What’s new?
The International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights members are not satisfied by COP28 agreements, seen by some as historic, but argue that commitments are undermined by corporate capture and false climate solutions.
ICYMI - interesting coverage of Sri Lanka’s ongoing debt restructuring and particularly private creditors pushing for more transparency over the IMF deal.
Encouraging to see Rana Foroohar, editor of the Financial Times, point out how tax justice debates have yet to hit the world’s riches. This is after the Economist has been highlighting economic debates over the extent of inequality.
An under the radar step toward global tax transparency as US accounting standard setters will require as soon as 2025 for companies to disclose income taxes paid to federal, international, and state governments, net of refunds received.
Freedom of information (FOI) laws are known to expose governmental weaknesses, but do they professionalize governance, improving the structural workings of government? Mariana Batista and Gregory Michener examine FOI's effect on governance-bureaucratic hiring.
TAI members have long been interested in how disclosures are used, and now the Global Data Barometer has released an analysis of how its datasets are being used and by whom.
Lame Dilotsotlhe highlights Uganda's transformative approach to public procurement through the implementation of the Contract Monitoring System and fostering a new relationship between government and civil society for improved public services.
Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, outlines a grassroots approach to dealing with disinformation including building critical analysis into school curricula and a “renewed commitment to authenticity, transparency and trust.”
The Financial Transparency Coalition uncovered the murky world of forced labor abuses in commercial fishing vessels and found that companies from just five countries – China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea and Spain – own almost two-thirds of accused vessels for which legal ownership data is available.
DIVERGENTES and CONNECTAS highlight the challenges faced by human rights defenders in Nicaragua, exposing state propaganda apparatus and digital manipulation tactics.
Get a sense of the latest volume of screened green bonds from Climate Bonds supported by IFC.
TAI’s Michael Jarvis and Alla Morrison of IFC detail six areas that could be the basis for new governance related KPIs in sustainability linked finance and call more more discourse among sustainable businesses, companies, and civil society advocates for governance.
ESSENTIAL WATCHING!
Hold the line: A film about human rights defenders, polluters, and the climate crisis from Oxfam.
FROM OUR MEMBERS
HEWLETT FOUNDATION: Read about The Legacy of President Larry Kramer.
USAID: USAID announces 14 measures to track key localization target, as USAID aims to have half its projects be locally led by 2030.
LUMINATE: Michelle Bachelet reflects on her experiences and the impact of the rise of the extreme right on women and democracy in Latin America, in the latest in Luminate and EL PAÍS América's Women Leaders of Latin America series.
TOOLS AND TRENDS FOR FUNDERS
On the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Guadalupe Marengo and Sharan Srinivas call on funders to support human rights defenders protection networks, while Andrés Navas and Soheila Comninos urge funders to embed protection throughout their programming.
TAI was happy to participate this October at the EDGE Funders Conference in Berlin. Now you can read the conference recap here. (Don’t forget our blog inspired by the session we co-moderated on gender-just economies.) EDGE is also announcing its next cohort of training for progressive funders - Global Engagement Lab 5. Register here.
As a WINGS member, we are excited to see the philanthropic support network receive a gift from MacKenzie Scott as one of 360 outstanding organizations getting awards. You can check the full list of recipients here.
Tracy McFerrin and Kathleen Boyle Dalen urge program officers to move past the scarcity mentality that undergirds much giving, and embrace a co-creator mindset, that shifts giving from transactional to relational.
FOCUSED TOPIC OF THE WEEK
Corruption
International Anti-Corruption Day this year served as a lead into the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and the 10th UNCAC Conference of the States Parties taking place in Atlanta. This interactive world map looks back on progress made over the past year in UNCAC implementation. Meanwhile, read all the official papers submitted for the conference here.
TAI enjoyed hearing the latest research and country cases on anti-corruption efforts ranging from procurement to beneficial ownership to the role of illegal betting in fueling corruption in sports. Also, well-timed for the conference, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian details the corrosive linkages between corruption and the sale of national passports in a new essay for Foreign Affairs.
In a thought-provoking exploration of corruption trends for 2024, Alina Mungiu-Pippidi questions the progress in the global fight against corruption and assesses whether countries have achieved good governance or experienced setbacks. Useful reading for those shaping future strategies and policies to address corruption effectively. You may also want to check out the Global Organized Crime Index, a comprehensive tool evaluating criminality and resilience to organized crime in 193 countries.
Amid all the exciting work happening, one dark cloud is the funding picture. Financial support for anti-corruption programming, both official aid and philanthropic grantmaking, is in decline as TAI’s own Cristina Ordóñez details here. USAID was a rare donor to make funding announcements.
ESSENTIAL READING
Porticus’ Human Dignity Series comes to an end, but you can read all the articles here. It includes an article by Lysa John, secretary general of CIVICUS, on dignity through civic engagement.
JOBS
Philanthropic Partnerships Director - The EDGE Funders Alliance
Director of Systemic Change - The EDGE Funders Alliance
Senior Program Officer, Asia-Pacific - Open Government Partnership
Consultants for capacity support to human rights organisations - Civil Rights Defenders
Project Officer - Southern Voice
Several openings - Open Contracting Partnership
Senior Engagement Manager, Executive Office - ClimateWorks Foundation
Regional Coordinator for Africa - Coalition for Human Rights in Development
Portfolio Manager - African Visionary Fund
Senior Programme Manager, Kenya - Porticus
CALLS
The DAC’s Network on Governance has launched a process to develop a set of “Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment”. Read the principles in English and French and send comments on this draft no later than 9 February 2024 by email to [email protected].
AFP offers free training in digital investigation and electoral disinformation through a self-directed course designed to combat the challenges of misinformation.
The World Justice Project (WJP) launches the World Justice Challenge 2024. This year's theme is "The Rule of Law Foundation of Democracy," with cash awards of $20,000 USD each for five promising projects.
Global Call for Contributions of the International Observatory On Information and Democracy - Forum Information & Democracy.
Call for proposals for the grant program “Contributing to Peaceful and Safe Societies”
The OECD invites public input on proposed changes to the Commentary on Article 5 of the OECD Model Tax Convention and its application to extractible natural resources.
The 2024 TRACE Prize for Investigative Reporting is open and accepting submissions - deadline January 31, 2024
CALENDAR
Symposium on Systems of Financial Secrecy co-hosted by Open Ownership and the LSE International Inequalities Institute, 21 February 2024
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