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.
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