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Welcome to the second issue of Integrity Initiatives International's quarterly newsletter concerning global efforts to strengthen the enforcement of criminal laws to punish and deter corrupt leaders and end impunity for grand corruption.
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The Pandora Papers, released this month by Integrity Initiatives International's (III) colleagues, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), provide additional powerful evidence that corrupt leaders throughout the world are enriching themselves at the expense of the health and welfare of their often desperate citizens. The Pandora Papers expose the secret finances and lavish lifestyles of more than 330 politicians, including 35 current and former heads of state. They include the King of Jordan, who purchased 14 luxury homes worth $100 million in the United States and United Kingdom through front companies registered in tax havens; the President of Kenya, whose family secretly owned a network of offshore companies for decades; the President of Azerbaijan, who amassed a London property empire worth $694 million; and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who evidently made his mistress a very rich woman.
The Pandora Papers follow ICIJ's Panama and Paradise Papers, which provided similar evidence of grand corruption, but resulted in the conviction of only one politician, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan. Corrupt leaders have long enjoyed impunity because they control the administration of justice in the countries that they rule. Therefore, it is being increasingly recognized that an International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC) is urgently needed. Read on for an update on the Court.
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International Anti-Corruption Court: Update
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Integrity Initiatives International (III) and its partners continue to make significant progress in the emerging international campaign to establish the IACC.
Endorsements from Canada
Following the publication in June of the Declaration in Support of the Creation of an International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC) signed by more than 125 world leaders from 46 countries, the IACC was included in both the Liberal and Conservative party platforms for the elections in Canada on September 20.
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The Liberal platform:
"Help establish an International Anti-Corruption Court, to prevent corrupt officials and authoritarian governments from raiding the resources of their citizens and impeding development."
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The Conservative platform:
"Advance the idea of an International Corruption Court to prosecute the world’s worst offenders who deny progress and democracy on the backs of the world’s most vulnerable."
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With bipartisan support, III plans to work with the new Canadian government to move the proposal forward. Additional official interest in the Court is being expressed around the world, including in the Netherlands.
International Coordinating Committee
In July, III formed an International Coordinating Committee to lead the international campaign for the IACC. The Committee will work to catalyze a group of governments to initiate a diplomatic process for negotiating a treaty to establish the IACC and to coordinate an international civil society coalition for the campaign to create it.
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Canada should lead in creating an international court to fight corruption, The Toronto Star, October 12
Lloyd Axworthy, former Foreign Minister of Canada and Chair of the World Refugee and Migration Council (WRMC), and Fen Osler Hampson, Chancellor's Professor at Carleton University and President of the WRMC, wrote:
- "Canada should take the lead in promoting the development of an IACC. The Liberals and Conservatives championed the idea in their party platforms in the recent election. Bipartisanship is a rare commodity, but this is one initiative where our two major parties can work together with like-minded countries, like the Netherlands and Norway, where there is also keen interest in the proposal."
Para impedir la cleptocracia es necesario un Tribunal Internacional Anticorrupción, esglobal, October 13
Deterring Kleptocracy Demands an International Anti-Corruption Court, Global Governance Forum, October 9
Susana Malcorra, the former Foreign Minister of Argentina, and Ian Lynch, III's Program Director, wrote that the Pandora Papers demonstrate the urgent need for an International Anti-Corruption Court to hold kleptocrats and their professional enablers accountable.
Covid-19: Pandemic heightens calls for international court to tackle grand corruption, the International Bar Association's (IBA) magazine Global Insight, September 24
The article quotes III Chair Judge Mark Wolf and III Board members Justice Richard Goldstone and Judge Claudia Escobar. It also quotes IBA President Sternford Moyo - a signatory to the Declaration in support of an IACC - who said the time has come for a dedicated international institution to address corruption when national governments are unable or unwilling to do so. He stated that:
- "The adverse effects of corruption are, in many cases, comparable to the effects of crimes against humanity. Given the frequent cross-border transfer of looted resources to tax havens and jurisdictions which uphold secrecy in connection with such resources, and the fact that international aid to poor countries would be unnecessary but for corruption, it has assumed strong international dimensions and requires international collaboration and cooperation to fight and combat it effectively."
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Advocacy for Strengthened Anti-Corruption Enforcement
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UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
On July 12, III and the International Chamber of Commerce co-hosted a side event at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. III Vice Chair Elaine Dezenski provided opening remarks, III board member Chip Cottrell moderated the second session of the event, and III board member Judge Claudia Escobar offered closing remarks, among numerous distinguished speakers:
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Deloitte UK's Tackling Illicit Finance videocast
The Honourable Peter MacKay PC QC, former Minister in the Canadian Government, and Judge Mark Wolf, Chair of III, discussed the urgent need for an International Anti-Corruption Court:
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Global Governance Forum Briefing
On July 28, Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chairman of the Global Governance Forum, moderated a briefing on the International Anti-Corruption Court for senior business leaders on July 28 by III's Chair, Judge Mark Wolf, and Board member Justice Richard Goldstone. Steve Sarowitz, Chairman and Founder of Paylocity, gave opening remarks and Ken Robinson, Board Member of Paylocity, gave closing remarks.
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Voices from III's Youth Leaders Network
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The Network held its first meeting in July with representatives from anti-corruption organizations around the world. Representatives from Venezuela, Russia, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Norway, Uganda, Latvia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Peru, India, Germany, Malta and the United States shared their experiences and anti-corruption related projects.
Concerned by the dire conditions in Lebanon, YAC-Youth Against Corruption, a youth-led organization that leverages youth talents, social innovation and entrepreneurship in the fight against corruption, founded and directed by Network member Serena Ibrahim, published the following open letter in September calling for the creation of the IACC, among other actions.
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