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Welcome to the seventh issue of the quarterly newsletter from
Integrity Initiatives International (III, pronounced "triple I") 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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INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION COURT
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Yesterday, Lord Jonny Oates delivered a speech on behalf of Lord Peter Hain, the former Foreign Office minister, in the Lords Grand Committee on why the United Kingdom should support the creation of an International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC).
Lord Hain - with cross-party support from Lady Patience Wheatcroft, Lady Ros Altmann, and Lord Oates - introduced an amendment to the economic crime bill that would require the UK government to back the court's establishment. You can watch the speech and the debate on the amendment using this link and navigating to timestamp 18:29:45 of the video.
You can read more about Lord Hain's efforts in this article by Patrick Wintour in The Guardian.
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In March, President Maia Sandu made Moldova the fifth country in the past year and a half to make a commitment to working towards the creation of an IACC, joining Canada, Ecuador, the Netherlands, and Nigeria. She recently spoke about the need for the Court on Moldovan television (interview in Romanian).
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On March 20, the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights organized a workshop on the IACC in Brussels. III Chair Judge Mark Wolf (pictured above with III Senior Treaty Advisor Maja Groff after the workshop) and Juan Francisco Sandoval, a courageous prosecutor who served as Head of the Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity in Guatemala, spoke about the need for an IACC. You can watch the workshop using this link and navigating to timestamp 17:02 of the video.
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For more background, you can read:
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While in Brussels, the Co-Chairs of the International Coordinating Committee for the IACC campaign - Judge Mark Wolf, Maja Groff, and Augusto Lopez-Claros - and III staff met with Members of the European Parliament who have signed the IACC Declaration including (pictured above in clockwise order): Professor Danuta Hübner of Poland, Mr. Thijs Reuten of the Netherlands, Mr. Fabio Massimo Castaldo of Italy, and Mr. Stelios Kouloglou of Greece, among others.
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NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORTS
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Following a necessary pause in our activities in Ukraine due to Russia's illegal invasion, III will be engaging again in anti-corruption activities there in 2023. Effectively combatting corruption is critical to maintaining the international community's trust in Ukraine and to ensuring its recovery from the war.
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In April, the III team attended Renew Democracy Initiative's Heroes of Democracy Gala. In the fight against authoritarianism, Renew Democracy Initiative (RDI) provides a platform for its global network of dissidents to promote democracy and the rule of law. III and RDI collaborate to support democracy and anti-corruption in Ukraine.
At the Gala, Judge Wolf met Oleksandra Matviichuk (left), who leads the Centre for Civil Liberties, which won the Nobel Peace Prize for its work documenting Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
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In September, III will host a delegation of judges from Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) in Boston. III has been involved in successfully recommending international experts to serve on judicial selection committees in Ukraine and in mentoring HACC judges, both in person in Kyiv and virtually during the pandemic.
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VOICES FROM III'S YOUTH LEADERS NETWORK
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by Estefanía Medina, Esq. - Co-Founder of TOJIL, Mexico
We are a nonprofit organization led by female lawyers and our main objective is fighting corruption and impunity. We use strategic litigation to seek that every citizen and the country as a whole are recognized as victims of corruption. In addition, by collaborating with national institutions, Tojil develops and innovates in public policies so that our population can access justice.
One of our main projects is CHATBOT TEO.
TEO #YourOnlineLawyer is a chatbot in which you can report cases of corruption that will be referred to the Prosecutor's Offices for investigation. TEO is a secure and easily accessible reporting platform for #VictimsofCorruption. Your information is safe and can be treated anonymously if you wish. Use TEO.
Follow Tojil:
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Cedric Ryngaert on Why the World Needs an
International Anti-Corruption Court
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In April, Augusto Lopez-Claros, Executive Director of the Global Governance Forum and Co-Chair of the International Coordinating Committee for the IACC campaign, interviewed Professor Cedric Ryngaert about the IACC on the Global Governance Podcast. Professor Ryngaert said that he sees the IACC "as a proposal to decolonize international criminal law". Click here to listen to the interview.
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Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Interview with Judge Wolf
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In March, Dragan Štavljanin interviewed Judge Mark Wolf for RFE/RL about potential mechanisms to prosecute high-level Russian leaders for atrocity crimes in Ukraine. They also discussed the proposal for an IACC. Click here to watch the interview.
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Maia Sandu: „Pe cazurile de corupție mare este bine să avem și o Curte Anticorupție la nivel internațional”. (Romanian)
Maia Sandu: "It is good to have an Anti-Corruption Court at the international level to deal with major corruption cases". (English)
Radio Moldova, March 30, 2023
by Viorica Rusica
How to Jail the World’s Most Privileged Crooks.
Center for European Policy Analysis, March 28, 2023
by Krista Viksnins
Club de Madrid calls on World Leaders to Work Towards the Creation of an International Anti-Corruption Court.
Brussels Morning, March 17, 2023
by Club de Madrid
The Emerging Idea of an International Anti-Corruption Court.
Just Access, February 20, 2023
by Marija Chekredji
Corruption War: Nigeria Makes Case for International Anti-corruption Court.
This Day, January 24, 2023
by Alex Enumah
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We're Hiring: Program Associate
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We are looking for an exceptional Program Associate to play an important role in advocacy for an IACC, supporting the work of the IACC treaty drafting process, and in designing and executing III's communications strategy.
Application deadline: May 21
Note that we can only consider applicants with U.S. work authorization.
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International Bar Association Essay contest on the IACC
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The International Bar Association (IBA) Anti-Corruption Committee is organizing an essay competition for young lawyers on the topic:
- Do we need an International Anti-Corruption Court to strengthen the enforcement of criminal laws against corrupt leaders?
The winner of the essay competition will be provided a scholarship to attend this year's IBA Annual Conference, held in Paris from October 29 to November 3. The scholarship includes: waiver of the conference registration fee, accommodation costs, travel expenses, and two years' free membership of the IBA.
Application deadline: May 31
For those interested, please find additional information and requirements regarding the scholarship using the link below. The International Anti-Corruption Court essay topic can be found under the Criminal Law Section.
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