Over the last year, political rights and civil liberties around the world have experienced a general deterioration. The rise of populism, misinformation, attacks on civil society and illicit money in politics have fueled this decline to a point that they now threaten the very foundations of democracy in countries around the world.
A common thread running through these trends are new and old forms of corruption, which enable the misallocation of public funds and concentration of power to repress the voices of many for the benefit of the few. As a result, we are seeing increased insecurity, threats to social and economic development, and deepening inequalities among citizens around the world — with the most vulnerable being the most affected.
By and large, the normative global policy elements to fight corruption are already in place; as are a number of conventions and platforms that condemn
corrupt practices and identify ways to prevent, identify and sanction acts of corruption, including the UN Convention against Corruption and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. These commitments have direct links to global efforts to ensure sustainable and inclusive development, which is impossible without coherent and
collective action to fight against corruption.
That is why the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Goal 16 include an explicit recognition of the need to combat corruption in order to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.” The SDGs have set out the milestones to reach, now it is time for governments, civil society, business and international institutions to work toward achieving them. Of course, the Philippines is covered by the SDGs and especially Goal 16 also.
Despite advances at the international level, progress to fight corruption has been too slow. According to Transparency International’s (TI) 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), many countries have made little to no progress in ending corruption. Further, foreign bribery rages unchecked in over half of global trade, according to TI’s September 2018 report, Exporting Corruption. The CPI also finds a link between increasing corruption and deteriorating civic space, noting that countries with “the least protection for press and non-governmental organizations also tend to have the worst rates of corruption.” Civil society and citizens play a key role in monitoring and supporting the implementation of anti-corruption reforms.
While political leadership is a necessary condition for advancing the anti-corruption agenda, safeguarding the space for civil society and media to operate is equally essential. We in the Integrity Initiative Inc. (III) are supporting the creation of Integrity Circles, composed of progressive and transparent government offices (national and local), business and civil society. But we have the protection of those stepping forward in mind also; Congress has to turn the whistle-blower protection bills into legislation!
III is also in the process of reviving its “integrity pledge tracker” to take stock of progress made by the 3,500 pledge signatories in the Philippines in implementing concrete reforms as committed to in the Integrity Pledge.
Going forward, we must continue to promote collective action, enlisting government agencies, civil society, the private sector and citizens to turn promises into action. This will focus on setting ambitious objectives to tackle corruption jointly, including promoting beneficial ownership transparency, including the possibility of establishing public registries; and making sure that published contracting data and documents meet global best practices.
It is only through a concerted collaborative effort that reaches across sectors, and actors, that we can hope to achieve Goal 16 and promote inclusive, fair and peaceful societies across the world. It is only through a world free of corruption that we can strive for peace and security for all.
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Your feedback will be most welcome. If you want to join us and sign the Integrity Pledge, contact me at Schumacher@eitsc.com.