News

Ad hoc finance summit convened in Washington

The US government has announced it will host a summit on finance matters in Washington in mid-November. Apart from the leading industrialised nations, major emerging markt countries will be invited – including India, China, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Russia and others.

After meeting at Camp David in mid-October, the presidents of the USA, France and the European Commission, announced a series of summits on the matter.

To what extent George Bush, Nicolas Sarkozy and Manuel Barrso agree on substance beyond assessing recent bailout programmes remains unclear, however. So far, Bush always expressed skepticism over plans for a new financial architecture, whereas many Europeans have long since expressed an interest in comprehensive international regulations, for example on hedge funds or tax evasion. Germany’s Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul for instance has repeatedly proposed a “global compact against tax evastion” (see D+C of October, p. 395). The summit meetings wll hark back to the tradition of Bretton Woods (see essay by Yash Tandon on page 430). (dem)

Corruption impoverishes

Corruption, poverty and inadequate political institutions are closely connected – a fact underlined by this year's Corruption Perception Index published by the organisation Transparency International (TI). "In the poorest countries, corruption levels can make the difference between life and death, when money for hospitals or clean water is in play," says TI Chair, Huguette Labelle. Lack of transparency and accountability also result in poor financial management and slow progress on development. Corrupt authorities, Labelle adds, are primarily a poor-country problem.

This year, however, TI also sees rich exporting nations in a poor light, accusing their governments of not doing enough to "rein in the questionable methods of their companies" in overseas business. Double standards, it points out, undermine the credibility of rich countries calling on poor countries to take a tougher line on corruption. Apart from that, such behaviour is in violation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which criminalises overseas bribery by OECD-based companies.
This year's score-card shows significant declines in the performance of Bulgaria, Burundi, Maledives, Norway and the United Kingdom. On the positive side, significant improvements are identified in Albania, Cyprus, Georgia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, South Korea, Tonga and Turkey.

The index measures perceived levels of corruption among officials and politicians, drawing on surveys conducted in the business community and among local and foreign country analysts. On the basis of these surveys, countries are rated on a scale of zero to ten. Zero indicates a particularly high level of corruption, ten an environment that is particularly hostile to corruption. Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand share the highest score at 9.3; Somalia brings up the rear at 1.0. (cir)

Special tribunal to address violence

A commission headed by Justice Philip Waki has spent three months investigating the post election violence in Kenya. In mid-October, it presented its report to Kofi Annan, who had mediated between the two rivals Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki at the beginning of the year in the process of forming a government. In its report, the Waki Commission calls for those who were responsible for the escalating violence to be brought before a special international tribunal.

The Commission concludes that all sides inflamed the conflict by funding and organising attacks on opponents' supporters. Around 1,500 people were killed in the riots that followed the elections in December 2007. 300,000 were forced to flee their homes. The Waki Commission complains of a relapse into the conflict patterns of the 1990s. Together with the 500-page report, Annan was also presented with a list of individuals whom the Commission suspects of responsibility for serious crimes. The names on it are said to include those of six government ministers, five serving members of parliament as well as former members of parliament.

The Waki Commission's investigation also showed that the police played an inglorious role. Its officers are blamed for around a third of the killings. What is more, the report says, many police victims were shot from behind. If a special international tribunal is not set up, the Commission plans to submit its findings to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. (cir)

Anti-torture test case in the USA

For the first time in its history, the American justice system is prosecuting an individual for acts of torture committed in a foreign country. The individual in question is Charles Taylor Jr. and he is being tried by a federal court in Miami. He is the son of the former Liberian dictator of the same name, who is himself on trial for crimes against humanity in The Hague. The 31-year-old son is charged with torture, conspiracy and use of a firearm during a violent crime. The crimes are said to have been committed between 1999 and 2003 in support of his father's regime.

In the 1990s, Taylor jr. – also known as "Chuckie" – was commander of an "anti-terrorist unit" charged with serious human rights violations during Taylor senior's presidency. The defendant has pleaded non-guilty. The legal basis for the prosecution is the "Extraterritorial Torture Statute", a federal law that was passed by the US Congress back in 1994 but has so far gone unused. It states that neither the nationality of the alleged perpetrator or victims nor the country in which the crime was committed is relevant. (cir)

A criminal elite in France

Since the 6th of October 42 persons, accused of illegal weapon trading with Angola are standing before a criminal court in Paris. The court proceedings in front of the 11th criminal division of the Tribunal Correctionel de Paris, concern the supply of weapons to Angolan President José Eduardo Dos Santos, in the early 1990s, a time at which Angola was enwrapped in a bloody civil war. Altogether, illegal weapons and devices amounting to $ 790 million dollars were traded. Most of this weaponry came from Russian supplies. Prominent figures, such as Jean-Christophe Mitterand, son of the former French president, were involved in what became known as the „Angolagate“ affair. Mitterand, who negotiated the deals had received FFr 14 million (€ 2million). According to the charge, the deals would not have taken place without his involvement. (cir)

Police-training scaled up in Afghanistan

In mid-October, Germany opened a second training centre for Afghan police. 200 police officers can receive basic and further training in the centre in Masar-i-Sharif. Afghan construction firms are responsible for the $ 2.5 million building project. They were supervised by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Germany is currently supervising similar facilities in Faisabad. The basic training for police takes three months, while specialised workshops take two to four weeks. Next year further training centres will be set up in Kabul and Kundus. Since last year, the EU is coordinating police training in Afghanistan. Germany has stocked up it’s quota from 60 to 120 officials in response to the EUPOL-Mission. Germany is supporting the Police-training in Afghanistan with € 35 million yearly.

In the meantime, the Bundestag extended it’s mandate for German ISAF soldiers to 14 months and raised it’s number of soldiers to 4,500. Approximately three quarters of the members of parliament voted for the controversial operation. Following a resolution of the Nato foreign affairs ministers, soldiers in ISAF can now participate in the fight against illegal drugs in Afghanistan. As the ministers were unable to agree on procdures, each country is left to tackle the problem on it’s own under Afghan leadership. Germany’s Defence Minister Franz-Joseph Jung, said Germany will not actively take part in the fight against drugs. (cir)

International award for founder of medica mondiale

Monika Hauser, a medical doctor from Germany, was awarded the “Alternative Nobel Prize” this year. The Right-Livelihood-Foundation in Stockholm recognised the gynaecologist’s commitment to assisting victims of rape in areas of conflict.

The 49 year old founder of the aid agency medica mondiale has, for many years, been dedicated to helping women and girls traumatised by sexualised violence in war and conflict. Apart from Monika Hauser, the efforts of Asha Hagi, a Somali women’s rights activist, Amy Goodman, a radio journalist in the USA, and the Indian couple Krishnammal and Sankaralingam Jagannathan (along with their peasants’ organisation Land for the Tillers’ Freedom) were honoured by the Right-Livelihood-Foundation. The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 to honour people, organisations and representatives of political movements, “working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today”. (eli)