Latest news with #anticorruption
News24
2 days ago
- Business
- News24
Global leaders zero in on whistleblowers at G20 corruption talks
The 2nd G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) under the South African Presidency convened in Brasilia from June 9 to 12, 2025, uniting delegates to address critical issues in preventing and combating corruption. Co-Chaired by South Africa and Brazil, the meeting aimed to reinforce the Working Group's priorities to strengthen the public sector by promoting transparency, integrity, and accountability, increasing the efficiency of asset recovery measures, enhancing participation from the public sector, private sector, civil society, and academia, and improving whistleblower protection mechanisms. The South African Ambassador to Brazil, Mr. Vusi Mavimbela, delivered the opening remarks during the inaugural session. He highlighted the importance of international collaboration in the fight against corruption and stressed South Africa's dedication to advancing collective goals, stating, 'Through our G20 Presidency theme, 'Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability', we reaffirm our commitment to advancing collective efforts toward inclusive global economic growth and sustainable development.' Brazil's Minister of State for the Office of the Comptroller General, H.E. Mr. Vinícius Marques de Carvalho, delivered the keynote address, stressing the significance of inclusive approaches in anti-corruption efforts. He underscored the complex nature of corruption, requiring diverse perspectives and expertise. H.E. Carvalho called for a multi-agency strategy, urging the involvement of civil society, academia, and the private sector in shaping effective anti-corruption policies. At the heart of the meeting were the discussions of the draft G20 High-Level Principles on the Management of Seized and Confiscated Assets. These draft principles aim to provide a framework for G20 countries to manage seized assets, closing gaps identified by the ACWG to strengthen asset recovery. The Group also considered the Zero Draft Ministerial Declaration, encapsulating the commitment of G20 countries to address corruption through prevention. This draft will be presented for adoption at the Ministerial Meeting in October 2025. In addition to the main sessions, a side event was held on measuring integrity in public procurement, exploring challenges in quantifying corruption, and the necessity for evidence-based methodologies, co-hosted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The UNDP informed that it is establishing a framework for measuring integrity, collecting data from 60 countries by the end of 2025. This initiative aims to provide objective tools to gauge the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures. Another side event was held to address the preventive dimension in the fight against corruption and new forms of organized crime, co-hosted by EL PACTO 2.0, a partnership with the European Union focused on justice and security. The G20 ACWG and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Group on Bribery held a joint meeting aimed at supporting the shared commitment to combating the bribery of foreign public officials in international transactions. The 2nd G20 ACWG l Meeting provided an opportunity for delegates to exchange views, share experiences, and deepen understanding of the evolving challenges and opportunities in the fight against corruption through the lens of the Presidency's theme of solidarity, equality, and sustainability. The Working Group acknowledged that there remains considerable work ahead to fully realise the deliverables committed to at the start of the year, including timely responses to the questionnaires, substantive inputs toward the draft Ministerial Declaration, and the High-Level Principles on the Management of Seized and Confiscated Assets. Through these efforts, the G20 seeks to instil confidence in its commitment to combating corruption and promoting sustainable development, ensuring a brighter future for all. As South Africa and Brazil lead this charge, the hope is that the momentum generated from this meeting will translate into tangible actions that resonate beyond borders, creating a global environment where corruption has no place.
The Independent
04-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
El Salvador human rights lawyer demands public trial as police haul her before judge
A lawyer from a prominent human rights organization who has been an outspoken critic of some of President Nayib Bukele's policies demanded a public trial as police brought her before a judge in El Salvador Wednesday. Prosecutors sought to charge her with illegal enrichment and jail her for six months pending trial. Observers say the case against Ruth Eleonora López is retaliation for her work while authorities allege she aided one of her former employers being prosecuted for embezzlement. Authorities arrested López at her home on May 18. The anticorruption lawyer, who works for the nongovernmental organization Cristosal, has denied the accusations. Wednesday's hearing was closed to the public as the case is under seal. As she was escorted by police through the court building Wednesday, a shackled López with a Bible between her hands, shouted: 'They're not going to silence me, I want a public trial,' according to a brief video posted by Cristosal on X. 'The people have to know.' She had not made her initial appearance before a judge until Monday, more than two weeks after her arrest. At that hearing, prosecutors announced the illegal enrichment, different from the original embezzlement, and requested that she be held while they continue to investigate. Cristosal has been an critic of some of Bukele's policies, including the state of emergency giving him special powers that has now been in place for more than three years. 'Ruth has dedicated her life to the defense of human rights and the fight against corruption,' Cristosal said in a statement last week. 'Hers is not an isolated case: it is part of a pattern of criminalization against critical voices.'
Associated Press
04-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
El Salvador human rights lawyer demands public trial as police haul her before judge
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — A lawyer from a prominent human rights organization who has been an outspoken critic of some of President Nayib Bukele's policies demanded a public trial as police brought her before a judge in El Salvador Wednesday. Prosecutors sought to charge her with illegal enrichment and jail her for six months pending trial. Observers say the case against Ruth Eleonora López is retaliation for her work while authorities allege she aided one of her former employers being prosecuted for embezzlement. Authorities arrested López at her home on May 18. The anticorruption lawyer, who works for the nongovernmental organization Cristosal, has denied the accusations. Wednesday's hearing was closed to the public as the case is under seal. As she was escorted by police through the court building Wednesday, a shackled López with a Bible between her hands, shouted: 'They're not going to silence me, I want a public trial,' according to a brief video posted by Cristosal on X. 'The people have to know.' She had not made her initial appearance before a judge until Monday, more than two weeks after her arrest. At that hearing, prosecutors announced the illegal enrichment, different from the original embezzlement, and requested that she be held while they continue to investigate. Cristosal has been an critic of some of Bukele's policies, including the state of emergency giving him special powers that has now been in place for more than three years. 'Ruth has dedicated her life to the defense of human rights and the fight against corruption,' Cristosal said in a statement last week. 'Hers is not an isolated case: it is part of a pattern of criminalization against critical voices.'
Al Jazeera
03-06-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Mongolian PM ousted amid corruption protests
Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene has resigned after losing a vote of confidence amid weeks of anticorruption protests. Oyun-Erdene announced his resignation on Tuesday after Parliament failed to back him in a confidence vote the previous day, a parliamentary statement said. Public frustration has been boiling over regarding the lavish lifestyle of the prime minister's family, leading to persistent demonstrations in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. 'It was an honour to serve my country and people in times of difficulties, including pandemics, wars, and tariffs,' Oyun-Erdene said after the result of the secret ballot was announced to Parliament. Oyun-Erdene, who spent more than four years in office, had denied the corruption allegations against him. In an address to Parliament before the vote, he blamed 'major, visible and hidden interests' for waging an 'organised campaign' to bring down the government. He had also warned that political instability and economic chaos would follow should he be forced out of power. But his pleas did not convince the Parliament, with only 44 lawmakers backing him and 38 against. The prime minister needed to reach a 64-vote threshold in the 126-seat Parliament. Oyun-Erdene, who took the prime minister's seat in January 2021 and was re-elected in July 2024, will remain in a caretaker capacity. A successor must be named within 30 days. The landlocked democracy in Northern Asia has faced deep-seated corruption for decades, with many arguing that wealthy elites are hoarding the profits of a years-long coal mining boom. On Monday, hundreds of young people converged on the square outside the parliament building, marching with white placards and chanting: 'Resignation is easy.' Several protesters said they had come to voice dismay at what they have described as deeply embedded corruption and social injustice. Since Oyun-Erdene took power, Mongolia's ranking in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index has dropped. Concerns over the economy and rising living costs have also stoked the unrest.
The Independent
02-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
A lawyer's prolonged detention shows how El Salvador's gang emergency extends to common crimes
El Salvador's arrest of an anticorruption lawyer from a well-known human rights organization last month is the latest example of how special powers given to President Nayib Bukele to battle the country's gangs are being applied to a host of unrelated alleged crimes. Police arrested Ruth Eleonora López at her home on May 18, for allegedly aiding one of her former employers being prosecuted for embezzlement. López has denied the accusations, but two weeks later she has yet to appear before a judge or be formally charged. El Salvador's constitution gives authorities 72 hours to bring someone before a judge after an arrest. But criminal defense attorneys say most of the cases they see — drunk driving, robberies, sexual assaults — now aren't brought before a judge until 15 days after the arrest, the maximum allowed under the state of emergency the country's Congress approved in March 2022. That month, Bukele asked lawmakers for extraordinary powers to respond to a gang massacre. Among the rights the Congress agreed to suspend were that window to take a prisoner before a judge, as well as fundamental protections like access to a lawyer. Since then, more than 86,000 people have been arrested for alleged ties to gangs, with 90% still awaiting trial. But untold others – the attorney general's office did not respond to a request for statistics – have been treated in the same manner for alleged crimes having nothing to do with the gangs. While the constitutional rights are suspended, the expansion into crimes unrelated to gangs is legal, but abusive, lawyers say. In an address to the nation Sunday night about the first year of his new term, Bukele brushed off criticism of his heavy-handed tactics. 'I don't care that they call me dictator,' he said. 'I prefer they call me dictator than see how they kill Salvadorans in the streets. I prefer they call me dictator, but Salvadorans can finally live in peace. Let them keep arguing semantics and we're going to continue to be focused on results.' 'They say we jail human rights defenders, dissidents, opponents of the regime," Bukele said. "I think to myself, 'How are we going to battle corruption if all the opposition has guaranteed impunity?'' With the gangs' severely weakened by the government's own accounts, human rights organizations in El Salvador – like Cristosal where López worked – and from abroad like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have called for the end of the emergency declaration. They say the justification no longer exists, and rights should be restored. Instead, lawyers say the extended state of emergency has become the norm, rather than the exception. 'They've generalized it,' said Oswaldo Feusier, lawyer and professor at the José Simeón Cañas Central American University, adding that more and more judges are applying the exceptional rules to a broader array of crimes. 'To me it's an abuse of the spirit of the decree.' Just this month, Bukele called — via the social platform X — for the arrest of the heads of bus companies he said had ignored his call to provide free service during the closure of a major highway. The government said it would reimburse them. Despite arrests May 5 through May 7, the 12 people detained weren't formally charged until May 19. On May 12, dozens of people from an agricultural cooperative protested an eviction outside Bukele's home. One participant was arrested May 12 and another May 13 for alleged public disorder and aggressive resistance. Their cases weren't brought before a judge until May 27. The president also used the protest as an example of why the Congress should pass a foreign agents law — which it did days later — because he said they had been 'manipulated by globalist NGOs.' The law would require all non-governmental organizations who receive international donations to register as 'foreign agents' and the government can then impose a tax of 30%. Jayme Magaña, a criminal defense lawyer working with an initiative called Wings of Freedom that seeks to draw attention to human rights violations, said she has seen the exceptions under the state of emergency applied to a variety of cases including sexual crimes, drunk driving and robberies. 'They're applying 15 days to the majority,' she said. 'This is because the courts are saturated.' Criminal attorney Carlos Avelar said that since the state of emergency suspends constitutional guarantees, it can be applied to all crimes. 'If they arrest someone, if the prosecutor wants to apply the 15-day term, he does it,' he said. He estimated that 80% of the cases he sees in the courts now start 15 days after the arrest. López's alleged wrongdoing dates to her time as an adviser to Eugenio Chicas, the former president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal during the administration of President Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014-2019). Chicas moved from the court to the Cabinet of Sánchez Cerén and also served as a congressman. Last November, he and some of his relatives were convicted in a civil case for illegal enrichment between 2009 and 2021. Chicas, who was detained in February, is now being prosecuted on criminal charges of illegal enrichment. 'Ruth has dedicated her life to the defense of human rights and the fight against corruption,' Cristosal said in a statement last week, noting that she still had not been formally charged. 'Hers is not an isolated case: it is part of a pattern of criminalization against critical voices.'
