|
|
|
|
|
Welcome to the tenth 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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The last few months were busy for III. Read on to learn more about:
- recent advocacy efforts for creation of the International Anti-Corruption Court,
- the 10th Session of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) Conference of States Parties (COSP10),
- anti-corruption progress in the U.S.,
- the quarterly spotlight on a member of III's Youth Leaders Network,
- the new IACC Youth Talk Series,
- and media coverage of our work around the world.
Also, we are hiring a Special Assistant. Click here to learn more and apply.
|
|
INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION COURT (IACC) ADVOCACY
|
|
|
United Kingdom
In November 2023, III Chair Judge Mark Wolf of the United States, Board Members Charles Adeogun-Phillips of Nigeria and Fidelis Magalhães of Timor-Leste, and Managing Director Ian Lynch traveled to London to engage with civil society, legal experts, and political leaders.
|
|
|
The III team met with UK Labour Party's Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy MP and Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry MP, who expressed their strong interest in working with III to advance creation of the International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC). In a 2023 speech at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, Lammy stated that Labour would back creation of an IACC. Read more here.
|
|
|
|
Lord Peter Hain (Labour) organized a multi-stakeholder briefing (pictured below) on the IACC attended by more than a dozen MPs and Peers from all major political parties, as well as over 20 individuals from civil society. Judge Wolf and Ian Lynch also attended the Magnitsky Awards Dinner, where they engaged with activists, diplomats, and journalists, including Nico Hines, World Editor of the Daily Beast, who wrote this essay about Judge Wolf and the IACC campaign.
|
|
III's November advocacy trip to London has generated further discussion of the IACC in the UK. Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, Lord David Alton, and Bianca Jagger signed the IACC Declaration. In December 2023, Lord Alton (crossbench), a fierce advocate for human rights, asked the government to support for the establishment of an IACC. Read Lord Alton's question and the government's answer here.
In January 2024, John Penrose MP (Conservative), the former Prime Minister's Anti-Corruption Champion, asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak whether the government would take the lead in creating the IACC. In a shift from previous government responses to the IACC idea, Prime Minister Sunak responded that the Foreign Secretary, Lord David Cameron, would look at the proposal in detail. Watch their exchange below. The III team will return to London to advocate for the IACC in March 2024.
|
|
|
In November 2023, Judge Wolf also joined Burhan Sönmez, President of PEN International and IACC advocate, to give a talk at the University of Cambridge titled 'Why Corrupt Rulers Suppress Free Speech and What to Do About It'. The talk focused on highlighting the nexus between corruption and human rights abuse.
|
|
South Africa
On December 8, 2023, Lord Hain gave a speech at a conference for International Anti-Corruption Day organized by the South African government. He called on the government to take more effective action to combat corruption and to support creation of an IACC. You can read an edited version of his speech here.
|
|
Lord Hain, a prominent anti-apartheid leader who know campaigns against corruption, gave another speech about the IACC in January 2024 at the University of Cape Town. You can read about the event here. Lord Hain and Justice Goldstone's advocacy events have provided a platform for the growing multi-stakeholder movement for the IACC in South Africa, with III's partner Koogan Pillay, Co-Chair of the Africa Subcommittee for the IACC Campaign, playing an important coordinating role. With elections approaching in May, IACC advocates are pushing for candidates to support creation of the proposed Court.
Pillay and his fellow Africa Subcommittee members are planning IACC advocacy in approximately 10 additional African nations, including several where elections offer opportunities to raise awareness about the proposed Court and pursue commitments from African leaders to work towards its creation. III will continue to prioritize advocacy in Africa throughout 2024.
|
|
New York
In November 2023, the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College hosted a briefing and roundtable on the IACC for Permanent Representatives to the UN and their deputies from a dozen countries. Judge Navi Pillay of South Africa and Ambassador Bob Rae, Canadian Permanent Representative to the UN, joined Judge Wolf in providing the opening remarks. The briefing resulted in ongoing discussions with officials from several countries.
In December 2023, Judge Wolf returned to New York for meetings with the Ukrainian and Moldovan Permanent Representatives to the UN. They discussed the IACC and how III can continue its work supporting the development of national level anti-corruption capacity in each country. In April 2024, III will host several Ukrainian High Anti-Corruption Court judges in Boston.
|
|
World Liberty Congress
In November 2023, III Managing Director Ian Lynch traveled to Vilnius, Lithuania to attend the World Liberty Congress, a gathering of pro-democracy activists from about 60 countries, as well as the high-level Future of Democracy Forum hosted by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The World Liberty Congress will provide a collective action platform for dissidents to push back against authoritarianism and connect with other activists. The founders invited Lynch to help facilitate a workshop session on how to organize advocacy efforts in capitals around the world, including for the IACC proposal. III looks forward to continuing to support the activists of the Congress.
|
|
International Bar Association Annual Conference
At the 2023 International Bar Association Annual Conference in Paris, Justice Richard Goldstone presented the IACC on a spotlight panel organized and moderated by Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.
Read more about the panel here (on page 3).
|
|
|
|
Left to right: Sir Howard Morrison KC, Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, Justice Richard Goldstone and UK Attorney General Victoria Prentis KC
|
|
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
At the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly in Yerevan, Armenia in November 2023, Member of the Norwegian Parliament Mahmoud Farahmand delivered remarks urging for creation of the IACC. Click the image below to listen to his remarks.
|
|
UN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION (UNCAC) CONFERENCE OF STATES PARTIES (COSP10)
|
|
Press Release
Marking the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in December, 2023, Integrity Initiatives International (III) and Club de Madrid called on governments to do more to enforce the laws the convention requires of its member states, including by working towards the creation of an International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC) that would serve as a de facto enforcement mechanism of the UNCAC. Read the press release here:
Side Events & Panels
At the UNCAC COSP10, the IACC was featured in three discussion panels organized by Integrity Initiatives International, HEDA Resource Centre, Citizens for Global Solution (CGS), and the Carter Center.
|
|
|
On December 11, 2023, CGS hosted an an event, 'From Support to Governance: Global Anti-Corruption Pathways'. The event considered how lessons learned may be applied in global judicial terms, including at a standing and specialized IACC.
|
|
|
|
On December 12, 2023, The Carter Center hosted Special Side Events to complement the UNCAC COSP10. The III- and CGS-organized panel 'Multifaceted Approaches: Toward An Anti-Corruption Court', discussed cooperation among and assistance between States on investigative and prosecutorial strategies to combat corruption.
|
|
|
|
On December 12, 2023, the HEDA Resource Centre hosted an event on 'Addressing the Enforcement Gap'. The event examined the potential of proposals for national, regional, and international enforcement institutions to address this gap, including the IACC.
|
|
|
Open Letters
III, alongside over 110 civil society organizations, signed the Atlanta Civil Society Declaration at the conclusion of the UNCAC COSP10. Read the declaration here.
The Government Accountability Project brought anti-corruption groups together to support a resolution on whistleblower protection at COSP10. Read the letter to government delegations signed by III and more than 100 additional civil society organizations here.
|
|
|
U.S. ANTI-CORRUPTION UPDATE
Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) Passed
In December 2023, U.S. President Biden signed into law the landmark, bipartisan Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA).
The FEPA gives the U.S. Government the authority to criminally prosecute any foreign official who demands or accepts a bribe from any American or American company, anywhere in the world.
Like the proposed IACC, the FEPA will increase the credible threat of prosecution against kleptocrats. This will help deter corruption around the world and level the playing field for ethical corporations that currently face extortion when working in countries with high levels of corruption.
|
|
|
Former III Board Member Tom Firestone long provided thought leadership on the FEPA and current III Board Member Elaine Dezenski worked closely with Transparency International U.S. and the rest of the civil society coalition that successfully advocated for the FEPA. Lending its support to the bill, III signed multiple civil society letters in support of passing the FEPA over the past three years.
|
|
|
For more on the new law, listen to Frank Brown interview Tom Firestone and Scott Greytak, Director of Advocacy at Transparency International U.S., about FEPA on the Democracy that Delivers podcast.
Beneficial Ownership Information Registry Rules
In recent years, III supported efforts by Transparency International U.S., the FACT Coalition, and dozens of other civil society organizations calling for the creation of a U.S. beneficial ownership registry to help counter the webs of shell companies that kleptocrats use to conceal their illicit wealth.
Passed at the end of 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act mandated the creation of the U.S. Beneficial Ownership Information Registry. Initial rules crafted to implement the law fell short of global standards. In April 2022, III signed the letter organized by Transparency International U.S. to the U.S. government highlighting lessons learned in other countries to inform effective implementation of the U.S. registry.
Taking into account the comments from civil society, the U.S. registry was launched in January 2024. Read more about the U.S. Beneficial Ownership Information Registry here.
The Expanding Whistleblower Protection for Contractors Act
In October 2023, III joined the over 160 civil society organizations that signed a letter organized by the Government Accountability Project calling on Congress to modernize and strengthen legal protections for federal government contractor and grantee whistleblowers by passing the Expanding Whistleblower Protection for Contractors Act. More work is needed to pass this important law.
|
|
|
VOICES FROM III'S YOUTH LEADERS NETWORK
|
|
In Northern Nigeria, the Young Leaders Network (YLN), a member organization in III’s Youth Leaders Network, works to boost the human capital base of young people, empowering them to steer positive and sustainable development in their communities.
YLN believes that governance, especially at the grassroots, must be transparent, accountable, and inclusive. Thus, YLN has over the past 5 years equipped young people from over 60 communities with leadership, political participation, and advocacy skills to hold their elected officials to their promises and the democratic ideals of accountability, transparency, and responsiveness.
|
|
|
To foster transparent and corruption-free governance, YLN also conducts capacity-building training for elected government officials about citizen-centered governance and legislation. YLN's “Citizens-Legislators Forum” serves as a platform where elected representatives dialogue with their constitutes on their community needs and score their performance.
|
|
|
Join III each final Wednesday of the month for the IACC Youth Talk Series, a series dedicated to empowering global youth voices in the campaign for an IACC. Each talk features different speakers discussing a range of topics related to the campaign for the establishment of an IACC. Join us for the next IACC Youth Talk on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. Register in advance here. |
|
|
Watch the kickoff of the IACC Youth Talk Series from January 2024. The episodes are shared in audio format to make them more accessible to audiences in parts of the world with limited internet connectivity.
|
|
|
|
WE ARE HIRING
Special Assistant to the Chair
We are looking to hire a Special Assistant to the Chair of III, Judge Mark Wolf, to work full-time in Boston, Massachusetts beginning in June.
The Special Assistant to the Chair of III is a unique opportunity for a new or recent graduate to gain experience working closely with III’s board and partners, who include leading international jurists, former cabinet ministers, and civil society leaders, among other prominent individuals from around the world.
Note: we are only able to consider applicants with U.S. work authorization.
Learn more about the position and apply here. |
|
|
Call for international anti-corruption court: Adv Paul Hoffman
SABC News, January 31, 2024
|
|
|
|
John Penrose MP asks the UK Prime Minister for his thoughts on an International Anti-corruption Court.
January 25, 2024
|
|
|
Rights of citizens over recovered proceeds of corruption should be strengthened, says Olaniyan
- Dr. Kolawole Olaniyan discusses the IACC in his new book, Ownership of Proceeds of Corruption in International Law.
The Guardian Nigeria, January 9, 2024
By Gordi Udeajah, Umuahia
Suraju: We are yet to see how much of what Nigeria gained from COP28
New Telegraph, December 18, 2023
By Success Nwogu
HEDA, Club De Madrid Tackle Global Corruption Grand Corruption at CoSP10
New Telegraph, December 17, 2023
By Success Nwogu
‘Whitey’ Bulger Judge Needed Security After ‘Perceived Threat’ From the FBI
Daily Beast, December 14, 2023
By Nico Hines
|
|
It takes two to tango – Businesses have also been culpable in dishonesty, looting and bringing SA to its knees
Daily Maverick, December 8, 2023
By Lord Peter Hain
Anti-graft summit — ‘Intensity of fighting apartheid must be harnessed to fight scourge of SA corruption’
Daily Maverick, December 8, 2023
By Nonkululeko Njilo
Presidente do Tribunal Supremo diz que Angola dá garantias de mais justiça (President of the Supreme Court says that Angola provides guarantees of more justice)
Jornal de Angola, November 6, 2023
By Jornal de Angola
'Should jurisdiction for the most grievous of crimes be universal'? - The case for an IACC at the IBA Annual Conference in Paris, p. 3
Daily News, November 1, 2023
By The International Bar Association
The 2024 election gives voters the chance to take a united stand against corruption
Daily Maverick, October 23, 2023
By Paul Hoffman
CACOL Backs Establishment of International Anti-Corruption Court
The Will, October 15, 2023
By Ayo Esan
Tribunal internacional anticorrupção (International anti-corruption court)
Poder360, October 10, 2023
By Roberto Livianu
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
