oversight and implementation.   6) Bolstering the U.N. Convention against Corruption review process.                                                                                                                                                                                                         The General Assembly of the U.N. decided to convene a special session on challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation. The special session, scheduled for 2 to 4 June 2021 will result in the adoption of a "concise and action-oriented political declaration". International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is the only global inter-governmental organization exclusively devoted to promoting rule of law to sustain peace and development, welcomes the organization of a special session to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation. IDLO remains committed to the promotion of transparency and accountability, and people-centered justice through the rule of law and will reflect this commitment. Corruption has a profound negative impact on advancing the rule of law, good governance and human rights and on security and economic progress. The combat of corruption is a major component of Sustainable Development Goals. Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion, and other illicit financial flows cost developing countries $1.26 trillion per year. Corruption also poses as a key obstacle to accessing public services, curbs political participation and decision making. Emerging research in Latin America shows that new digital solutions combined with an open data policy could reduce the corruption risks and enhance integrity of public procurement processes. Given the central role played by judicial institutions in the implementation of the range of anti-corruption measures required. Judicial transparency is a fundamental component in preventing of corruption. Key international best practices in ensuring transparency include the publication of judicial decisions, and enhances consistency in judicial decision-making. In Kyrgyzstan the creation of a website with a despersonification system that anonymizes sensitive data enables over 90% of judicial decisions are now published and civil society and the judiciary itself, are using the decisions to advance judicial integrity and professionalism, document judicial trends and develop data-driven tools, such as an interactive map of judicial decisions and related analysis.

International Anti-Corruption Day

                    A little more than one month ago, precisely on 9th December 2020, the world celebrated the fight against corruption. The fight against corruption is very important,  so we all should be involved in this fight, because the theft of public resources harm us all. But we all should know that this fight is not easy, because activists for this important ethical cause can become a target to some powerful persons, the people should not be naive, there are many people that are not interested in this activism, in this fight. This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published    at  https://www.transparency.org/en/news/international-anti-corruption-day-2020-things-can-really-get-better-next-year-ungass-2021. The second was published at https://www.transparency.org/en/ungass-2021-commit-to-transparency-in-company-ownership-for-the-common-good

                     9 December is International Anti-Corruption Day. It is a day for governments, businesses and the whole of society to renew our commitment to working together to end the devastating impact of corruption on people's lives around the world. At the end of a year like 2020, this could not be more important. Independent of Covid-19, investigative journalists' exposes have again this year laid bare the weaknesses in the global financial system that allow public wealth stolen from poor countries to be laundered and spent in rich ones. The crisis has demonstrated that protecting public resources and putting an end to illicit financial flows is a matter of life and death, in the most literal sense. With multiple COVID-19 vaccines showing positive results under rigorous scientific testing, and some countries beginning to distribute, many are thinking ahead to how we "Recover With Integrity" - the theme of this year's International Anti-corruption Day. In its first virtual edition, the 19th International Anti-corruption Conference, welcomed a record number of participants, showing there is a resolute determination among all parts of our societies to achieve a strong recovery which, in the words of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, "must include measures to prevent and combat corruption and bribery." Wherever we look around the world, the criminal and corrupt never cease to undermine the common good. As the deadly proliferation of corruption during the COVID-19 pandemic clearly shows. One key opportunity to tackle corruption challenges head-on is the first U.N. General Assembly Special Session Against Corruption, also known as UNGASS 2021. In far too many parts of the world, high-level public officials are robbing populations. The uncomfortable truth is that advanced economies are enabling or even fueling this kind of corruption. We can not afford UNGASS 2021 to be another event where government leaders take turns to condemn corruption with grandiose metaphors but fail to recognise what must change. That is why we need all parts of societies to come together and call on the international community to use this meeting as a key milestone in fighting corruption. On this international Anti-corruption Day, we are highlighting three key reforms that need to be agreed in the coming months, so that 2021 can be the year when we finally break through the barriers against progress in the global corruption.   1) Transparency in Company Ownership - ever since the Panama Papers in 2016, it has been clear that large-scale theft of public resources is possible because the corrupt can hide behind opaque corporate structures. Abuse of shell companies is among the reasons why many countries are facing greater challenges to day in dealing with COVID-19. For decades, companies with anonymous owners have enabled corruption and other crimes. This has meant that public resources that could have served to improve healthcare systems, were embezzled from public coffers. UNGASS 2021 offers an opportunity to turn the tide. That is exactly what a diverse group has said in an appeal in a letter, asks government leaders to endorse central, public registers of ownership as a global standard. At UNGASS 2021, we must commit to transparency in company ownership for the common good.    2) Justice Instead of Impunity - After the veil of secrecy is stripped, and we know who's robbing our communities, will there be justice? Unfortunately, national justice systems are often unable or unwilling to hold the powerful to account. At the same time, corrupt high-level officials have the upper hand and can act with impunity under the current international framework. The former dictator of the Gambia, Yahya Jammeh is a textbook case. After being ousted from power in 2017, he has lived in comfortable exile in Equatorial Guinea. How can he and others be brought to account? There are no simple solutions, but there are multiple proposals on the table. We urge UNGASS 2021 to mandate the creation of a task force to study available solutions and suggest the way forward. This group should be asked to propose a legal definition of grand corruption, referred to as "corruption involving vast quantities of assets" in U.N. documents, as well as new agreements and mechanisms to endure accountability. But during U.N. gatherings, impunity for grand corruption is often the elephant in the room. We need the governments to step up during UNGASS 2021 once and for all. Reluctance to focus on the most serious forms of corruption has nothing to do with political ideology. It is about protecting the self-interests of those in powerful positions.    3) Recovery of Stolen Assets - Justice is not only about prosecuting corrupt officials, but also about compensating the communities and individuals that have been robbed, a legal process called asset recovery. Stolen money is often hidden in richer countries, in real estate, company shares or bank accounts. Consider Isabel dos Santos, whose assets were seized earlier this year in Portugal at the request of Angolan authorities. But there are barriers to returning assets to their rightful owners, even when they are located and confiscated. Countries signed on to the U.N. Coalition Anti-Corruption should recognise the links between asset recovery and the realisation of human rights as enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2020, it is abundantly clear that corruption does not recognise national borders. Those in political power abuse gaps in the international anti-corruption framework to steal. On this International Anti-Corruption Day, we are calling on government leaders to do their part in tackling the global crisis of corruption, so that our communities can recover not just from 2020, but from decades of impunity for grand corruption.                                                         The U.N. General Assembly's decision to hold a Special Session against corruption in 2021 created a historic opportunity for the international community to address the global crisis of corruption. The undersigned groups and individuals are united in the conviction that it is of the utmost urgency to put an end to the abuse of anonymous companies that facilitates corruption. Companies that exist only in paper are tools for the diversion of resources needed to advanced development. Beneficial ownership information on the persons who ultimately own, control or benefit from a legal vehicle, enables cross-border enforcement and the tracing of ill-gotten assets for confiscation and return. In public contracting processes, it helps in the detection of conflicts of interest and corruption. We have come together to address government leaders currently preparing for UNGASS 2021  with one clear message, transparency in company ownership is more than a technical solution to a problem. It is a matter of social justice. Corruption devastates the lives of billions of people around the world. We need decisive reforms to ensure that the resources needed to pay for critical public services such as schools and hospitals are not simply misappropriated and hidden. The time for action is now.

Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Americas

                    This post is a summary of the chapter V with the title of, "Problems faced by human rights defenders in the hemisphere," of the report with the title above published at   http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Defenders/defenderschap5.htm

                    A large number of human rights defenders in the Americas are victims of reprisals and undue restrictions as a result of their work of promoting and protecting the rights of persons who live in the hemisphere. This makes the work of protecting and defending human rights difficult, and in many cases risky. The Inter-American Commission on Human rights has verified the existence of a variety of practices that hinder the exercise of human rights defense. These practices are violations of the right to life, liberty and security, due process and a fair trial, freedom of expression, privacy, and judicial protection. The Commission considers it  necessary to clarify that patterns have been established based on disturbing incidents that constitute violations of rights. Nonetheless, there are common characteristics that make it possible to determine and classify the patterns such as: who commits the violations, when they are committed, and the persons who are the victims of such conduct. The Commission wishes to emphasize that one of the most serious consequences of these patterns of violations targeting human rights defenders is that they send society as a whole an intimidating message putting it in a defenseless situation. These acts are aimed at causing generalized fear, and so, at discouraging all other human rights defenders, and intimidating and silencing the denunciations, claims, and grievances of the victims of human rights violations, spurring on impunity, and full realization of the rule of law and democracy. Both the Commission and the Inter-American Court have found that violations of the human rights defenders have a direct intimidating effect on the processes of vindicating rights or denouncing violations. This chilling effect is suffered by the victims of human rights violations, who under the effect of fear refuse to lodge complaints, will not meet with threatened human rights defenders, and stay away from the offices of organizations that have been threatened. Based on the information received, it has been observed that the violators seek to provoke generalized fear to avoid public denunciations. To this end, the vulnerability-exacerbating effects of such conduct extend persersely to society as a whole, with a much more detrimental impact on defenders. This effect, in addition, re-victimizes those who have been targets of violations, whose search for the truth, justice and reparation is impeded. In some states violations are systematic and interrelated, producing a general atmosphere of danger for the defense of human rights. This danger is all the greater if there is a serious lack of state protection and a failure to investigate the violations. On other occasions, The risk increases when grievances are put forth by defenders advocating the adoption of administrative measures or changes in state policy. In other cases, the violations appear to be acts of retaliation when a favorable result is obtained, such as demarcating indigenous territories, expropriating lands for campesino communities, awarding compensation to the victims of violations, or publishing truth commission reports. Human rights defenders are frequent victims of violations of the right to life such as extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances. Such violations are one of the most serious obstacles to the work of human rights promotion by society in general. In additional, the Commission has received, with concern, reports of assassinations of human rights defenders in several countries. Some of them had provided information to the Commission in recent years. In general, disappearances and executions are preceded by the lack of adequate protection for human rights defenders who report having been victims of persecution and threats. The Commission notes that the lack of adequate protection for defenders who report having been victims of persecution, surveillance, and threats, entails a lack of defenselessness that fosters attacks on their lives. The victims of homicides and disappearances are generally those who are most prominent for their work reporting human rights abuses, or for their leadership. In killing them, the assailants seek to make an "example" of the victims, bring a halt to reporting on violations, getting the human rights organizations to leave certain zones, and bringing about a drop in the number of complaints presented. According to the information received by the Commission, it is also common for human rights defenders or their family members to be followed constantly wherever they go, or to kept under surveillance at their offices, residents, and elsewhere. There are many methods used to follow these persons. In many cases, these methods are practically imperceptible; in other cases they are detected easily, since that is the assailant's intent: for the victim to know that he or she is being watched, and that his or her movements, as well as all the persons with whom he or she meets, are known. The Inter-American Commission has received several complaints describing attacks on life and personal integrity, threats, surveillance and intimidation of defenders, as well as raids of and attacks on the offices of their organizations. The Commission has indicated that surveillance activities of human rights defenders give rise to state responsibility for flagrant violations of the right to privacy. Another worrisome aspect is the use of legal actions against defenders, including actions that are pursued to harass and discredit them. In some cases, the states use criminal laws that restrict or limit the means used by defenders to carry out their activities.. In other cases, criminal proceedings are instituted without any evidence, for the purpose of harassing the human rights defenders, who must assume the psychological and economic burden of facing a criminal indictment. Apart from the problems plaguing the judicial systems in the Americas, which keep them from operating soundly, the Commission observes that there is, especially in those countries from which a larger number of complaints come, a lack of political will, impartially, and independence when it comes to investigating attack on human rights defenders. The complaints that have been received suggest that there are serious problems in the investigations, for example, they do not relate the intimidation and threats directed against defenders to the type of work they do. The problem is also reflected in the attacks against judicial officers who seriously and effectively investigate and prosecute attacks suffered by human rights defenders.