International Anti-Corruption Day - 2021 - Part II

                                    This post is a summary of two articles. Both articles published in January of 2022 in the webpage of the important NGO called Transparency International that fight against corruption all over the world and we all must support them and help them in this fight. The first was published at    https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2021-highlights-insights. The second was published  https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2021-americas-a-region-in-crisis

                 Two years into the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, this year's Corruption Perceptions Index reveals that corruption levels remain at a standstill worldwide. Despite commitments on paper, 131 countries have made no significant progress against corruption over the last decade, and this year 27 countries are at a historic low in their CPI score. Meanwhile, human rights and democracy across the world are under assault. This is no coincidence. Corruption enables human rights abuses. Conversely, ensuring basic rights and freedoms means there is less space for corruption to go unchallenged. The 2021 Corruption Index results show that countries with well-protected civil and political rights generally control corruption better. The fundamental freedoms of expression is crucial in the fight for a world free of corruption. There is an urgent need to accelerate the fight against corruption if we are to halt human rights abuses and democratic decline across the globe. The Index ranks 180 countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople. It relies on 13 independent data sources and uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. More than two-thirds of countries (68%) score below 50. Since 2012, 25 countries significantly improved their scores, but in the same period 23 countries significantly declined. This year, the top 5 are Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. The bottom of the Index are South Sudan, Syria, Somalia, Venezuela and North Korea. Overall, the Corruption Index shows that control of corruption has stagnated or worsened in 86% of countries over the last decade. In the last five years, several countries have fallen significantly down the Index, including Canada (-8), Nicaragua (-6), Honduras (-6), Venezuela (-4). The most significant improvers over the same period are Armenia (+14), Angola (+10), South Korea (+8), Uzbekistan (+6), Ethiopia (+4). Meanwhile, the scores of several democracies that used to top the Index and champion anti-corruption efforts around the world are deteriorating From the repression of opposition supporters in Belarus, to the closing of media outlets and civil society organisations in Nicaragua, the deadly violence against protesters in Sudan and the killing of humsn rights defenders in the Philippines, human rights and democracy are under threat around the world. Increasingly, rights and checks and balances are being undermined not only in countries with systemic corruption and weak institutions, but also among established democracies. Since 2012, 90% of countries have stagnated or declined in their civil liberties score on the Democracy Index. Our analysis of this year's Corruption Index results shows that upholding human rights is crucial in the fight against corruption, with countries who violate civil liberties generally scoring lower on the C.I. Corruption undermines the ability of governments to guarantee the human rights of their citizens. This affects the delivery of public services, the dispensation of justice and the provision of safety for all. In particular, grand corruption committed by high-level officials usually combines the large-scale theft of public funds with gross human rights violations. Human rights are not simply a nice-to-have in the fight against corruption. Ensuring that civil society and the media can speak freely and hold power to account is the only route to a corruption-free society. Fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, political rights and access to justice guarantee public participation and keep corruption in check. The current wave of authoritarianism is not driven by coups and violence, but by gradual efforts to undermine democracy. This usually begins with attacks on civil and political rights, efforts to undermine the autonomy of oversight and election bodies, and control of the media. Such attacks allow corrupt regimes to evade accountability and criticism. Corruption may be a multifaceted problem, but it is one we know how to solve. We are calling on the public to demand that governments act on their own anti-corruption and human rights commitments. Many of the anti-corruption successes in recent history have been due to the tireless efforts of ordinary people, who have taken great personal risks to make change happen.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  With an average score of 43 out of 100 for the third consecutive year in the 2021 Corruption Perception Index, the countries of the Americas have ground to a halt in the fight against corruption. Despite extensive legislation and a regional commitment to control this scourge, corruption in the Americas continues to undermine democracy and human rights. This year Americas region show no significant changes in their corruption levels. In the last 10 years, only Guyana and Paraguay have made noteworthy improvements. Over the same period, U.S., Chile and Canada, show a decline. Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua, score the lowest with 14, 20 and 22, respectively. Presidents in the region, such as Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, turned the fight against corruption into a campaign rallying cry, in an attempt to win over an electorate disillusioned with traditional politics, tired of corruption and determined to see their human rights upheld. Contrary to their own promises, these figures have made no progress in controlling corruption but instead have deployed regressive measures that violate people's rights. Dropping four points compared to last year, Argentina is the country in the region that has declined the most. The recommendations Transparency International is making this year are key to ensuring that the Americas end the scourge of corruption and overcome an unfolding crisis of democracy and human rights. In addition, the governments of the region must take decisive action to strengthen transparency, integrity and independence of their justice systems and offering protection to prosecutors assigned to investigate cases of corruption and human rights abuses. They should also protect whistleblowers. In light of the grave situation in the region, the international community must support activists, journalists and whistleblowers.

International Anti-Corruption Day - 2021

                  A little more than one month ago, precisely on 9th December, the whole world celebrated the importance to fight corruption. This year there will be election in October, so let's see what the candidates will promise to help us in this important fight, ask them about it. The public money must be very well used, so that we can have better schools, better hospitals, better security, better streets and roads, better jobs, greater development, less inequality, less injustice. So a better functional government and consequently a better country for all. 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 at 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.un.org/en/observances/anti-corruption-day. The second was published at   https://www.transparency.org/en/news/international-anti-corruption-day-2021-summit-for-democracy-civil-society

                 Corruption affects all areas of society. Preventing corruption unlocks progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, helps protect our planet, creates jobs, achieves gender equality, and secures wider aceess to essential services such as healthcare and education. While it is everyone's right to benefit from strong anti-corruption efforts, misconduct and wrongdoing is stealing away valuable resources at a time when they are most needed to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 crisis. The 2021 International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to highlight the rights and responsibilities of everyone, Government officials, civil servants, law enforcement officers, mainstream media, the private sector, civil society, academia, in tackling corruption. And yet it is not only countries that need to unite and face this global problem with shared responsibility. Every single person, young and old, has a role to play to prevent and counter corruption, in order to promote resilience and integrity at all levels of society. To achieve this, policies and measures need to be in place for people to be able to speak up and say no to corruption. The U.N. Convention against Corruption emphasizes the responsibility of governments to put in place effective whistle-blower protection to ensure that persons who speak up are protected from retaliation. These measures contribute to effective, accountable and transparent institutions towards a culture of integrity and fairness. Reducing the risk of corruption requires strong anti-corruption bodies, better oversight, more open and transparent public procurement and enhance anti-corruption compliance by the private sector. In addition, countries also need to ensure support and protection for whistleblower and journalists uncovering corruption.                                                                                      We want a world where common good prevails and power is held to account, and that is what we are fighting for. 2021 should have been a landmark year for anti-corruption but, it has fallen short. There have been some significant developments. For example, thanks to our and our allies' determination, the momentum to end the abuse of anonymous shell companies is finally catching on. But the U.N. General Assembly Special Session against Corruption held in June was not exactly we hoped it would be. Governments blatantly ignored civil society's calls to address grand corruption, so much so that they refused to even acknowledge it. Grand corruption is the kind of high-level corruption that results into large-scale theft of public funds and resources. Corruption schemes involving large amounts of money and high-level officials nearly always stretch across borders. Past failures to prevent and confront such cross-border corruption have had a detrimental impact on the health of democracies. The international community recognised that corruption undermines democracy when states adopted the U.N. Convention against Corruption in 2003. Over 15 years have passed, and as the latest Corruption Index showed, most countries around the world have made little to no progress in the fight against corruption. In the worst affected countries, the failure to combat public sector corruption has meant suffering for ordinary people, who continue to be denied basic public services, deprived of economic opportunities and are locked into poverty. In many others, it has been a decade during which policies were skewed in the interests of a powerful few, while accountability mechanisms were weakened or even captured. 

The Evolution of Democracy and Human Rights in Latin America

                This post is a summary of the report with the incomplete title above published at https://www.corteidh.or.cr/tablas/r35102.pdf

               For years, scholars have attempted to provide a concrete definition of democracy and to establish its linkage to human rights. Both concepts have evolved alongside western culture. On the one hand, ancient Greeks developed democracy to be a system of government that would provide an effective, legitimate means of making decisions for the citizenry. On the other hand, human rights doctrine developed from Aristotle's teachings on equity and the debates that arose about justice as a value. In contemporary times, democracy and human rights have merged in the movement for social justice. In the American continent, the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, proclaimed in Bogotá in 1948, eight months before the UDHR, clearly stipulates a link between human rights and democracy. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a systematic evolution of democracvy took place around the world. At the time, the main challenge for Latin America was to complete its own democratic transition and begin to consolidate and strengthen its political infrastructure. Latin American governments have failed to raise the standard of living and have ineffectively addressed economic, social and cultural rights. In general, Latin America, has failed to inspire even moderate optimism for a more sound economic future, of the kind that should naturally result from democracy and a climate of participation by the population. One of the primary impediments to the full consolidation of democracy in Latin America is the exclusion of broad sectors of society. Such systematic exclusion clearly violates the principles of equality and non-discrimination articulated in the human rights instruments currently in force throughout the region. The 1991 Santiago Commitment marked the most optimistic moment in Latin America's transition to democracy. It was the consequence of a constructive and positive attitude toward the system of protection of human rights and the consolidation of democratic governments in the region. Unquestionably, "fundamental freedoms" are at the heart of this process, but democracy will surely fail if it does not attend to question of poverty and other issues related to the quality of life. Social, including political; economic and cultural rights, however, are still perceived as "second class" rights and most of the governments in the region do not have the political will to comply with them. These challenges are emblematic of the current flaws in Latin America democracy. Consolidating democracy requires strong national institutions, and in this sense, Latin America has a long way to go. A large and often corrupt bureaucracy makes modernizing the state structures an almost insurmountable task. Interest groups resist much needed changes in the three branches of power. Transparency and a new culture of accountability are essential for strong and credible state institutions. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights are increasingly seen as reliable alternatives for the pursuit of justice when national systems of justice prove ineffective. Recent amendments to the statutes of the Commission and the Court will help the two organs cooperate more in the future. The Court has allowed victim-petitioners greater participation, which should result in more access to justice. As a result, the credibility of the inter-American system has increased over the last decade and the scope of its work has grown to encompass many delicate issues of human rights abuses that were previously ignored. These advances, however, are not occurring on a large enough scale and the inter-American organs can only respond effectively to the challenges they face if they receive sufficient funding. The OAS continues to be crippled by budgetary restrictions which severely limit the extent to which it can practically pursue its mandate.

World Day of Peace 2022

                   Yesterday 1st of January the world celebrated the peace. This commemorative day was created by the Catholic Church, because for the U.N. the International World Peace is 21st of September. The governments worldwide should try to spend less in weapons. We all should try to do from violence a thing of the past. For this I think a better international and national justice is essential. More economic sanctions should be implemented on countries that have ambitions on territorial expansion, such as Russia and China. In national level I think the homicides should have a hard punishment, prisoners, but especially murderers should work in prison to pay for their maintenance. This post is a summary of three articles. The first was published at   https://www.mary.org/blog/202112/world-day-peace-2022#.YdBAYjPMLIU. The second was published at   https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/peace-justice/. The third was published at   https://theowp.org/reports/what-can-we-do-to-contribute-to-world-peace/

                    For the past 55 years, the Roman Catholic Church has highlighted the fundamental, yet weighty, call to peace by celebrating World Day of Peace. Each year, on 1st, our Pope issues a World Day of Peace message inviting Catholics throughout the world to stop and learn about it and act for peace. The Peace we are invited to embrace, on this day, goes way beyond an tension of inner tranquility. It includes a willingness to enter into the contradictions and tension of injustice and brokeness in our lives, our community and our world. We are called to see, to understand, and to act in a way that ensures abundance, prosperity, and well-being for all. This is the biblical notion of shalom: abundance, prosperity, and well-being. Pope Francis states, "when in Hebrew we wish shalom, we wish for a full and prosperous life, but also according to truth and justice. The message of World Day of Peace varies from year to year. However, the theme is always fixated on creating a culture of care in our relationships. The exact focus each year changes to meet the needs and rising issues of that particular year. On January 1st, 2022 Pope Francis calls us to act for peace by reflecting on this message entitled Education, Work and Dialogue Between Generations: Tools for Building Lasting Peace. In 2022, Pope Francis invites us to consider three challenges: 1) We are invited to read the signs of the times, so that the direction of this change awakens new and old questions with which it is right and necessary to be confronted. We are called to hear the challenging facts, speak the hard truths, move towards the demanding actions. Denial is not an option for us. 2) Pope Francis seeks to answer questions about education and how it contributes to peace. 3) This message also looks at the extent to which generations are in solidarity with each other and whether governments succeed in setting a horizont of peace.                                                                                                                          Conflict, insecurity, weak institutions and limited access to justice remain a great threat to sustainable development. The number of people fleeing war, persecution and conflict exceeded 70 million in 2018, the highest level recorded by the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) in almost 70 years. In 2019, the U.N. tracked 357 killings of human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists in 47 countries. Human rights are key in shaping the pandemic response. By respecting human rights in this time of crisis, we will build more effective and inclusive solutions for the emergency of today and the recovery of tomorrow. Human rights put people centre-stage. Responses that are shaped by and respect human rights result in better outcomes in beating the pandemic, ensuring healthcare for everyone and preserve human dignity. Among the institutions most affected by corruption are the judiciary and police. Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion cost some US$1.26 trillion for developing countries per year, this amount of money could be used to lift those who are living on less than US$1.25 a day for at least six years. The rule of law and development have a significant interrelation and are mutually reinforcing, making it essential for sustainable development at the national and international level. Violence against children affects more than 1 billion children around the world and costs societies up to US$ 7 trillion a year. 50% of the world's children experience violence every year. 1 an 3 internet users worldwide is a child and 800 million of them use social media, any child can become victim of online violence.                                                                                                    What can we do to contribute to world peace? 1) Personal commitment to nonviolence. As an individual, we need to insist on peacefully solving any conflicts we encounter. Speak out against prejudice and discrimination; help people in trouble. You can get involved in promoting peace through communities and find a organization and be a volunteer that works towards peace. 2) The public has a right to know about wars and conflicts, what is happening, and the reasons behind it. After knowing that, the public is able to move s further step to push its government to intervene or not. 3) Worldwide democratization. There is a very little possibility a war will happen between two democratic states. Therefore, governments should promote democratic ideology. 4) Support equal opportunities and resources access. 5) Other methods such as sports and education are effective tools to develop peace and community building. 6) We can offer mental support and feel sympathy for all the people who are suffering and struggling for their lives. 7) We can reiterate how important peace is and we spread our voice to make the world hear it.