Action on Arab Spring: Transparency International on the Deauville Summit
Though Transparency International welcomed the G8′s commitment to fight against corruption in Arab Spring nations, they made it clear that rhetoric without action is unacceptable. Specifically, there must be concrete action to recover stolen assets and further efforts to ensure such the flight of such assets in the future. Further criticism focused on the lack of commitments on mandatory disclosure requirements for oil, gas, and mining companies to governments.
Representative Angela McClellan summarized the positive and negative aspects of the comunique, noting the inclusion of civil society in the Arab Spring movements: “The G8 have today recognized the need for accountable institutions in Egypt and Tunisia, and civil society’s role in achieving that. This is a welcome development, and we look forward to engaging with the G8 to help build a more transparent future in the region. But aid is not enough; the G8 must also address the opacity of the financial system and multinational companies’ operations in these countries.”
Along with these comments, Transparency International released a list of actions that are needed to aid Egypt and Tunisia in the recovery of stolen assets. These include:
- Creating independently-run escrow accounts so that banks do not unethically profit from stolen assets that are frozen pending investigation and restitution
- Oblige banks to carry out enhanced due diligence on clients who are politicians or senior officials
- Fully support all legal actions aimed at recovering stolen assets, including assets transferred to trusts
- Create a fund to assist developing countries in their asset recovery efforts, which can support capacity building and legal assistance
- Make public the investigations into suspected illicit flows to strengthen public confidence that there is no impunity for corrupt dictators
Thus, while progress has certainly been made at Deauville, the road to transparency remains a long one.