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	In Nigeria, many anti-corruption policies and lots of corruption, too by BBC, Global Witness, Open Society, agencies   August 2017   Nigerian officials collect bribes totalling $1.2 billion each year, reports Government statistics office. (Reuters)   Almost a third of adult Nigerians pay civil servants and other public officials bribes totalling 400 billion naira ($1.27 billion) annually, the country''s statistics office said in a survey on graft.   The poll among households shows the uphill challenge the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is facing in fighting corruption, which has undermined development in the oil exporter for decades.   Nigerians spent 400 billion naira - the equivalent of 39 percent of the combined federal and state education budget in 2016 - to bribe officials between June 2015 and May 2016, according to the office.   The survey, released this week, does not necessarily include high-profile executive corruption cases such as the theft of oil revenues, which have made headlines in the past.   It shows that despite government action to put senior officials accused of graft on trial, Nigerians still have to pay every day for basic services such as dealing with customs or police officers.   Buhari took office in May 2015 vowing to crack down on corruption, but there have been no high-profile graft convictions so far.   "The average sum paid as a cash bribe in Nigeria is approximately naira 5,300", or the equivalent of an eighth of monthly salaries, the report said.   Some 42 percent of those polled had to pay bribes to speed up or finalize administrative work which civil servants would otherwise have delayed or refused to do. Some 18 percent of bribes were paid to avoid a fine and 13 percent to avoid cancelling of state services such as a water supply.   Passports or driving licences often cannot be obtained unless officials are paid a "dash", as a bribe is known in the West African nation.   Police officers were the largest group of bribe takers, though - by value - customs officers topped the list followed by judges, the report said. Officers force motorists to pay bribes or receive fines for minor traffic violations.   Nigeria imports much of what it needs, from basic food to consumer goods, machines and cars. Prices are sometime double what would be paid in producing countries as firms and retailers factor in custom duties and bribes.   The survey, which was supported by a U.N. agency and the European Union, is based on 33,067 interviews with adults across Nigeria. http://tmsnrt.rs/2iltKKh   April 2017 (BBC News/Global Witness)   The BBC has seen evidence that top executives at Shell knew money paid to the Nigerian government for a vast oil field would be passed to a convicted money-launderer.   It also had reason to believe that money would be used to pay political bribes.   The deal was concluded while Shell was operating under a probation order for a separate corruption case in Nigeria. Shell said it did not believe its employees acted illegally.   OPL 245 is an oilfield off the coast of Nigeria whose estimated nine billion barrels of oil are worth nearly half a trillion dollars at today''s prices. Shell has been active in Nigeria for nearly 60 years and was keen to acquire the field.   New evidence shows just how far Shell was prepared to go to get its hands on it.   Standing between Shell and its prize was Dan Etete, whose company acquired the rights to OPL 245 for a tiny sum while he was oil minister of Nigeria. He was later convicted of money laundering in a different case.   Shell and the Italian oil company ENI eventually acquired OPL 245 in 2011 - by paying $1.3bn to the Nigerian government.   The government promptly passed on more than $1bn of the money to a company called Malabu, which was controlled by Dan Etete.   Emails obtained by anti-corruption charities Global Witness and Finance Uncovered, and seen by the BBC, show that Shell representatives were negotiating with Etete for a year before the deal was finalised.   In March 2010, an email from a former MI6 officer employed by Shell shows the company believed Etete stood to benefit from the deal.   "Etete can smell the money. If, at 70 years old, he does turn his nose up at 1.2 bill he is completely certifiable and we should then probably just hold out until nature takes its course with him."   That email was forwarded to the then Shell chief executive Peter Voser - one of the most powerful men in the oil business - showing knowledge of Etete''s involvement went right to the top.   Shell also had good reason to suspect that hundreds of millions would end up in the pockets of Nigerian politicians including the former President Goodluck Jonathan.   In an email from July, the same Shell employee says Etete''s negotiating strategy is "clearly an attempt to deliver significant revenues to GLJ [Goodluck Jonathan] as part of any transaction."   Italian prosecutors allege that $466m were laundered through a network of Nigerian bureaux de change to facilitate payments to President Jonathan and other politicians.   A spokesperson for Goodluck Jonathan told the BBC that no charges or indictments have been brought or secured against the former president relating to this transaction and described the allegations as a "false narrative".   The BBC is still awaiting comment from Dan Etete, but he has previously denied any wrongdoing.   The controversy around this deal has attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies in Italy and the Netherlands.   In February of 2016 Shell''s offices in the Hague were raided and documents removed.   On the day of the raid, the current chief executive, Ben van Beurden, called the now former chief financial officer Simon Henry to discuss the raid. That call was recorded by Dutch law enforcement officials and has been heard by the BBC.   On that call, Mr van Beurden said that Shell''s own investigation had turned up correspondence from the former MI6 officers which he described as "just pub talk in emails which was stupid but nevertheless it''s there" and acknowledged they were "really unhelpful".   The emails the BBC has seen appear to be more than pub talk. They seem to show that a number of Shell executives were aware that a company controlled by Etete would ultimately receive more than $1bn and were advised by their own employees that the money was likely to end up being paid in political kickbacks.   In a statement, Shell said it did not believe that any current or former employees had acted illegally. It also said that if any payments were made by Malabu to government officials then it was done without its knowledge, authorisation or on its behalf.   ENI said an independent investigation had found "no credible evidence of the involvement of Eni staff in corrupt activities with Nigerian government officials, nor any knowledge of the actual existence of such activities by third parties in connection with the transaction".   It should be remembered that this deal was concluded just months after Shell had paid $30m to settle previous allegations of bribery in Nigeria and elsewhere.   As part of a deal to spare the company a damaging criminal conviction in that case, Shell agreed to what was, in effect, a probation order, by giving an undertaking to the US Department of Justice to tighten up its internal controls in order to stay in compliance with America''s anti-corruption laws.   The question for Shell is what on earth were they doing negotiating with a convicted money launderer, who they suspected might pass the money to the president, months after reaching a previous bribery settlement in the same country.   Matthew Page worked for the US State Department in Nigeria for 15 years. He told the BBC: "At a time when Shell should have been cautious having just settled a previous case, rather than walk away from a deal with clear corruption risks, they doubled down."   Barnaby Pace, a campaigner at Global Witness, said: "The $1bn that Shell paid for this massive offshore oil licence in Nigeria is equivalent to more than the 2016 ministry of health budget in Nigeria - a country where one in ten children don''t live to see their fifth birthday. And these companies need to face justice for what they have done."   Italian courts will decide whether to proceed with criminal proceedings against Shell and its partner ENI on 20 April.   Corruption may be a stubbornly regrettable fact of life in Nigeria. And it may be very difficult to drill for oil there without buying access through corrupt payments to politicians. Western companies - and their investors - have to decide if that is a price worth paying. Lawmakers will have to decide whether the weapons they have to stop it are sufficient to deter it. http://bbc.in/2nTa9yt   * Access the Global Witness report: http://www.globalwitness.org/en-gb/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/shell-knew/   June 2016   In Nigeria, many anti-corruption policies and lots of corruption, too, by Joseph Amenaghawon & Udo Jude Ilo. (Open Society Initiative for West Africa)   British Prime Minister David Cameron made headlines ahead of the much-hyped anticorruption summit hosted in London last month when a TV crew captured him calling Nigeria and Afghanistan “fantastically corrupt” in a conversation with the Queen and the archbishop of Canterbury.   Less provocative—and therefore receiving less coverage—was the archbishop’s response that, actually, current Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who campaigned on an anticorruption platform, is not corrupt.   In the wake of the Panama Papers leaks, which revealed the role that British banks and tax havens play in sheltering money, the irony of Cameron’s comment was noteworthy. Remarkably, Buhari mostly brushed off questions regarding Cameron’s faux pas, and acknowledged that Nigeria does indeed have a serious problem with corruption. He then used the attention to ask not for an apology, but for the swift return of proven stolen assets believed to be hidden in UK banks. (Nigeria is seeking to recover more than $10 billion in cash and assets lost through graft.)   Like other countries at the summit, Nigeria also made substantial commitments to crack down on corruption, including with stricter beneficial ownership disclosure legislation, improvement in the transparency of public procurement processes, and greater adherence to the principles and processes supported by the Open Government Partnership, through which 69 countries have agreed to make their governments more accountable.   However, given the pervasiveness of corruption in the country, Nigeria needs more than just commitments. Anticorruption efforts by the Buhari administration in its first year have been slow. The success of these efforts depends on getting the requisite public buy-in—the war on corruption cannot be fought by Buhari alone.   Although most Nigerians agree corruption is endemic, in most cases they also participate in small-scale transactional practices that undermine the country. In order for progress to be made, Nigerians must abstain from corruption in every form, not just condemn it.   The country’s value system—which celebrates even wealth obtained by questionable means—is greatly flawed. Strategic and effective public education must be developed to ensure a change of attitude and show people the true and damaging effects of corruption. Young people, in particular, should be brought on board to begin to build a new culture.   For starters, Nigeria’s commitments at the summit need to be incorporated into a national anticorruption strategy that focuses on key areas, such as public procurement, asset recovery, enforcement of existing laws, and revitalization of existing agencies.   In Nigeria, as in many other West African countries, most government funds are spent on public procurement—things like infrastructure, health and educational supplies, and agricultural materials. Cases of ghost workers and padded budgets show how pervasive corruption is in public spending. Buhari should fulfill his campaign promise to approve spending through the National Council on Public Procurement (NCPP), rather than the National Executive Council, which currently approves bids without oversight.   Another factor hampering asset recovery and faith in government actions in Nigeria is that there is no publicly available data on the physical and financial assets that have been recovered inside or outside the country. Without those numbers, it’s impossible to know who stole what, how much of it has been recovered, or where the recovered assets have been used. Buhari must make good on his pledge to implement internationally endorsed guidelines for the accountable management of returned stolen assets.   One existing law can be a big help as Nigeria steps up its fight against corruption. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 limits the use of appeals in criminal trials, increases coordination among justice institutions, and creates new pretrial management techniques that allow faster commencement of substantive trials. The law was passed because ineffective coordination and weak criminal procedures have enabled lawyers to undermine processes. Implementation has been slow, however.   Buhari should also coordinate and strengthen agencies whose purview includes corruption. Nigeria has no less than five commissions, bureaus, and tribunals that have the power to investigate and prosecute corrupt practices. But the current administrative set-up—including questions about the role of the attorney general in cases brought by other agencies—makes coordination extremely difficult. It is important to provide clear administrative protocols that make for more effective and cordial relationships among these institutions.   No matter how good Buhari’s strategy is, synergy and partnerships throughout the country are vital to his anticorruption crusade. The president must counter the narrative that the anticorruption war is only being waged in the executive branch.   Buhari has promised to link the public and private sectors in his efforts to ensure information sharing between law enforcement and the financial sector. He needs to do so soon. But first he must enlist the help of his countrymen and women and impress upon them the urgency of the cause. Without their support, a more open and accountable Nigeria will remain out of reach. http://osf.to/294FdX6   * Sarah Chayes discusses her book ''Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security''. Sarah is a senior associate in the Carnegie Foundation''s Democracy and Rule of Law program, see: http://ab.co/2fAXCQB
	Extreme poverty is a violation of human rights by Isabelle Pypaert Perrin ATD Fourth World France   Speech at the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie – Paris, France, 10 June 2016 by Isabelle Pypaert Perrin, Director General of ATD Fourth World, on the occasion of the sixth official meeting of the International Committee for October 17.   In 1957, Joseph Wresinski went to live alongside families whose homes were in the mud of a former rubbish dump in Noisy-le-Grand, France. In these families he saw the courage of his own family and especially of his mother, who faced humiliating situations yet fought for her children to grow up in freedom and dignity.   With these families, he developed projects that promoted family, social, and cultural values. Together they researched their history, and they found purpose and gained the strength to stand proudly as men and women who have something unique to offer the world.   They were joined by people of different backgrounds who were seeking to create new relationships based on equality, dignity, and a refusal to leave anyone aside, and they founded ATD Fourth World.   On 17 October 1987, over 100,000 defenders of human rights from all over the world gathered on the human rights plaza of the Trocadero in Paris.   They stood there with Joseph Wresinski as he declared that extreme poverty is a violation of human rights, and they unveiled a commemorative stone calling for poverty to be abolished.   Today their voices continue to rise from areas of extreme poverty. They tell the world of the strength of people who resist poverty, who gather together and invite everyone to join and strengthen this movement that carries the hope of a world without poverty.   In 1992, the United Nations declared 17 October the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty; and in 2006 the Secretary-General of the United Nations acknowledged the powerful spirit of this day and asserted that people who struggle against poverty day after day are the primary builders of a fairer and more fraternal society.   People who live in poverty, and who thus endure all kinds of violence, teach us the true meaning of peace. Every day they pay the price, most often in silence.   For example, Yvanite, from Haiti, declined to press charges against a neighbour who had wronged her because she saw that this woman, like herself, was forced to struggle alone, without any resources, to bring up her children.   Every day people in poverty try to live in solidarity and friendship, but their efforts are mostly unseen or misunderstood.   Michel in Belgium is another example. He spends his days and nights meeting people who are forced to live in the streets. He grew up in institutions and spent time on the streets himself; and now, because he welcomes people without homes into his own home, he gets complaints from neighbors and municipal authorities.   People in poverty need so much courage and intelligence each day to create peaceful solutions in the most difficult situations.   Another example: In a country devastated by civil war, young people confront bullets to bring books to children so that their intelligence will not be wasted. It makes us ask: when will these unexpected gestures of peace be recognized by a Nobel Peace Prize?   The year 2017 is right around the corner, and it’s up to us all to make it a new step on the path of liberation and peace.   News from around the world is troubling. It can drive us to look for more security for ourselves — at the price of more insecurity for others — or it can lead us to find new resources, new strength, new ideas, and new ways to live together.   We can find this with Mr. Parfait, who lives outside Bangui in the Central African Republic. Mr. Parfait works for hours on end under the sun, trying in vain to make ends meet. But even so, along with others, he always looks for ways to open a future for people even less fortunate than himself. Recently he told us, “What worries me is extreme poverty. We have no shortage of worries, but worries don’t lead to progress. For those of us who are working towards peace, we can’t stop there.”   Mr. Parfait, and those like him who resist poverty, invite us to join them in their action.   This is why ATD Fourth World and the International Committee for October 17 are preparing to launch a worldwide campaign to combat extreme poverty and create peace.   This campaign follows our policy initiative that contributed to the international community’s commitment to leave no one aside. It calls for us to get together and, by 2030, to eradicate poverty of all kinds everywhere.   For us it makes a lot of sense to speak about this campaign publicly for the first time here at this centre of La Francophonie [French-speaking communities], where member nations meet in a spirit of peace and human rights.   For 2017, we invite everyone to join this meeting between people who fight poverty and people who carry an ideal of justice and fellowship.   For 2017, through thousands of stories of courage and resistance, through concerts, songs, artistic creations, and films, through seminars and conferences, events and informal encounters between people who would never otherwise meet, we hope to show that when we come together, we can defeat poverty.   We are convinced that, through this campaign, young people around the world will find the inspiration, the strength, and the confidence to confront the challenges of today and to build the future of tomorrow.   ATD Fourth World’s written contribution to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), a statement called “Leave No One Behind”states, in part:   “Fighting against stigmatization and discrimination is crucial in the commitment to further social progress and eradicate extreme poverty. Though there are many barriers to it, the participation of people living in poverty provides learning and regenerating processes for people and institutions that commit to them.   ATD Fourth World proposes the following areas that are crosscutting and particularly important to address together with people living in poverty, especially those who are the furthest behind: tackling climate change; ensuring social protection, quality education, and access to decent work for all; defining and measuring poverty with those furthest behind.   ATD also proposes that people affected by humanitarian crises, including the most vulnerable and those furthest behind, not only be informed and consulted, but put at the centre of decision-making processes to meaningfully influence humanitarian action.” Visit the related web page
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