TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL - Fighting against Corruption

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL GERMANY OFFICE 

Transparency International Germany (“TI”) was founded in 1993 as a non-profit, politically independent organization dedicated to combating corruption in Germany. TI makes a major contribution to raising public awareness of the negative impacts of corruption to strengthen the regulatory framework and advocate transparency in political decision-making.

Much has been achieved since it was founded. The first-ever German Anti-Corruption Act was passed in 1997; the tax deductibility of bribes was at long last abolished in 1999, and in 2014, Germany finally ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) – as many as ten years after this treaty was first adopted at the international level. Since then, many advances have been made in the organization’s efforts to combat and prevent corruption, especially in recent years. In 2017, a federal law was passed that provided for a cooling-off period for federal ministers and parliamentary state secretaries who are leaving office, a new Act to Reform Criminal Asset Recovery Law has been in force since last year, and a nationwide Competition Register has been implemented.

However, much remains to be done. Globalization and digitization not only offer opportunities for anticorruption activities, but also enable criminals and corrupt individuals to develop new loopholes to protect themselves and their business. The generally increasing complexity and the resulting lack of transparency impede a proper understanding of the overall picture and of relevant decision-making processes. The public’s faith in the primacy of politics is waning, which in turn is encouraging populist forces.

In fighting against corruption, we must therefore develop new approaches in addition to strengthening tried and tested mechanisms. In keeping with our principle of forming a coalition against corruption, we must be prepared to enter into even unconventional alliances in order to bring about change. Given that the most recent coalition agreement of the German government fails to mention the regulation of lobbying, we have worked with the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) to present a key issues paper on the transparent representation of interests. As partners in this joint initiative, we are committed to fairness, openness, transparency, and integrity in the representation of political interests. This alliance is intended to raise awareness of the urgent need for regulation in lobbying and finally bring about tangible changes through increased pressure.

Transparency Germany has also pushed ahead with efforts to improve anticorruption policy in many international forums, not least in the context of the German G20 presidency in 2017. One reason for such efforts is that for many years national agreements have been insufficient when it comes to combating corruption. What is needed are binding global standards that can be efficiently implemented, observed, and monitored, including a more efficient exchange of information regarding financial and tax-related data, as well as closer cooperation among nation states’ law enforcement agencies. In addition, a mechanism for public country-specific reporting of the sales and profits of international companies must now be designed and implemented.

In order to advance our cause, society at large must be made aware of our mission. Often, small measures can have major effects. For example, in June 2018, we welcomed the 1,000th signatory organization to our Transparent Civil Society initiative. As part of this initiative, civil society organizations have committed themselves to disclosing key information concerning their objectives, their sources and use of funds, and their personnel structures.

NOTE FROM TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

“Our success relies on a great deal of voluntary work and on the financial contributions of our members and donors. In particular, we would like to thank the INTI RAYMI FUND for supporting our organization. With the generous donation of $25,000 we are able to continue our independent work. We will spend it on organising expert discussions as well as public events that will raise awareness for anticorruption matters and advocate for regulatory change in Germany and worldwide.”

If you are interested in levelling the playing field and righting so many wrongs in this world, we strongly encourage you to follow Transparency International’s news letters and support their efforts below:

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A few examples of how corruption in political offices cause havoc siphon Billions from the economies of Vulnerable Countries:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45507588

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41985863

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41892624

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41861552

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-prosecutor-investigating-former-pemex-ceo-is-fired-1508542734

https://www.thenation.com/article/the-united-states-probably-has-more-foreign-military-bases-than-any-other-people-nation-or-empire-in-history/

https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/will_the_c20_push_global_leaders_to_deliver_on_anti_corruption