Topical Working Groups
Panel 3 – Corruption and Democracy
Chair: Miklos Marshall
Panelists: Fachry Ali, Larry Diamond, John Makumbe, Valeria Merino-Dirani

Corruption is a difficult topic; it can diminish the prospects of democracy. Corruption can be equated with bad governance. In fighting corruption, we must focus on the components of good governance. Also, in fighting corruption, vision, leadership, and commitment are needed. Corruption can undermine democracies and the dependability of political systems.

Corruption is pervasive and effects most institutions of governance. We need a systemic solution in dealing with this issue. Often, corruption is embedded in the way politics works. Without a comprehensive system, there will be no true dent on corruption. According to panelist, Larry Diamond, there should be an accountability system. For one, there should be a vertical accountability system where society holds the government into account and punishes it for any form of misconduct. Also, the vertical accountability system seeks vigorous monitoring of institutions. The mass media could also be an effective element, however, only when they are privately owned, pluralistic, professional, and responsible. Horizontal accountability incorporates government agencies in monitoring one another’s activities. Laws should be created for mandatory asset assessment that is publicly available. A counter-corruption agency or commission should organize for investigative purposes. This commission should have vigorous leadership and independent prosecution abilities. Lastly, external accountability should also be set up.

According to another panelist, Fachry Ali, Indonesia cannot offer a recommendation because of the current turmoil. Corruption has been growing due to the totalitarian power of the former president. There has been a drastic elevation of people in poverty. Almost 40 million people live below the poverty line. Corruption watch, government watch, parliamentary watch, should be helped by the mass media to issue news about corruptors in Indonesia. Access to information is an important aspect of fighting corruption. Also, transparency is necessary. We should also raise people’s awareness, enabling more transparency in fighting corruption. In the age of the information superhighway, exposing corruption has become easier.

So, what has not worked in fighting corruption? It has been difficult to monitor the OECD Convention. There are conventions that exist on paper, but are difficult to enforce. Some people are not even aware of these conventions. There are several lessons that have been learnt. First, commissions set up to monitor anti-corruption are not really chasing grand corruption cases. Instead, they are only chasing minor cases. Leadership is imperative in these anti-corruption commissions. Multinational corporations are some of the worst corruptors in developing countries. Even though, they are not the only major source of corruption, MNCs are big players in corruption. Finally, developing countries are reluctant to release information of wealth possessions stationed in their country. There should be measures to allow information about who is banking funds in financial institutions.

The second panel session on corruption and democracy began with a summary of yesterday’s discussion by chairperson, Miklos Marshall. Yesterday’s discussion addressed the issue of corruption and gave a comprehensive framework on the issue. Various issues were raised including, setting up of anti-corruption commissions, making declarations of assets available for the public, and strategies for fighting corruption.

The panel wanted to move from yesterday’s discussion of identifying the issue to recommendations for the framework of discussions today. The chairperson, Marshall, identified three clusters of possible recommendations to address: monitoring conventions and international civil society’s roles; establishment, enforcement, and promotion of global standards; and campaigns.

During the discussion, many issues were raised. The necessity of an independent press was one issue. Without an independent press, regulating and exposing corruption would prove to be difficult. Several comments were raised about the lack of public awareness of corruption. In some countries, corruption is taken as the norm. A campaign should be organized to make citizens aware of corruption. Overlapping responsibilities in accounting government agencies may be valuable.

The panel proposed several final recommendations:

1. Support the UN convention on anti-corruption and implementation of strong, clear monitoring components for the OECD convention.
2. Appeal to the Communities of Democracies to emphasize development assistance, including trade regulations, to correlate with good governance of the developing country. Assistance should be conditional and preference given to countries promoting good governance.
3. Appeal to promote new standards for the international banking system. Also, involving recovery of assets.
4. Campaign for awareness of corruption through civic education.
5. Availability of access to information. Declaration of assets, and expenditures should be readily accessible to all citizens.