Humor in anti-corruption campaigns / Bangladesh balancing secrecy and transparency / UNGASS grand corruption agenda

-

Corruption Should Be a Laughing Matter (Blog).  “There are plenty of other examples of anticorruption activists effectively using humor as part of their campaigns…A Chinese artist known as Badiucao has used satirical art to bring attention to the ruling party’s political corruption, including a famous “promotional poster” for the TV series House of Cards, with Xi Jinping sitting on the throne instead of series villain Frank Underwood. His art helped spark renewed criticism of the regime and is credited with inspiring political cartoons throughout Hong Kong’s democratic uprising against China’s controversial 2019 extradition bill.”

Brooke Davies/The Global Anticorruption Blog:  https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2021/06/14/corruption-should-be-a-laughing-matter/

 

Whistleblowing and Secrecy Law: Where is the Balance? (Opinion).  “The rationality of such colonial-time regressive laws [such as the Official Secrets Act] needs to be assessed against our constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press... our legal framework should also provide avenues where such disclosures in public interest by investigative journalists and whistleblowers can get legal protection.”

Taslima Yasmin/The Daily Star: https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/news/whistleblowing-and-secrecy-law-where-the-balance-2112365   

 

UNGASS 2021 ignores the grand corruption elephant but creates a pathway to improve the international framework (Blog).  “[In] April, almost a hundred civil society organisations called for creation of a special intergovernmental expert working group to do some in-depth work on gaps in the international legal framework and infrastructure to tackle globalised corruption, including grand corruption…As it turned out, UN member states did not create the proposed expert working group, but civil society efforts in that direction were not entirely in vain; the UNGASS political declaration did create a pathway for future UN discussions of gaps in the international framework”

Gillian Dell/Transparency International: https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/ungass-2021-ignores-grand-corruption-elephant-but-creates-pathway-improvement-international-framework  

Popular posts from this blog

Middle East & North Africa - Ukraine - Sri Lanka

-
Corruption fuels ongoing conflict. The Middle East and North Africa has been in a decline on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for years. The region is also ranked as the "least peaceful region" according to the Global Peace Index. Transparency International (TI) argues that corruption, conflict, and security are profoundly intertwined. TI: https://www.transparency.org/en/news/cpi-2022-middle-east-north-africa-corruption-fuels-ongoing-conflict   [Opinion] Ukraine's corruption purge is setting the stage for private investment-driven recovery. Corruption is regarded as a key threat to the Ukrainian economy, depriving public budgets and discouraging foreign direct investments (FDI). The current administration has taken strong anti-corruption action, and the country has witnessed a significant increase in FDI in recent years, says author. DevDiscourse: https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/business/2353089-ukraines-corruption-purge-setting-stage-...
Read more

The Pacific - Nepal - Eastern Europe & Central Asia

-
[Blog] How are perceptions of corruption in seven small Pacific countries? Larger Pacific Island neighbors are often garnering the lion's share of attention both from researchers and policy makers. How are the experiences of corruption in countries like Tuvalu, Tokelau, Niue, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), The Cook Islands, Palau, and Nauru? DevPolicy Blog: https://devpolicy.org/perceptions-of-corruption-in-seven-small-pacific-island-countries-20230223/   [Opinion] Two decades of new anti-corruption law in Nepal: Why it missed its mark. According to a Nepalese journalist, the Anti-Corruption law and Prevention of Corruption act of 2002 laid the foundation for numerous investigations, scandals, and court cases. To a large extent, they did however fail to enable significant conviction and return of assets. Online Khabar: https://english.onlinekhabar.com/anti-corruption-law-missing-target.html   [Blog] Growing security risks and authorit...
Read more

Global - Sub-Saharan Africa - Turkey & Syria

-
Invisible Trillions review: Global capitalism operates beyond the rule of law and threatens democracy. Raymond W. Baker's new book "Invisible Trillions" argues that "secrecy has become as important for corporations as transparent and taxable profits used to be". "Only radical improvements across the globe in financial transparency and accountability, and in regulatory capacity and integrity, can break this cycle of political decay and despair". The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/invisible-trillions-review-global-capitalism-operates-beyond-the-rule-of-law-and-threatens-democracy-199311   [Blog] The dynamics of violent extremism in sub-Saharan Africa. There is no better environment for the expansion of violent extremist groups than a vacuum in state authority. These groups begin to compete with the state and may even be initially attractive to communities weary of years of lawlessness, corruption, and chaos according to autho...
Read more