InDepth News 01 November 2019
While releasing the 2010 'Corruption Perceptions Index', Transparency International has lauded the Group of 20 (G-20) for recognising corruption as "a global problem that must be addressed in global policy reforms". (1080 Words) - By Jaya Ramachandran
"It is commendable that the Group of 20 in pursuing financial
reform has made strong commitments to transparency and integrity
ahead of their November summit in Seoul," said Huguette Labelle,
Chair of Transparency International (TI).
"But the process of reform itself must be accelerated," she
added.
The leaders of 19 major industrial and emerging economies and the
European Union are poised to tackle several mid- and long-term
policy issues at their Summit on November 10-11 in Seoul, South
Korea.
The G20 comprises: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK and USA.
The Seoul Summit agenda includes: ensuring global economic
recovery; framework for strong, sustainable, and balanced global
growth; strengthening the international financial regulatory
system; modernizing the international financial institutions;
global financial safety nets, development issues; and currency
war.
TI calls on the G-20 "to mandate greater government oversight and
public transparency in all measures they take to reduce systemic
risks and opportunities for corruption and fraud in the public as
well as in the private sector".
In their Declaration emerging from the Toronto Summit on June
26-27, 2010, the G-20 agreed that "corruption threatens the
integrity of markets, undermines fair competition, distorts
resource allocation, destroys public trust and undermines the rule
of law".
"We call for the ratification and full implementation by all G-20
members of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)
and encourage others to do the same. We will fully implement the
reviews in accordance with the provisions of UNCAC," they
said.
Going a step further, they said: "Building on the progress made
since Pittsburgh to address corruption, we agree to establish a
Working Group to make comprehensive recommendations for
consideration by Leaders in Korea on how the G-20 could continue to
make practical and valuable contributions to international efforts
to combat corruption and lead by example, in key areas that
include, but are not limited to, adopting and enforcing strong and
effective anti-bribery rules, fighting corruption in the public and
private sectors, preventing access of corrupt persons to global
financial systems, cooperation in visa denial, extradition and
asset recovery, and protecting whistleblowers who stand-up against
corruption."
Echoing that view, TI says: ". . . governments need to integrate
anti-corruption measures in all spheres, from the responses to the
financial crisis and climate change to commitments by the
international community to eradicate poverty. For this reason TI
advocates stricter implementation of the UN Convention against
Corruption, the only global initiative that provides a framework
for putting an end to corruption."
OECD ANTI-BRIBERY CONVENTION
TI's assessment of 36 industrialised countries party to the OECD
anti-bribery convention, which forbids bribery of foreign
officials, reveals that "as many as 20 show little or no
enforcement of the rules, sending the wrong signal about their
commitment to curb corrupt practices".
While corruption continues to plague fledgling states, hampering
their efforts to build and strengthen institutions, protect human
rights and improve livelihoods, corrupt international flows
continue to be considerable, it adds.
The 2010 CPI shows that nearly three quarters of the 178 countries
in the index score below five, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be
highly corrupt) to 10 (perceived to have low levels of corruption),
indicating a serious corruption problem.
"These results signal that significantly greater efforts must go
into strengthening governance across the globe. With the
livelihoods of so many at stake, governments' commitments to
anti-corruption, transparency and accountability must speak through
their actions. Good governance is an essential part of the solution
to the global policy challenges governments face today," said TI's
Chair Labelle, on October 26, 2019.
"Allowing corruption to continue is unacceptable; too many poor
and vulnerable people continue to suffer its consequences around
the world. We need to see more enforcement of existing rules and
laws. There should be nowhere to hide for the corrupt or their
money," Labelle added.
In the 2010 CPI, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore tie for first
place with scores of 9.3. Unstable governments, often with a legacy
of conflict, continue to dominate the bottom rungs of the CPI.
Afghanistan and Myanmar share second to last place with a score of
1.4 and with Somalia coming in last with a score of 1.1.
Where source surveys for individual countries remain the same, and
where there is corroboration by more than half of those sources,
real changes in perceptions can be ascertained, explains TI.
Using these criteria, it is possible to establish an improvement
in scores from 2009 to 2010 for Bhutan, Chile, Ecuador, FYR
Macedonia, Gambia, Haiti, Jamaica, Kuwait, and Qatar. Similarly, a
decline in scores from 2009 to 2010 can be identified for the Czech
Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Madagascar, Niger and the United
States.
In an earlier report in September 2010, TI had warned that the
failure by governments to address corruption is threatening the
fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It called on
governments, donors and non-governmental organisations to adopt
anti-corruption measures in all their MDG action plans in order to
reach the goals in the next five years and sustain progress beyond
the 2015 timeline.
TI's report, 'The Anti-Corruption Catalyst: Realising the MDGs by
2015', demonstrates that increased transparency, accountability and
integrity translate into better MDG outcomes on education, health
and water, three of the eight areas targeted by the MDGs.
"Governance breakdowns and corruption are significantly slowing
down the progress towards the MDGs," said TI's Chair Labelle. "As
we take stock, it is clear that anti-corruption and good governance
measures need to be fully integrated in all future development
efforts."
Analysis of access to drinking water in 51 countries, for example,
suggests that lower levels of bribery translate into improved
availability of clean water. Similarly, countries with good marks
on anti-corruption legislation show reduced rates of maternal
mortality.
There is also a strong correlation between greater public access
to information and higher literacy rates for a nation's youth. What
is most revealing about the findings is that these positive results
hold true, no matter how wealthy a country is or how much it spends
on the sector. The report also shows that when bribery and other
forms of corruption are not effectively countered, the costs are
high.
Originally published by InDepth News. © www.streetnewsservice.org