Corruption - February 2010

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FPD World Views: Interview on Haiti with Monika Kalra Varma

Foreign Policy Digest is pleased to present the following interview with Monika Kalra Varma, the Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. Ms. Varma sat down with Adam Benz, Foreign Policy Digest's Editor-in-Chief, to discuss ways in which the U.S. and international community can best assist Haiti with the country's current humanitarian crisis and in its longterm goals of building a better future for the Haitian people.

February 28, 2010
Adam Benz & Monika Kalra Varma
Corruption - February 2010

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Corruption in Kenya: The Plots Continue

DEVELOPMENTS Corruption is at the heart of news from Kenya these days. Last week, President Mwai Kibaki suspended eight senior officials for three months pending investigations into two corruption scandals. In one, auditors from Price Waterhouse Coopers revealed that over $26 million had been lost through a program to give impoverished Kenyans access to subsidized maize. The second scandal, brought to light late last year, concerns the loss of more than one million dollars from the Ministry of Education during a short period. In response, both the British and U.S. governments suspended millions of dollars in education assistance in December and January.

February 28, 2010
Katherine Southwick
Corruption - February 2010

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The Iranian Opposition: Taking Stock Eight Months Later

DEVELOPMENTS In June 2009, I witnessed hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters amassed in and around Enghelab (revolution) Square demanding to have their voices heard in a political process that was once the most democratic in the Middle East outside of Israel. Their votes had just been thrown out by the regime of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a tainted election, the outcome of which relied on the counting of hand written ballots.

February 28, 2010
Justin McMahan
Corruption - February 2010

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Corruption Concerns Plague Kazakstan's Rise

DEVELOPMENTS On January 1, 2010, Kazakhstan assumed the chairmanship of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), amid unusual controversy. Kazakhstan succeeded Greece in the rotating chairmanship of the 56-country body, which is the world’s largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Formed in the Cold War to diffuse East-West tensions, the forum focuses on arms control, free and fair elections, and human rights issues. The OSCE is one of the preeminent forums for Western governments to engage with Russia and former Soviet republics, such as Kazakhstan on the issues of human rights, democracy and clean government. Many observers therefore find Kazakhstan's leadership problematic given its well-documented history of corruption and human rights abuses.

February 28, 2010
Bronwen De Sena
Corruption - February 2010

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Fighting Corruption, One Zero-Rupee Note At A Time

DEVELOPMENTS Petty corruption is pervasive in India, where local officials demand bribes from ordinary citizens for the delivery of public services that should not cost a rupee. Reinforced by habit, these corrupt practices have become entrenched social norms that lead citizens to believe that bribery is not just normal, appropriate and acceptable, but expected. One Indian NGO, 5th Pillar, has launched a unique initiative to mobilize citizens in fighting petty corruption: the mass distribution of zero rupee notes to citizens who use them to protest bribery by public officials.

February 28, 2010
Fumiko Nagano
Corruption - February 2010