International
Governance and Security
Missing money
Earlier this month, I attended a meeting in Paris on stolen assets and how we can recover them.
“Stolen assets” are cash in bank accounts, luxury properties and other ill-gotten gains which come from corruption that benefits leaders and other government officials. Corruption, in the form of bribes, theft of public funds from developing countries, and money laundering through the international financial system, is an important issue: $20 to $40 billion “disappear” every year from developing countries.
The Paris meeting, called “No Safe Havens”, was organized by Switzerland and the StAR initiative, which is driven by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, a special agency of the United Nations. StAR stands for “Stolen Assets Recovery”. Thanks to the StAR Initiative, twenty-eight high profile cases have been identified and $5 billion of stolen assets returned. This is a good first step. It may still be a drop in the ocean, but it shows that it is possible to tackle the problem.
The challenge ahead is to better tackle the laundering of the proceeds of corruption and to increase the number and accelerate the successful resolution of asset recovery cases.
As Mo Ibrahim wrote in ONE’s latest DATA report: “for every corrupt African official there are a few corresponding corrupt international business people, and that the issue can not be addressed in Africa alone”. Corruption, and the laundering of its proceeds, directly affect poor people globally. World leaders need to see this issue as a shared responsibility.
The 2010 Ibrahim Prize
It was announced this week that the Ibrahim Prize for African leadership has declined to award the $5 million prize. The Ibrahim prize, from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, is traditionally awarded annually to a former African Head of State or government, democratically elected, who has demonstrated excellence in leadership. Last year no one received the award and the committee deemed that as there’d been no new candidates or developments, the Prize would also not be awarded this year. The last winner of the Ibrahim Prize was the former President of Botswana Festus Mogae.
However, as Mo Ibrahim argues, “Many African countries are making great strides not just economically, but also in terms of their governance. The Ibrahim Index, which measures the performance of African countries across around 80 governance criteria, indicates that the overall standard of governance is improving.”
If you want to take a look at the index, the website for it provides information, presented in tables and interesting graphs.
In an exciting development, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has also announced that it will soon be launching ‘Ibrahim Leadership Fellowships’. According to the Foundation, “The task of promoting good African leadership is more important than ever. Good governance is crucial if African people are to share in the strong economic growth that many are predicting for Africa. There are many ways to support great leadership. The prize is one such way, the fellowships will be another.”
A critical year for Sudan
2010 will be a critical year for Sudan, 5 years on from the signing of a peace deal that signalled the end of the country’s 22-year-long civil war.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement laid out a roadmap for resolving some of the key issues between the opposing sides in the conflict, north and south Sudan. But the BBC reports that meaningful progress is needed over the coming year if the agreement is to succeed. There are 2 key deadlines: April 2010, when elections are due to be held (having already been postponed last year) and January 2011, when a referendum will decide whether the south should remain part of a united Sudan, or become an independent state.
Whilst some are optimistic for the future, others fear that war may return to the country.
Last week, Sudanese communities and activists around the world joined together to call on international leaders to take diplomatic action to help ensure that the fragile peace is maintained.
They were joined by famous drummers from bands include Radiohead, The Police, Pink Floyd, Snow Patrol and the musicians Mohammed Munir, Yehia Khalil and Mustaffa Tettey Addy who came together record a video tiltled ‘A Beat for Peace’.
Watch the video:
Kenya: Still on the brink?
It’s now two years since post-election violence in Kenya killed 1,500 people and drove 250,000 from their homes.
Last night the Royal African Society hosted a packed event in the Houses of Parliament in London looking at what has happened since and the chances for Kenya to avoid future bloodshed.
The speakers were Maina Kiai, the eminent Kenyan human rights champion, and Michela Wrong, author of “It’s Our Turn to Eat”, the story of John Githongo, Kenya’s corruption whistle-blower (and ONE Policy Advisory Board member).
“Right now Kenya is calm but it is not peaceful,” said Kiai. “The tension in the country is palpable.. and there is still this ethnic unease… We are not out of the woods. We have postponed a crisis but it could still happen.”
Both speakers laid the blame squarely on Kenya’s corrupt politicians. “Corruption is the one ideology that Kenyan politicians believe in,” Kiai said. “The coalition is united in corruption.”
A major topic of debate was the question of bringing to justice those political figures responsible for promoting the violence, and still reportedly arming militias. The role of the International Criminal Court was hotly debated. Kiai said 62% of Kenyans wanted it to act to bring the perpetrators to justice. But, he argued, it was critical that the ICC took a completely even-handed approach to all sides, to state sponsored violence, attacks by Kalenjin against Kikuyu, and by Kikuyu against Luo and other tribes.
“If it was done properly we could see a cooling down.. it could be almost indispensable,” he said.
But Michela Wrong was less upbeat about the criminal court’s chances. “The ICC process and the drive to end impunity could trigger the next conflict,” she said. “Can you expect justice so soon after such violence?”
Both speakers thought the next flash point might come sooner rather than later – with the Referendum on the Constitution which is due in May or June. They argued for the British Government to take a “tough love” approach, extending visa and travel bans to all alleged perpetrators and their families, and prosecuting British citizens found to be colluding in corruption. “Every Kenyan scandal has a British connection,” said Kiai. He also urged a “bottom up” approach to development aid, arguing that donors should channel it to boost citizens’ groups in Kenya rather than giving it to the Government.
Situation in Guinea
Since seizing power earlier this year, Dadis Camara and the rest of the military junta ruling Guinea have become increasingly repressive and violent. On September 28, a protest against the regime ended with the military killing 157 civilians and injuring a further 1,200. Because of the violence and chaos, businesses are grinding to a halt and schools have been closed. His actions are actively undermining the fragile development gains of recent years and hold no promise of a better future for Guinea.
The international community has started to respond. The Economic Community of West African States, European Union, African Union, and US have all imposed arms sanctions in response to the recent rise in violence. Although the regime has yet to step aside and agree to hold fair and open elections, these sanctions are an important first step and help isolate it.
We’ll be keeping our eyes on the situation in Guinea, and if we need to take action, you’ll hear from us straight away.
No clear winner
On Monday, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced that they would not award their $5 million prize for excellence in African leadership this year. The Foundation, created by Sudanese telecommunications mogul Mo Ibrahim, has awarded the prize for the past two years to encourage responsible, democratic leadership across Africa. The prize, given last year to former president of Botswana, Festus Gontebanye Mogae, is awarded to a former African leader who has demonstrated excellence in leadership, served their term in office within the limits set by the country’s constitution, and has left office in the last three years. The guidelines for the prize, however, stipulate that if there is no exceptional candidate in a given year, then the prize will not be awarded.
The prize is only one part of the Foundation’s larger effort to promote good governance and highlight leadership on the African continent; it acts as an effective complement to the Ibrahim Index of African Governance. The Index, the third iteration of which was released recently, is a comprehensive ranking of African governments. In the 2009 Index, each country is measured by 84 indicators grouped into four categories: Safety and Security, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity, and Human Development.
Overall, Southern Africa was the best performing region with Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho all included in the top 10. Southern African country Mauritius claimed the top spot in the rankings, coming in first in all four categories, followed by Cape Verde, Seychelles and Botswana. North Africa was the second-best overall performer, followed by West Africa and East Africa. According to the index, Central Africa was the worst-performing region on the continent with all seven of its countries scoring outside the top 20. Somalia ranked as the worst-governed nation in Africa, behind Zimbabwe and Chad. Rwanda was ranked surprisingly poorly in this year’s index: the country dropped to 32 from its place at 18 last year.
This year’s index includes data from both 2007 and 2008, making it one of the most current measurements of African governance. It also includes new indicators as well as a new framework for assessing governance comprehensively on the continent. For the first time, rather than focusing only on sub-Saharan Africa, the 2009 index includes measurements for North Africa. The index now measures all 53 African countries, allowing for a look at governance in Africa as a whole. Paul Collier, author of the Bottom Billion and Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford praised the Ibrahim index, lauding its comprehensive and unbiased nature as well as the fact that “it is an exclusively African undertaking.”
In an op-ed released on Monday, Ibrahim discussed the importance of African governance, saying: “Ultimately, both the index and the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, the $5m prize we award to former African leaders, are about improving the lives of Africans through better governance and excellence in leadership.” The work of the Mo Ibrahim foundation, both through the prize and the Index on governance, is extremely important in highlighting the crucial issue of good governance in Africa. According to the 2009 Index about half of African countries did improve this year. However, having no clear winner for the prize indicates how much more work there is to do.
Professor Wangari Maathai on the radio
Professor Wangari Maathai spoke on the Today Programme this morning on BBC Radio 4. She founded the Green Belt Movement and is the only African woman to have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai argues that good governance is absolutely essential for development: “I’ve come to the conviction, unless we fix governance, the rest will not be fixed.”
For this to happen, it needs African leaders to show commitment. She goes on to say that the African Union has an important role to play in all this. She specifically mentions President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, who is keen to make the African Union more democratic.
-Jessica Gomez-Duran
Mo Ibrahim: Good governance will bolster African aid
In the Financial Times, Mo Ibrahim argues that while investment and good governance will ultimately solve Africa’s problems, “effective aid has an important role to play in the quest for sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.” Ibrahim offers this assessment in light of the recent debate about aid in the wake of Dambisa Moyo’s book Dead Aid. Ibrahim argues for a “holistic approach to development in Africa that is centred on good governance.”
Excerpts below, full piece here
The critical argument should not be about aid or no aid – no one can question the necessity of pure humanitarian aid as long as it satisfies basic good governance criteria. The argument should be about where to focus aid to achieve the best returns for donor taxpayers and aid recipients. I propose two areas to focus aid: the hardware of Africa, infrastructure and regional integration; and human software, in the form of education and health.
The reality is that most African countries are sub-scale and fundamentally unable to compete in a global market. If economies the size of the UK, Germany and France find regional integration necessary to ensure growth, then 53 un-integrated African states have a competitive disadvantage. This fragmentation is evident in Africa’s transportation infrastructure, geared towards trade outside rather than within the continent. Africa needs to integrate its economies and open their borders to each other. Development aid can help these efforts and facilitate intra-African trade. This capital investment cannot succeed without investment in education and health.
Finally, while debate on development aid is of great importance, more of this energy should be spent on climate justice. Africans have emitted the least carbon per capita but will have to face the greatest consequences of its emission. A worthier use of the time of these great African and other economists is to devise a solution that allows the continent to meet the adaptation and mitigation costs of climate change.
-Chris Scott
Zimbabwe Human Rights Defenders Struggling in the Face of Government Oppression
Check out this post from our friends at Amnesty International USA.
-Margaret McDonnell
My work with Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) brings me in close communication with the brave persons fighting for their civil, economic and social rights in Zimbabwe. This includes labor rights activists and civil society members, but the majority of this contact centers on a group of women human rights defenders. AIUSA chose this group of women as a special focus case of Individuals at Risk for 2008-2009. In my work, I have the privilege of interacting with Jenni Williams, co-founder of Women of Zimbabwe Arise. Jenni shares inspirational words about the power of activists around the world to keep her safe from government brutality. She states that knowing her plight is broadcast around the world every time she is imprisoned for asking for such things as the equitable distribution of food aid, provides comfort for her in her cold, dank prison cell because she knows people are mobilizing to secure her release and safety.
Through peaceful protest Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), and their sibling organization, Men of Zimbabwe Arise, focus attention on the problems in Zimbabwe that directly affect them and their families, such as food security issues, freedom of speech and assembly, health care and corruption. Jenni has been imprisoned more than 20 times, often beaten and harmed while detained, and yet continues to bravely march forward to provide a voice and motivation for all Zimbabweans struggling for a better life. Everyone has certain people in their lives they admire and respect for their skills, talents or other qualities. For me, that person is Jenni. She is a rock star. She marches out onto the streets of Zimbabwe, knowing she could be harmed for her beliefs but does it anyway in the hopes of improving the lives of all her fellow citizens.
Last week over 100 WOZA members were arrested and detained for marching in Harare and Bulawayo. Jenni and WOZA’s other co-founder, Magodonga Mahlangu, were not arrested in the demonstrations, but will be brought before the courts on February 26 for charges of disturbing the peace related to a protest in October 2008. Amnesty International USA currently has two actions you can take as we work to create safe operating space for all human rights defenders in Zimbabwe. The first action asks activists to send Valentines to Mugabe, showing that love is the greater power. The second action, found here, calls on the Minister of Justice to drop the trumped up charges against Jenni and Magodonga and not continue with their trial. Both of these actions will continue for the next two weeks.
Finally, you can see a documentary clip of Jenni speaking about the challenges of operating as a human rights defender in Zimbabwe. I hope you take the time to watch the video, are as inspired by these brave women as I, and will participate in these actions.
-Sarah E. Hager, Chair, Southern Africa Co-Group, Amnesty International USA
What can Europe and North America do for development?
On Tuesday, the Transatlantic Taskforce on Development released their first-ever report. The Taskforce – the only one of its kind – brings together individuals from the United States, Canada, and Europe, representing governments, NGOs, and the private sector, to discuss global development issues. The Taskforce was assembled by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) of the United States and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; ONE’s Executive Director, Jamie Drummond, is a member of the 24-person Taskforce.
The Taskforce’s report presents policy ideas on which North America and Europe can collaborate in order to pursue a broad development agenda, even in the face of the current global financial crisis. The authors laud past moments of international consensus around development – like the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – but are adamant that without spurring economic growth in developing countries, and meeting Official Development Assistance (ODA) and trade commitments, recent gains in combating poverty are likely to be reversed.
Meeting the funding commitments previously made to developing countries – and demonstrating that aid does work – is particularly essential in light of the global financial crisis and the threat of decreased development assistance. As the report notes, “It will be increasingly vital to continue to demonstrate that aid actually works, and to show results and impact. A clear message of how the development agenda is linked to the interests of those in developed countries must be repeated and reinforced.”
The Taskforce report provids policy recommendations in four areas in which transatlantic cooperation is necessary for achieving global development goals. It emphasizes that the policy environment in which development takes place must be based on trust and inclusion among developed and developing countries, and encourages policy coherence between North America and Europe. The following is from the GMF press release on the Taskforce meeting:
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The International ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with guest contributions from ONE volunteers, members and allies.
The content of each post and each comment represents the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
TAGS: Corruption, Governance and Security, Policy News