Carlos Lusverti* Versión en español, aquí. What do Burundi, Libya, Myanmar, South Sudan and Venezuela have in common? All of them have been the focus of independent investigation mechanisms established by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate serious human rights violations occurring in these countries. Regarding Venezuela, in 2019 the Council adopted resolution 42/25 establishing an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), which is an international investigative body […]
More gender equality leads to less corruption: A call to action from the United Nations
Daniel Kempken* Versión en español aquí. Two major United Nations conferences held in 2021 highlighted the growing importance of the fight against corruption. One of the conclusions is that more equality between women and men leads to less corruption and vice versa. Now it is important to translate the UN recommendations into political practice and to […]
Corruption and Human Rights in the Orinoco Mining Arc: On the Report of the Independent International Mission to Venezuela
Ramiro Orias Arredondo* Versión en español aquí. The third report of the International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (FFM), presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council on September 20, 2022 (A/HRC/51/43), addresses the human rights situation in the region of the Orinoco Mining Arc and other areas of the Bolivar state, in […]
Accountability Abroad for Venezuelan State Corruption (Part III): The business scheme in the “Food for Venezuela” case, and the Mexican authorities’ response
Jan-Michael Simon Versión en español aquí. Part I of this series analyzed two ongoing criminal cases in the U.S. involving the laundering of proceeds of Venezuelan State corruption. One of them involves kickbacks in Venezuelan government purchases of food products exported from Mexico for a Venezuelan government social program (Food for Venezuela case). Part II examined how […]
Accountability Abroad for Venezuelan State Corruption (Part II): Accountability in Mexico
Jan-Michael Simon Versión en español aquí. In Part I of this series, the author discussed two criminal cases pending before U.S. courts: the Housing case and the Food for Venezuela case. Both deal with business transactions involving the proceeds of public corruption tied to the Venezuelan State’s investment in the welfare of its people. This […]
Accountability from abroad for corruption of the Venezuelan State (Part I): Accountability before US courts
Jan-Michael Simon Versión en español aquí. In a notorious, internationally known context of widespread public corruption in Venezuela, the justice systems of foreign states are expected to respond effectively when their territory is used to launder money gained from corrupt practices in Venezuelan territory. In the first part of a series of blogs, the author […]
The Urgent Need to Consolidate Democracy and the Rule of Law in Haiti
Gaël Pétillon* Versión en español aquí. According to the Haitian Constitution, the legislative, executive, and judicial powers constitute the essential foundation on which the State’s organization is based. Within the exercise of their respective powers, duties, and functions, they are entirely independent. However, since January 2020, the failure to hold legislative elections has resulted in a […]
Venezuela: The pandemic at the end of the world
José C. Ugaz SM* How grand corruption and its functional kleptocracy destroyed a nation, condemning millions of Venezuelans to misfortune, a country which went from Bolivar’s dream to a never-ending nightmare. Grand corruption is like the coronavirus. Just as the coronavirus enters organisms silently and does not become visible until it has already taken hold […]
The significance of the Engel list: against corruption and in defense of democracy
Katharine Valencia* Adapted from an article originally published on Revista Factum. Spanish version available here. There has been much attention to the “Engel List” in Central America in recent weeks. The list of corrupt and undemocratic actors published by the US Department of State on July 1 was highly anticipated, especially after a list of corrupt Central American […]
The Root of the Problem: Our Recommendations to the Biden Administration for Tackling Corruption in Central America’s Northern Triangle
Ursula Indacochea* and Katharine Valencia** Versión en español aquí. President Joe Biden’s Administration has been very clear that one of its top priorities is addressing the massive migration of people to the United States, mostly from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Biden has opted to distance himself from the human rights-violating policies and the hostile […]