CORRUPTION THREATENS EVERY VALUE WHICH GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY SHARES.

Civil society organizations have an opportunity to speak with one voice when the Second Global Forum on Fighting Corruption takes place in The Hague, The Netherlands from May 28-31, 2001.

Governments from all over the world will come together in order to confirm their committments to fight corruption and to discuss new strategies against corruption. It is expected that Ministers will adopt aF inal Declaration, containing a number of ideas related to a future legalU N instrument against corruption, to the monitoring of the effectiveness of national anti-corruption strategies, and to best practices.

The Humanist Institute for Co-operation with Developing Countries (Hivos) and Transparency International, in co-operation with a number of Southern anti-corruption organizations, have drawn up an open letter which will be presented to the second Global Forum’s plenary session ofG overnment Ministers on May 31. There is a particular emphasis on the need for developed countries to act far more effectively than they have done to return the monies that corrupt leaders have looted from their treasuries.

We hope your organization will be in general agreement with the text of this letter, which can be found below.

In the coming weeks, we hope to obtain the signatures of civil society organizations from as broad spectrum and from as many countries as possible. We therefore invite your organization to add its signature to the letter. You can add your signature in the two following ways:

By going to the letter at the Hivos website ({ HYPERLINK http://www.hivos.nl) }www.hivos.nl).
By stating the name of your organization, contact person and country and then returning this e-mail to us at the following address: [email protected]

PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO OTHER CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU ARE IN CONTACT WITH.

Further information can be obtained at the following websites:

Second Global Forum on Fighting Corruption: { HYPERLINK http://www.gfcorruption.nl }www.gfcorruption.nl.
Hivos: { HYPERLINK http://www.hivos.nl }www.hivos.nl.
Transparency International: { HYPERLINK http://www.transparency.org }www.transparency.org.

Open Letter from Civil Society Organisations to the Second Global Forum on Fighting Corruption

Government Representatives and other distinguished participants,

We, as representatives drawn from a wide range of global civil society, welcome the establishment of the Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and its determination to develop effective principles and practices to prevent or combat corruption around the world. We have witnessed a number of positive developments since the first Forum was held two years ago. But in many parts of our world today, corruption is actually on the increase.

The consequences of worsening corruption for our societies and for our planet are dramatic. Corruptionis a major factor underlying human rights violations of every description - economic and social no less than political and economic. Corruption creates political instability and conflict. It denies governments their legitimacy and people the protectiont he Rule of Law should provide. Corruption impacts daily on the lives of millions by eroding medical services, education systems, the honesty of the police and the provision and efficiency of public services in general.I t foments the destruction of the environment and it causes avoidable death and destruction during natural disasters. In short, corruption exacerbates poverty and inequality, it discourages economic investment and development, and thus it attacks every value we global citizens share.

We make a special plea to all those countries whose institutions harbour the ill-gotten gains of public officials who have looted their countries and impoverished their peoples. We ask all countries to co-operate to secure the return of the looted wealth of those countries that have suffered most grievously from the consequences of corruption, particularly in Africa. But we also ask for systems of mutual legal co- operation and enforcement to be put in place that will ensure that there isn o hiding place for the proceeds of corruption, and no country where the corrupt can enjoy the profits of their crimes without fear of extraditiona nd punishment.

We further challenge governments represented at the Global Forum, both individually and collectively, to publicly commit themselves to undertakea ctions that we as civil society regard as crucial, namely actions that will:
Ensure that corruption is legally defined and criminalised, and that independent institutions and effective procedures are in place to investigate and prosecute corrupt acts – whether committed at home or abroad;
Uphold and strengthen the Rule of Law and the independence of police forces and the judiciary;
Ensure that immunity and privilege do not prevent corrupt public servants and politicians from being held accountable under the criminal law;
Ensure transparency in all aspects of national and international official activity, including legally guaranteed rights of citizens to access to information;
Guarantee and respect the freedom of opinion and expression;
Empower their citizens and encourage the participation of civil society in all aspects of public life;
Protect our democratic institutions from the risk of abuse by requiring political parties to make full and complete disclosure of their sources of funding;
Ensure full transparency in aid flows and international financial assistance so that citizens can hold their governments to account; and
Create an open and fair environment in which private sector activities can take place untainted by corruption and function in ways that bring benefits to all.

We look forward, in particular, to the early conclusion of a United Nations Convention against corruption, and look to governments to play an active part in achieving and implementing a landmark international instrument that will significantly increase mutual co-operation in the development of criminal law and the harmonisation of corruption offences to the benefit of the great mass of humankind.

In closing, we ask the governments here assembled to acknowledge the catastrophic effects that corruption is having on our societies and on ourp lanet, and we urge governments to demonstrate their political will not by words alone, but by taking immediate and effective measures to curb corruption in all its forms. We look forward to the assessment of your efforts that will take place when civil society organisations gather at the1 0th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Prague on 7-11 October, 2001.

END

Chris Collier Senior Policy Officer Human Rights/ Human Rights Officer Africa Hivos (Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries) Raamweg 16 2596 HL The Hague The Netherlands Direct tel. no.: +31-70-3765605 fax: +31-70-3624600