Photography Project on Flickr

LRA victim

Originally uploaded by Nick Anderson

This is one of the 800+ images posted to the Artists Against Corruption Group on Flickr as part of our first photography based project.

From the images posted we will select a collection for an exhibition and book. The aim will be to put a human face on the abstract concept of corruption. Also, to show the scale of the problem, the vast range of consequences, and its connection with poverty in particular.

Professional & Amateur photographers are invited to participate. If their images are then selected for use in the exhibition we will first seek written permission.

The image shown is of a Ugandan boy that was a victim of the atrocities carries out by the Lords Resistance Army lead by Joseph Kony who I have previously profiled on this blog.

Kony and the LRA are still active. Recent reports say he has set up six new bases in northern DR Congo and is running diamond mines in the Central African Republic. The LRA are notorious for abducting children and mutilating victims.

In Sudan the LRA were hired and supported by the Sudanese Government of Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir who is also responsible for the Darfur crisis today.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Kony and other LRA members. There are 33 charges, 12 counts are crimes against humanity, which include murder, enslavement, sexual enslavement and rape. There are another 21 counts of war crimes which include murder, cruel treatment of civilians, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population, pillaging, inducing rape, and forced enlisting of children into the rebel ranks.

Photo by Nick Anderson
Click the link for a profile of Joseph Kony

Palin Abused Her Power

Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska’s governor and violated state ethics law by trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from the state police, a state investigator’s report concluded Friday.

“Gov. Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda,” the report states.

As may be expected, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign responded by calling the investigation “a partisan-led inquiry” run by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, but hailing its finding that Monegan’s firing broke no law.

“Gov. Palin was cleared of the allegation of an improper firing, which is what this investigation was approved to look into,” campaign spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said.

She said the Legislature exceeded its mandate in finding an ethics violation. “Lacking evidence to support the original Monegan allegation, the Legislative Council seriously overreached, making a tortured argument to find fault without basis in law or fact,” she said.

Though the McCain-Palin campaign tried to put a positive spin on the outcome the bipartisan Legislative Council, which commissioned the investigation after Monegan was fired, unanimously adopted the 263-page public report after a marathon executive session Friday. About 1,000 more pages of documents compiled during the inquiry will remain confidential, the council’s chairman, state Sen. Kim Elton, said.

Opinion

The investigation into the affair began before Mr McCain selected Mrs Palin as his running mate in August, and Several Republican politicians have attempted to have the investigation stopped on the grounds that it was politically motivated. Given these facts McCain’s choice of Pailin as Vice President now looks very questionable and will rightly have a negative impact on his campaign.

Sudan is Critical

Today Reuters reports that the foreign minister of Sudan has criticized both US vice presidential contenders, Biden & Palin. They expressed support for the idea of a flying ban over the Darfur region in their recent TV debate.

Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig on Sunday said an air ban would be ineffective because the Sudanese armed forces are only using government planes and helicopters to fight bandits and protect humanitarian convoys.

The Darfur conflict has killed 200,000 – 300,000 and driven more than 2.5 million from their homes, say international experts. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.

Opinion

As I have reported in earlier posts the Darfur situation was recognized as genocide by the Busy administration as long ago as 2004. In September 2004 Secretary Powell officially invoked the term “genocide” to describe what was going on there in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and  President Bush (white House Press Release, September 9, 2004).

Despite calling it a genocide the U.S. and the rest of the world have taken no effective action to date. UN forces there have no mandate to engage. They are there to observe and offer humanitarian aid. This is a repeat of Rwanda.

A no fly zone would at least show some action was being taken, but not nearly enough. Enforcement of the International Criminal Court’s prosecution of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity would also be a step in the right direction.

Incredibly, and despite all the evidence the no fly zone is only a possibility with pathetic arguments being made against it, and apparently THE UN Security Council is under pressure to suspend the International Criminal Court’s prosecution of Bashir according to a report in the Economist, which I reported here last week.

The charges may be dropped because, of the Security Council’s five permanent members, three – China, Russia and the United States—refused to sign up to the International Criminal Court. Coincidentally Russia and China have huge financial interests in Sudan and are actively supporting the regime, and in-directly the genocide. I reported on this before – China is Fueling the War in Darfur.

the 53-member African Union (AU) and the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have also demanded that the Security Council suspend proceedings against Mr Bashir. As the author of the Economist article rightly points out several members of the AU abd OIC, “no doubt fearing that it could be their turn next”, to face the International Criminal Courts.

It is also interesting that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in her electioneering today accused Obama of “palling around with terrorists”. She could equally suggest that, by their unwillingness to act to stop what they themselves describe as genocide, the republican party, the President, and the United states are also guilty of “palling around with terrorists.”

Capitalism in Crisis: The Cost of U.S. Corruption

The ongoing bank driven economic crisis in the U.S., and the proposed $700bn rescue plan clearly demonstrate the cost of corruption. Again I am adopting the definition of corruption used by Transparency International (TI) to suggest that this crisis has corruption at its roots.

Transparency International, one of the largest Anti-Corruption agency in the world, define corruption as, “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”. and say, ” It hurts everyone whose life, livelihood or happiness depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority.”

As to the cost, the $700bn deal being proposed would cost every man, woman and child in the United States about $2,300. And, the total cost exceeds total lending by the International Monetary Fund since its inception after World War Two. The IMF has loaned $506.7 billion since 1947.

In other words, the U.S. government is proposing a deal that would rob every citizen of the U.S. to reward the corrupt institutions and the corrupt directors of them.

The deal is in trouble today. Let’s hope and pray it does not pass. If it does it will be a clear demonstration that corruption pays and would undermine the credibility of America and the capitalist system as a whole.

These are my opinions, and the figures used come from reporting by Reuters.

Saving the President

THE UN Security Council is under pressure to suspend the International Criminal Court’s prosecution of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity, according to a report in the Economist magazine today.

Unsurprisingly, Mr Bashir does not like the charge at all, and nor do the rest of his peers in the 53-member African Union (AU) and the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Both groups have demanded that the Security Council suspend proceedings against Mr Bashir. As the author of the article rightly points out several members of the AU abd OIC, “no doubt fearing that it could be their turn next”.

Further increasing the pressure on the ICC if it does indict Mr Bashir (a decision is expected in November), several AU and OIC members, who together account for a third of the ICC’s 108 states parties, have threatened to pull out of the court.

With an eye on Sudan, Ban Ki-moon, the UN’s secretary-general, recently declared that the search for a balance between peace and justice “should never be influenced by the threats and postures of those seeking to escape justice”.

There is a more than reasonable chance that charges will be dropped, or ‘postponed’ despite the overwhelming evidence against Bashir (an estimated 300,000 have already lost their lives and some 3m have been forced to flee their homes in the five-year conflict, continues to deteriorate). And, despite the fact that as early as September 2004 Secretary Powell officially invoked the term “genocide” to describe what was going on there in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and  President Bush (white House Press Release, September 9, 2004).

Despite calling it a genocide the U.S. and the rest of the world have taken no effective action to date. This is Rwanda 2:0, and the killing not only continues, it is getting worse.

Why might charges be dropped despite the evidence? Corrupt politics of course. Of the Security Council’s five permanent members, three – China, Russia and the United States—refused to sign up to the court. Coincidentally Russia and China have huge financial interests in Sudan and are actively supporting the regime, and in-directly the genocide. I reported on this before – China is Fueling the War in Darfur.

As I have also said already, Darfur and Sudan show the ineffectiveness of the United nations. Now there is a more than reasonable chance that they will show how useless one of it’s key institutions, the International Criminal Court, actually is. This may make or break the future of the ICC and, the action of the permanent members in relation to Sudan and Darfur will be yet another test of the credibility of the United Nations itself.

Read the Economist Article

Corruption Can Be Faught

The Economist Magazine highlights Indonesia’s recent success in fighting corruption. The article says, “At last it is possible to detect signs that Indonesia is making progress against its rampant corruption, ” and points to the fact that in the latest in a series of spectacular busts by its Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), on September 16th investigators pounced on a director of the anti-monopoly agency at a Jakarta hotel, as a businessman allegedly bunged him 500m rupiah ($53,000).

The results are also evident In Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index, published this week, Indonesia improved its lowly ranking, coming 126th out of 180 countries; last year it was 143rd out of 179 countries surveyed. Its “cleanliness” score has risen modestly since the KPK was created in 2002. Buoyed by public support, the agency is calling for those convicted of graft to be dressed in garish uniforms and thrown into the same special jail that houses terrorists.

Read the FULL STORY

Guantanamo Prosecutor Steps Down

Lt Col Darrel Vandeveld became the fourth Guantanamo military prosecutor to quit. His departure was for ethical reasons following the alleged withholding of evidence in a case.

Full Story

$700bn Reward for Corruption?

Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption, and one of the largest anti-corruption agencies in the world, “has chosen a clear and focused definition of the term: Corruption is operationally defined as the misuse of entrusted power for private gain.”

By this definition it could be argued that the leader of major financial institutions in the US are guilty of causing the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. At this time the US is considering a $700bn bail out, effectively rewarding those whose greed helped create the problem in the first place.

By taking such unprecedented action they will be using taxpayers money to condone corruption. The repercussions will be enormous for years to come. If the bailout goes ahead the US government will never be able to legitimately criticize the corrupt actions of other governments and regimes?

These comments are my own opinions. I would love to hear yours!

Burmese Military in Gesture of “Loving Kindness”

The Burmese Military, in an act the describe as one of “loving kindness”, released  one of Burma’s most prominent political detainees, Win Tin, after 19 years in detention.

He was apparently one of 9,000 detainees reported to have been given amnesty by the military. Now 79 years old, Win Tin was among the founders of the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The NLD party won elections in 1989, but was prevented from taking power by Burma’s generals.

On being released Win Tin vowed, “I will keep fighting until the emergence of democracy in this country.”

Announcing the releases The Myanmar Times, a state-censored newspaper in Rangoon, said the military government was releasing 9,002 prisoners as a gesture of “loving kindness and goodwill”.

Still under house arrest is Aung San Suu Kyi herself, who has been in jail or under house arrest for most of the last 19 years.

FULL STORY

Corruption: The Ongoing Humanitarian Disaster

Transparency International launched the 2008 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) which measures the perceived levels of corruption in 180 countries drawing on different expert and business surveys.

The Fatal Link between Corruption and Poverty

The Major findings of the 2008 report are “Persistently high corruption in low-income countries amounts to an “ongoing humanitarian disaster”, but at the same time, “Against a backdrop of continued corporate scandal, wealthy countries backsliding too.”

The report highlights the fatal link between poverty, failed institutions and corruption. “In the poorest countries, corruption levels can mean the difference between life and death, when money for hospitals or clean water is in play,” said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International. “The continuing high levels of corruption and poverty plaguing many of the world’s societies amount to an ongoing humanitarian disaster and cannot be tolerated. But even in more privileged countries, with enforcement disturbingly uneven, a tougher approach to tackling corruption is needed.”

Highs & Lows

Countries are scored on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to ten (highly clean). The 2008 finds the cleanest countries are Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden, all sharing a score of 9.3. The most corrupt are; Somalia at 1.0, Iraq & Myanmar 1.3 and Haiti at 1.4.

Changes

2008 sores, compared to 2007 scores, showed significant declines for Bulgaria, Burundi, Maldives, Norway and the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Albania, Cyprus, Georgia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, South Korea, Tonga and Turkey all showed significant improvements.

Wealthy Country Corruption v Poor Country Corruption

Whether in high or low-income countries, the challenge of reigning in corruption requires functioning societal and governmental institutions. Poorer countries are often plagued by corrupt judiciaries and ineffective parliamentary oversight. Wealthy countries, on the other hand, show evidence of insufficient regulation of the private sector, in terms of addressing overseas bribery by their countries, and weak oversight of financial institutions and transactions.

“Stemming corruption requires strong oversight through parliaments, law enforcement, independent media and a vibrant civil society,” said Labelle. “When these institutions are weak, corruption spirals out of control with horrendous consequences for ordinary people, and for justice and equality in societies more broadly.”

Weakening the Fight Against Poverty

In low-income countries, rampant corruption jeopardises the global fight against poverty, threatening to derail the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). According to TI’s 2008 Global Corruption Report, unchecked levels of corruption would add US $50 billion (€35 billion) – or nearly half of annual global aid outlays – to the cost of achieving the MDG on water and sanitation.

Not only does this call for a redoubling of efforts in low-income countries, where the welfare of significant portions of the population hangs in the balance, it also calls for a more focussed and coordinated approach by the global donor community to ensure development assistance is designed to strengthen institutions of governance and oversight in recipient countries, and that aid flows themselves are fortified against abuse.

This is the message that TI will be sending to the member states of the UN General Assembly as they prepare to take stock on progress in reaching the MDGs on 25 September, and ahead of the UN conference on Financing for Development, in Doha, Qatar, where commitments on funding aid will be taken.

Double Standards

The weakening performance of some wealthy exporting countries, with notable European decliners in the 2008 CPI, casts a further critical light on government commitment to reign in the questionable methods of their companies in acquiring and managing overseas business, in addition to domestic concerns about issues such as the role of money in politics. The continuing emergence of foreign bribery scandals indicates a broader failure by the world’s wealthiest countries to live up to the promise of mutual accountability in the fight against corruption.

“This sort of double standard is unacceptable and disregards international legal standards,” said Labelle. “Beyond its corrosive effects on the rule of law and public confidence, this lack of resolution undermines the credibility of the wealthiest nations in calling for greater action to fight corruption by low-income countries.” The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which criminalises overseas bribery by OECD-based companies, has been in effect since 1999, but application remains uneven.

Regulation, though, is just half the battle. Real change can only come from an internalised commitment by businesses of all sizes, and in developing as well as developed countries, to real improvement in anti-corruption practices.

Full Story