International Secretariat
Alt-Moabit 96 10559 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49-30-3438 20-0 Fax: +49-30-3470 3912 Email: ti@transparency.org www.transparency.org
The Rt Hon David Cameron MP Prime Minister 10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA
25 April 2013 Dear Prime Minister, It was good to meet you at Downing Street yesterday, along with other NGO leaders, to discuss the post-2015 agenda. I welcome the statements you have made about the importance of tackling corruption beyond 2015 as part of the golden thread. I am responding to your suggestion yesterday that civil society can help in achieving a good High Level Panel outcome. The Transparency International movement is keen to assist you in this, both in the UK and through the work of our 100 chapters worldwide. Transparency International believes that anti-corruption and good governance should be an integral part of the global agenda post-2015. The background paper attached to this letter stresses the importance of open, accountable, and participatory governance as a way to improve people’s lives and contribute significantly to reducing poverty. Due to its crucial importance, we believe that governance should be adopted as a stand-alone goal in the development process beyond 2015. We propose the following set of target recommendations that are essential for achieving effective and just governance: Target 1: Citizen engagement: Guarantee active and meaningful participation of all citizens in decisions that affect them, their communities, and our planet. Target 2: Rule of law: Ensure that the rule of law is respected, implemented and upheld by institutions that are well-resourced, independent, honest, professional, and competent. Target 3: Fiscal transparency: Ensure that all countries publish all budget-related documentation, including revenues and payments, in a timely, accessible, detailed and understandable manner, and ensure that countries cooperate in the prevention, detection and eradication of all illicit flows. Target 4: Procurement: Guarantee that all countries have transparent and accountable procurement processes that are based on openness, competition and objective criteria.
Transparency International also recommends that the governance principles of transparency, accountability, integrity and participation are integrated into all other proposed goals, each with measurable, intermediate and progressive targets. Governance principles must also be embedded in the process used for determining these commitments, the indicators selected for their monitoring, and the entire implementation process. As such, a monitoring system that has disaggregated, timely, understandable and accessible information will be critical. Transparency International hopes these recommendations prove useful for the High Level Panel’s work. I would welcome a meeting with officials in the UK to discuss the merits of a stand-alone governance goal, and how good
governance can be integrated into other goals. Do let me know if your advisers would like to discuss this in further detail. Thank you in advance for your attention and consideration. Yours sincerely,
Robert Barrington Executive Director Transparency International UK Cc Michael Anderson, DFID