Transparency International,The Global Corruption Barometer 2013

GLOBAL CORRUPTION

The Global Corruption Barometer 2013 draws on a survey of more than 114,000 respondents in 107 countries. It addresses people’s direct experiences with bribery and details their views on corruption in the main institutions in their countries. It also provides insights into people’s willingness to stop corruption.

OUR VISION

A WORLD IN WHICH GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, BUSINESS, CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE DAILY LIVES OF PEOPLE ARE FREE OF CORRUPTION

One global movement sharing one vision: a world in which government, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption.

IN THE BEGINNING

In the early 1990s, corruption was a taboo topic. Many companies regularly wrote off bribes as business expenses in their tax filings, the graft of some longstanding heads of state was legendary, and many international agencies were resigned to the fact that corruption would sap funding from many development projects around the world.

In 1993, a few individuals decided to take a stance against corruption and created Transparency International. Now present in more than 100 countries, the movement works relentlessly to stir the world’s collective conscience and bring about change.

There was no global convention aimed at curbing corruption, and no way to measure corruption at the global scale.

Having seen corruption’s impact during his work in East Africa, retired World Bank official Peter Eigen, together with nine allies, set up a small organization to take on the taboo: Transparency International was established with a Secretariat in Berlin, the recently restored capital of a reunified Germany.

Much remains to be done to stop corruption, but much has also been achieved, including:

• the creation of international anti-corruption conventions
• the prosecution of corrupt leaders and seizures of their illicitly gained riches
• national elections won and lost on tackling corruption
• companies held accountable for their behavior both at home and abroad.

GLOBAL REACH, LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Through more than 100 national chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, we work with partners in government, business and civil society to put effective measures in place to tackle corruption.

INDEPENDENT AND ACCOUNTABLE

We are politically non-partisan and place great importance on our independence. We alone determine our programmes and activities – no donor has any input into Transparency International’s policies. Our sources of funding are made transparent as is our spending.

Transparency International is committed to advancing accountability, integrity and transparency. In our own operations, too, we aim to be an example of good governance, ethical practice and openness to greater transparency.

In these pages, you can learn more about our governance system, the rules we abide by in our work, our organisation’s structure and how we accredit our chapters and members. There is also a section on our ethical guidelines, the codes of conduct and the basic principles upon which our work is based.

The section on funding and financials includes lists of donors, our donations policy and audited financial statements. We also share external evaluations of our operations as another means of demonstrating our accountability.

Accountability is both an integral part of our work and one of our movement’s wider objectives. As new accountability standards emerge, we will endeavour to include information about our compliance with these efforts in this section of the website.

WORK WITH US

The international fight against corruption needs your expertise, your skills and experience, and your passion for social justice.

From our secretariat in Berlin and in more than 100 national chapters, Transparency International seeks professionals and volunteers with exceptional talent and commitment to join our efforts and make a contribution to a better world.
Judiciary remains one of the most corrupt institutions in Armenia, according to perceptions based on Transparency International’s latest surveys.

Global Corruption Barometer 2013 published on July 9 shows that Armenians also perceive public officials/civil servants and medical and health services as other institutions engaged in corrupt practices most.

Nongovernmental organizations are perceived as least corrupt, according to the same survey.

Only between 21 and 40 percent of respondents in Armenia believe in ‘ordinary people’s ability to make a difference’, according to the report, which also shows Armenia among the 16 countries, along with Ethiopia, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and others, where the majority of people would not be willing to report the incident of corruption.

The most common reason for not reporting an incident of corruption in Armenia, as is in 72 other countries, is that it would not make any difference. The report concludes that it indicates “lack of confidence in the existing laws and their enforcement.”

To learn more about the report and results pertaining to Armenia click here.

EXAMPLE AROUND THE WORLD OF HOW CORRUPTION AFFECTS EVERYONE

Childbirth can be a dangerous prospect in much of Nepal’s remote mountainous regions. Following custom, most women give birth at home, without medical equipment or supervision. When there are complications, treatment is administered by a local birth attendant with little if any formal training. As a result, as many as six Nepalese women die giving birth every day. Many of them are teenagers.

Looking to improve the situation, the government started a new incentive programme that offers small cash allowances to women who gave birth in hospital. It’s the kind of initiative that is desperately needed, and yet in one district local officials failed to promote it among their constituents. Instead, they created lists of fake mothers, and pocketed the money themselves.

When a whistleblower rang our centre to report the situation, we helped him break the story to the media. Making national headlines, the case helped bring the plight of rural women into the public sphere. Exposed, the officials admitted their wrongdoing, and returned the money to the state coffers to be redistributed where it’s needed most – among expectant mothers.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIR, Huguette Labelle is Chair of the Board of Transparency International, member of the Board of the UN Global Compact, member of the Group of External Advisors on the World Bank Governance and Anti-corruption Strategy, member of the Advisory Group to the Asian Development Bank on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, member of the Executive Board of the Africa Capacity Building Foundation, member of the Board of the Global Centre for Pluralism, member of the Advisory Council of the Order of Ontario and Vice Chair of the Senior Advisory Board of the International Anti-Corruption Academy. A former Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, she also serves on additional national and international boards. She provides advisory services to national and international organisations. Labelle served for 19 years as Deputy Minister of different Canadian Government departments. [RoI]

We’re keeping watch to make sure it stays that way.

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