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Photo: Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA) and United Nations International Civil Servants Federation (UNISERV), along with statisticians, join the staff union in New York Headquarters. Credit: CCISUA

Staff Unions Threaten UN-Wide Work Stoppages Over Pay Cuts

By Shanta Roy

GENEVA (IDN) – A proposed salary cut – resulting from an "austerity agenda" – has triggered temporary work stoppages in UN offices in Geneva, Bangkok and Addis Ababa and is threatening to spread system-wide, including field operations.

The protest is led by three staff unions – the Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA), the Federation of International Civil Servants’ Associations (FICSA) and the United Nations International Civil Servants Federation (UNISERV) representing over 60,000 staffers worldwide – and is aimed primarily at the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC).

: Shanta Roy; UN INSIDER; 04 March 2018

Photo: African Union meeting end of January. Credit: Voices for Transparency

The Focus Turns To Corruption in 2018

By Joe Powell

The writer is Deputy CEO of Open Government Partnership (OGP). This article first appeared in Transparency International's blog Voices for Transparency. – The Editor

WASINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – Corruption continued to dominate headlines across the world in 2017. It ended political careers, motivated citizens to organize and advocate for reform, and was spurred by another major leak of documents revealing money laundering and elite capture in the Paradise Papers. It is one of the most challenging open government topics facing the world today.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 03 March 2018

Photo: "Comrade, your statement is factually incorrect." "Yes, it is. But it is politically correct." Credit: www.geopolintelligence.com

On the Use – or Abuse – of "Politically Correct"

Viewpoint by Marcelo Colussi*

GUATEMALA CITY (IDN) – Although it is not very clear – or not at all clear – what the "correct" in "politically corrrect" consists of, there is a general consensus that we must practice "correctness", that we must be "politically correct".

Pushed by this trend, then, we cannot say "blacks" but “people of colour" and we always have to make explicit reference to gender, among myriad others. Following the same line, we should not say "disabled” but "people with different abilities", "homosexual” and never "poof" and "third age" instead of "elderly " – never think of saying "old".

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 02 March 2018

Photo: Frying civic space. Illustration image | Source: Mauro Pimentel | Transparency International

Independent Media and Civil Society Under Assault

By Sean Buchanan

This is the fifth in a series of reports highlighting salient aspects of Transparency International's latest analysis on challenges posed by corruption around the world as well as successes and failures of efforts targeting a scourge that eats into the vitals of human rights. – The Editor.

LONDON (IDN) – Civil society organisations (CSOs) and independent media play a vital role in anti-corruption efforts, yet CSOs working on governance and human rights issues are subject to ever-greater restrictions on their operations while attacks on journalists are on the rise in many parts of the world.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 01 March 2018

Photo: Egypt Center, Ismailia, Egypt. Credit: Sophia Aalkova | Transparency

Corruption and Crackdowns on Civil Society Continue in Arab States

By Sean Buchanan

This is the fourth in a series of reports highlighting salient aspects of Transparency International's latest analysis on challenges posed by corruption around the world as well as successes and failures of efforts targeting a scourge that eats into the vitals of human rights. – The Editor.

LONDON (IDN) – In a region stricken by violent conflicts and dictatorships, corruption remains endemic in the Arab states while assaults on freedom of expression, press freedoms and civil society continue to escalate, reports Transparency International, the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption.

In its Corruption Perceptions Index 2017 released on February 21, the organisation notes that while there are signs of some small strides being taken to combat corruption, the overall picture is one of stagnation.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 01 March 2018

Photo: Dr. Daisaku Ikeda. Credit: Seikyo Shimbun.

Striving to Build a Broader Support for the Nuclear Ban Treaty

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) – The second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference in April and the UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament in May will draw the focus of the international community in the coming weeks as it moves toward paving the way for a nuclear-weapons free world.

Since the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted in July 2017, "these will be the first venues for debate and deliberation that will include both the nuclear-weapon and nuclear-dependent states," says eminent Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda, founder and President of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) with 12 million members in 192 countries and regions.

: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 28 February 2018

Photo: Singapore. Credit: Sven Scheuermeier on Unsplash

Patchy Progress on Fighting Corruption across Asia-Pacific

By Sean Buchanan

This is the third in a series of reports highlighting salient aspects of Transparency International's latest analysis on challenges posed by corruption around the world as well as successes and failures of efforts targeting a scourge that eats into the vitals of human rights. – The Editor.

LONDON (IDN) – When it comes to the fight against corruption, countries in the Asia-Pacific region are failing on average, according to this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International.

The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 February 2018

Photo: The building of the Hungarian Parliament, May 2013. According to TI, Hungary is one of the most alarming examples of shrinking civil society space in Eastern Europe. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

More Civil Engagement Called for in Eastern, South-East Europe

By Sean Buchanan

This is the second in a series of reports highlighting salient aspects of Transparency International's latest analysis on challenges posed by corruption around the world as well as successes and failures of efforts targeting a scourge that eats into the vitals of human rights. – The Editor.

LONDON (IDN) – When it comes to corruption, Western Europe is the world's best performing region while the Eastern and South-East Europe region is among the worst, according to the latest index from Transparency International (TI), the global anti-corruption coalition.

The group's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2017 released on February 21 shows that authoritarianism rose across the region in 2017, hindering anti-corruption efforts and threatening civil liberties, with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and independent media experiencing challenges in their ability to monitor and criticise decision-makers.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 28 February 2018

Photo: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 20, 2016 declares a state of emergency for three months with the goal of eliminating his internal enemies. Credit: Turkish government photo.

Erdoğan's Neo-Ottomanism at a Dangerous Turning Point

By Pier Francesco Zarcone*

ROME (IDN) – It is not being dealt with by major media, but there appear to be new and dangerous winds of war about to blow in the eastern Mediterranean.

On October 15, 2016, in a speech at the university that (modestly) bears his name, Turkish President Recep Erdoğan outlined some lines of his new foreign policy, announcing the intention to regain territories lost by the Ottoman Empire following defeat in the First World War, with specific reference to Western Thrace and the Dodecanese, all areas belonging to Greece, in theory an ally of Turkey in NATO.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 28 February 2018

Photo: Congo’s UN mission said on March 18, 2017 that government forces had targeted civilians, including women and children, resulting in numerous deaths in central Congo and were restricting United Nations peacekeepers’ access to the area. Credit: nileinternational.net

UN Peacekeeping Needs Thorough Reform

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The new, vicious, fighting in the Congo is the fourth round of warfare since independence in 1960. No other country has seen so many “blue berets” – UN peacekeeping troops – in its short history.

The Belgian colonialists may have exploited it and transferred massive amounts of its wealth back to Belgium but one leader after another has continued in its steps, making use of the country’s vast mineral deposits to build an edifice of wealth and unilateral power. Leaders have played on tribal fears and insecurity. War has been the outcome.