Blog: Thirty Years of Global Fight Against Corruption

Starting as a group of individuals trying to break the taboo of corruption and show that it can be stopped, Transparency International is now a global movement with branches and partners in over 100 countries around the world, pointing out the abuses that keep in power those who work against the public interest.

Over the past three decades, Transparency International has played a key role in positioning corruption as a key priority for decision-makers around the world and spearheading action at all levels to tackle this pervasive problem. What is taken for granted today – justice, democracy and the protection of basic human rights cannot be achieved without the fight against corruption – is the result of the work and activities of Transparency International over the past 30 years.

Leader of Global Changes

Over the years, Transparency International has made remarkable progress towards building a corruption-free society and a better life for people around the world.

TI’s research and advocacy efforts have shaped key international standards, such as the 2003 United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the 2019 European Union Whistleblowing Directive , which is a key international law that enables the protection of persons who report corruption.

The campaign launched by TI has led to a review of global standards on corporate transparency – over 200 jurisdictions are now required to track the real owners of companies, making it increasingly difficult for corrupt people to hide ill-gotten wealth.

As the initiator of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in 1999, which was eventually adopted, TI helped to criminalize hundreds of individuals and companies for receiving bribes from foreign sources, resulting in fines worth several billions.

Every year, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) draws a lot of attention to the actions of governments – mostly insufficient – in the field of fight against corruption in the public sector. The Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) – the world’s only public opinion survey on corruption – is equally notable. Surveying over 850,000 people in more than 150 countries, the GCB reveals how distrust in public institutions is pervasive, exposing the practice of conditioning sexual favors for services such as health care was exposed.

This phenomenon is called sextortion and is one of several forms of corruption that Transparency International not only investigates, but also supports those who testify and report it.

We know that corruption must be suppressed at all levels.

TI branches work in national and regional frameworks in order to influence positive change in people’s lives, highlighting the public monitoring tool – the Integrity Pact. This tool has saved over a billion dollars of public funds in more than 30 countries through public procurement monitoring mechanisms implemented by government institutions.

Centers for providing free legal assistance to citizens – ALAC – provided support to over 320,000 citizens who witnessed or were victims of corruption in more than 60 countries, helping them to exercise their rights, seek legal protection and solve the problems they were facing.

Movement of Empowered Individuals

The strength of the Transparency International movement lies in the commitment and expertise of its members and partners – we believe that the benefit of all can be realized only through the joint work of people of different competences, knowledge, skills and experiences.

The Transparency International movement, with its branches on every continent, provides support and space for new leaders of the anti-corruption fight and empowers groups that are often neglected and their interests ignored in decision-making processes. Therein lies the motive for working with professionals who lead innovative ways of fighting abuse – only through joint commitment and action can we protect public resources, restore trust and integrity in politics, stop money laundering and, of course, protect the public interest.

From the launch of the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium – which combines investigative journalism with civil society advocacy – to the establishment of international networks such as the UNCAC Coalition and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, TI relies on help of experts to drive meaningful change on a global scale.

In addition, Transparency International has been a member of the secretariat for the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) since 1997.

Transparency in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Transparency International in BiH was founded on February 23, 2001, as a full-fledged branch of the global movement Transparency International, and received full accreditation, as a result of successful activities, on October 12, 2002.

The activities of TI BiH move towards the realization of a global vision – a world in which governments, the business sector, civil society and citizens are free from corruption – which we achieve through activities in the areas of protecting public resources, establishing integrity in politics, enforcing laws and sanctioning violations, defending civil society and promoting integrity.

Since the establishment of Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Center for Providing Free Legal Aid to Citizens – ALAC (Advocacy and Legal Advice Center) has been operating, which provides legal assistance in cases of corruption reported by citizens with the aim of identifying structural, institutional and legal weaknesses.

ALAC acts as a basis for achieving the goals of advocating the policy of transparency and accountability of public institutions and the rule of law using all available legal mechanisms within the civil sector. Along the way, the Center received more than 30,000 reports from citizens who were witnesses or victims of corruption via the free info line 0800 55555, e-mail or the website prijavikorupciju.org.

Since its establishment, the Center for the provision of legal assistance initiated more than 3600 cases on the basis of citizens’ applications, making contact with all public bodies, government institutions, public enterprises or institutions with the aim of obtaining information of public importance and thereby influencing the strengthening of transparency, integrity and responsibility in the work of public administration.

Despite more than two decades of Transparency International’s efforts to combat corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina, its presence and negative effects on citizens and institutions are stronger than ever. Ranked as the third most corrupt country in Europe, right after the war-torn Ukraine and Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina has recorded a steady decline in the fight against corruption since 2012, as shown by CPI data, which is an alarming signal.

Increasingly pronounced political divisions along ethnic lines continue to hinder the democratic institutions necessary to govern the country and fight corruption, while an unexamined series of corruption affairs, none of which received a judicial epilogue, resignations and the extremely flawed procedure for appointing a new chief prosecutor have eroded the already low level of judicial integrity in BiH.

An additional reason for concern is the intentions of institutions throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina to suppress criticism and silence citizens, the media, the opposition and non-governmental organizations that point to corruption and other negative social phenomena. Announcements of laws criminalizing defamation, restricting the work of non-governmental organizations, limiting public space and suppressing alleged “fake news” are all indicators that corruption, if not prevented from the beginning, is revealed as the shadow of emerging authoritarian regimes that base their survival on diminishment and, ultimately, the abolition of human rights.

All these phenomena are the result of insufficient transparency when it comes to work of public authorities, captive institutions, failure to process corruption from the least serious offenses to multi-million dollar affairs, insufficient or no protection of whistleblowers, political captivity of judicial institutions, abuse of public resources – in short, everything that TI BiH promoted in its work as key problems in the last twenty years.

That is why an organization such as Transparency International, i.e. activities of this kind, are of key importance for Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens. Precisely, the trust of citizens is of key importance – it is therefore not surprising that citizens have more trust in organizations like Transparency International than in government institutions when it comes to the fight against corruption – and how can we look ahead if we don’t trust each other?

Look to the Future

A review of Transparency International’s global achievements around the world, but also in BiH, necessarily turns our eyes to the future, where the fight against corruption is more relevant and urgent than ever.

A successful fight against corruption means more rights for citizens, stronger democratic values as a counterweight to growing authoritarianism, exposing money laundering flows and using public resources for the benefit of all. Ultimately, fighting corruption helps global efforts to create a just and sustainable future, and places Bosnia and Herzegovina in the community of European states, where all citizens are equal in their rights and equally protected from injustice and abuse by those who wield the levers of political power.

The world deserves a global movement that holds accountable those who dispose of public resources and make decisions on behalf of all, supporting individuals who point out corruption.

Transparency International is, we hope, such a movement.

We will continue in our efforts to fulfill our vision: a world in which institutions, politics, business, civil society and citizens are free from corruption. This implies the fight against corruption in all its forms, which are becoming more and more complex, but also the protection of individuals who report it and advocacy for changes that will suppress corruption at every level.