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Organizations and specialists call a “Social Anti-Corruption Agreement”

From Fundeps we adhere to the initiative of a group of civil society organizations and specialists in the pursuit of public policies that prevent and punish corruption with a focus on human rights.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

A diverse group of specialists and civil society organizations developed a “Social Anti-Corruption Agreement”, a document in which they identify a set of public policy proposals that Argentina should implement to ensure state capacities in prevention, detection and sanction of the corruption.

The document is available at  www.acuerdoanticorrupcion.org y se encuentra abierto a adhesiones desde el miércoles 16 de octubre del 2019.

The Agreement sets the stage for a public debate focused on the impact of corruption on inequality, human rights and the quality of democracy. The reforms that are promoted are aimed at the different powers of the State.

The group that drives this initiative is made up of Roberto Carlés​, Manuel Garrido​, Ricardo Gil Lavedra​, Natalia Volosin​, ACIJ​, Acción Colectiva​, CIPCE​, Directorio Legislativo​, Poder Ciudadano​, Cambio Democrático​, CLADH, Democracia en Red​, Nuestra Mendoza y Salta Transparente​.

The document contains a total of 74 proposals, which are part of 16 thematic axes, presented in the following 6 sections: “A new national integrity system”; “Investigation and sanction of public and private corruption”; “Prevention of corruption in typically critical situations”; “Transparency policies”; “Institutional strengthening”; and “Citizen Participation.”

Among the thematic axes that are proposed are the reform in the field of public ethics, a new system of purchases and contracting of the State, procedural improvements for the prosecution of corruption, transparency policies in the financing of the policy, improvements in the mechanisms and control bodies, transparency in markets and financial flows, as well as the opening of instances of citizen participation in the fight against corruption.

Argentine institutions suffer from structural deficiencies, the product of which corruption affects the full validity of human rights, mainly in the most vulnerable sectors. This phenomenon, in which both the State and the private sector occupy a central role, impacts the quality and availability of public goods and services and undermines confidence in the institutions of democracy.

In order for these public policy proposals to be effective, the authorities must promote their implementation through the full participation of citizens, in a transparent manner and through a constant process of accountability. For this, it is essential to establish indicators that allow to know the evolution of these policies and their effective impact in the fight against corruption.

Accordingly, the Anti-Corruption Social Agreement is a call to all the actors of Argentine social life, and particularly to the parties, political referents and authorities of all the powers of the State, to adhere to this document and use it as a trigger for new debates, in order to generate the structural and long-term consensus that we need to reach for the construction of a country with less corruption and, in particular, more just and equal.

From Fundeps we gave our support, add your membership.

Contact:

Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org

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Coming Soon: Fourth Open Government Action Plan

Since June, different instances of co-creation between civil society and government have been carried out with a view to the elaboration of the Fourth Open Government Plan of Argentina. This will be published at the beginning of September and there are still instances of virtual participation for those interested in making contributions.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Argentina has already implemented three Open Government plans, drawn up in the framework of the Open Government Alliance (OGP). In 2020, the Fourth Plan should be implemented, so that from the National Open Government Bureau – composed of government and civil society representatives – proposals were received for the elaboration of the new commitments.

In order to work in depth on the elaboration of these commitments, 14 tables of various topics were developed such as: Extractive Industries, Indigenous Affairs, Budget Transparency, Public Works, Trafficking in Persons, Water and Sanitation, Access to Justice, Gender and others. From Fundeps, we were participating in the table of Subnational Governments and in the table convened by INAM that addressed the federalization of the Micaela Law.

Also, we were present in the writing both commitments, which will be submitted to public consultation during the month of August. To participate in the public consultation, you must enter the following link.

More information

Contact

Carolina Tamagnini – carotamagnini@fundeps.org

The summit OGP left more questions than answers

During the week of May 27 to 31, the Global Summit of the Open Government Partnership took place in Ottawa, Canada. Governments, civil society and fans of transparency issues met to discuss the benefits of government openness. What did the conference leave us?

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The Open Government Partnership (OGP or Alliance for Open Government), is a multilateral initiative formed in 2008 at the suggestion of the President of the United States, Barack Obama before the General Assembly of the UN. Since then, the imprint of this ‘institution’ has been to get governments around the world to implement more and better public policies of transparency, openness and citizen participation.

Through action plans that last two years, the States commit themselves to design policies closer to the citizen’s reality, which transparent the acts of governments and allow social participation. It is about short and concrete actions, whose purpose is to achieve the construction of more solid, inclusive and reliable institutions.

The OGP, from its conception, carries out ‘Global Summits’ that serve as a space for the exchange of experiences and good practices in terms of open government. In 2019, the sixth summit was held, with more than 1000 participants from approximately 90 countries of the world and more than 80 panels of experts and experts.

However, after having toured the Summit and participated in the discussions, more questions and doubts appear, than answers. Although the spaces of the Global Summits serve to know the reality of open government in other parts of the world, the real objective is to ensure that this exchange provides tools to bring the government closer to the general public. The key idea has always been How to make government openness change people’s lives and bring solutions to current social problems?

This 2019, the panels and talks were very focused on the question of the principles of Open Government, rather than on the solutions that this paradigm can provide. In general terms, there was a feeling of ‘going back’ in the discussions, taking up old problems and leaving out important issues such as: health, the environment, climate change, public services, access to water, education, natural resources, among other rights. Although at one point, from OGP, the idea of starting to pay attention to the most concrete issues where a contribution could be made was promoted, this Summit did not seem to pick it up.
In 2017, at the Regional Summit for the Americas of OGP, the motto was to take a step forward with the idea of Open Government, to see concrete results. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be present in today’s discussions. Despite having managed to include the gender issue through the creation of the Feminist Open Government, there are still gaps to be addressed in human rights issues in general.
In 2019 the motto was ‘inclusion’. However, the Summit was not inclusive. Those that are intended to be included in open government discussions were not present in that space: indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, vulnerable and marginalized groups, among others. Empowering those who are already empowered, does not make sense. Convincing those of us who are already convinced that open government works, either.

To achieve progress in this area, it is crucial to be able to include those who do not have access to technology, those whose rights are violated and those who do not have a voice when making decisions.

Within the debates of this year, the little and almost negligible number of commitments related to citizen participation and inclusion was highlighted. In spite of this, it was good to know that Latin America is the most powerful region in this regard, with more than half of the commitments in this area. It’s enough? No. There is still a long way to go and solve. Without going any further, Latin America is also the most dangerous region for human rights defenders.

In what way can open government correct this contradiction? We are the region that has made the most progress in terms of transparency, but the most dangerous for those who seek to participate in decision-making. The general levels of openness have improved, but people have never been more suspicious of institutions. The space of the Summit should have served to put these problems on the table.

It is important to be able to discuss what happens after transparency, what happens after the publication of data, how does that translate into higher quality, informed and participatory public policies? How can we be more inclusive and ensure that these policies represent all social groups? At the summit many problems were raised but few solutions. It is necessary to get governments committed to developing more transformative plans that strengthen the institutions from their foundations, and not initiatives of two years (or less) that then do not translate into stable practices. Again, how is the transcendence of open government achieved? How can we prevent this from becoming a passing fad that changes when the governments in power give way to new political actors?

By the year 2020, Argentina will have the presidency of OGP and the Global Summit will move here. It will be an excellent opportunity to include those who were not present this year, and to discuss the issues that take us away from our places of conformity and privilege. It is time for ‘open government’ to stop being something that is discussed in circles of ‘enlightened’ and elites, so that it finally achieves that those who should be included can participate effectively and without fear.

More information:

Global Summit of OGP 2019

Regional OGP Summit for the Americas 2017

Contact:

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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Organizations promote an Open State law in Salta

After several months of waiting, the government of the province of Salta presented a preliminary draft of the Open State, goal committed by the province in 2017 for the III Plan of the Alliance for Open Government. Organizations from all over the country added contributions to the text of the project.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

After more than a year of delay in fulfilling a commitment assumed by the province of Salta regarding transparency, the organizations finally managed to unblock the discussion and accede to the draft of the Open State Law. It is a commitment that Urtubey undertook within the framework of the Third National Plan of Open Government Action, a work plan signed in 2017 together with areas of the National Executive Power, the Congress, the Council of the Magistracy and other 10 provinces that added subnational commitments.

“Salta does not yet have a law that guarantees access to public information and transparency, if the government fulfills its commitment, and the Open State Law is sanctioned, we will have taken a significant step in terms of institutional and democratic quality.” , says Gonzalo Guzmán Coraita, Director of Transparent Salta.

The bill aims to regulate access to information and transparency in the province, one of the few that does not have this regulation. From the Civil Society the proposal is clear: it is necessary that it be law, and for this the project must finally reach the Legislature and that the debate be open and facing the citizenship to continue participating in the process of formation of the law, for ensure that the regulations are complete and comprehensive, as proposed.

It is fundamental that the regulations reach as mandatory subjects all the powers of the provincial State, that make available not only administrative information but also the relative to the particular work of each area and that are clear the functions and autonomy of the guarantor body, how it will be constituted and its members will be elected.

Salta Transparente, a local organization that heads the work of civil society on issues of transparency, access to information and public ethics, has been working together with the Fundación Directorio Legislativo and provincial organizations to monitor commitments undertaken by governments on transparency and accountability. We worked on recommendations and contributions with organizations from different parts of the country such as Legislative Directory, Citizen Power, Our Mendoza Foundation, Open Knowledge Foundation, Fundeps, CLADH, School of Prosecutors, FEIM, Transparencia Ciudadana Foundation, among others.

On May 21, Governor Urtubey sent the project to the legislature, with some of the changes presented by civil society to the original project. We have not yet received a response and justification on the incorporation of the high comments. The approval of this norm means a great advance at the provincial level in terms of access to information, transparency and open government. It would set a precedent for the advance of the rest of the country in more robust legislation on access to information.

More information:

Contact:

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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What is the national anti-corruption plan that seeks to consolidate “transparency and integrity”?

Corruption is a complex, multifaceted, social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries, with serious consequences. According to the World Bank “… corruption is commonly defined as the abuse of a public or private office for personal gain …”

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Last Thursday, April 11, the government made official, through a decree, the launch of a new anti-corruption plan that will govern in the 2019-2023 period. This measure was promoted by the Anticorruption Office, headed by Laura Alonso, and by the Secretariat for Institutional Strengthening, which is under the command of Fernando Sánchez. The plan is based mainly on four international conventions that have been ratified by our country:

  1. Inter-American Convention against Corruption of the Organization of American States (CICC).
  2. United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
  3. United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.
  4. Convention on the Fight against the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Trade Transactions of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In addition, the evaluations that the monitoring mechanisms have carried out for Argentina have been taken into account.

It is a package of 250 initiatives that will be applied during the next 5 years, in accordance with a variety of priority objectives and strategic guidelines. Each one of them has a specific execution period, whose fulfillment will be in charge of the responsible body that has been assigned to it. The regulations will reach 48 committed state agencies, 22 centralized and 26 decentralized.

According to Laura Alonso, in an interview for the newspaper La Prensa, the new plan is based on “three fundamental axes: promotion of integrity and transparency; the control and punishment of corruption in the administrative sphere; and to commit all the Ministries and the decentralized agencies of the national Executive Power, to propose specific sectoral policies. ”

Among the previously mentioned priority objectives we can find: Institutional strengthening, Modernization of the State and Intelligent insertion to the world, which in turn are related to the strategic guidelines mentioned by the head of the Anticorruption Office. Likewise, as a basis, the plan takes the paradigm of open government and transparency.

Within the proposed reforms and actions, the work is established in:

  • Public procurement systems: everything related to public procurement, establishment of computer systems and the development of participatory tables for the governance of public works are expected to be transparent. Likewise, it seeks to implement integrity programs and open contracting systems.
  • Active focused transparency: refers to the proactive publication of key information on corruption issues: budget, purchases and hiring, staffing, subsidy and transfer beneficiaries, official advertising, financing to political parties, among others. In the same way, the officials involved in public access issues will be trained and an active transparency index will be published.

This series of reforms is a key starting point for the consolidation of an efficient State, with a high degree of transparency and adaptable to the new demands of contemporary society. It is also important that civil society is attentive to compliance and implementation of the measures described in the plan. It is important that a State accompanies measures of sanction and punishment of corruption, with systems of institutional strengthening and transparency that prevent crimes of this type. For this last reason, we celebrate the plan, and we hope it will continue after the 2019 elections. In addition, it is expected that there will be periodic reports showing the progress of the actions underway to complete the proposal.

More information:

Contact:

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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Argentina, one step away from repaying a historical debt with childhood

After fourteen years of apathy, at the end of April, the process of appointing the highest authority of the Defensoría de Niños y Adolescentes ended. The Permanent Bicameral Commission “Defender of the Rights of Children and Adolescents” of the Chamber of Deputies agreed to appoint Marisa Graham as head of the body, thus paying off a historical debt to children. In addition, the commission nominated Facundo Hernández and Fabián Marcelo Repetto to fill the positions as deputy. These proposals have yet to be ratified by both Houses of this Congress.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The Law on the Comprehensive Protection of the Rights of the Child, enacted in 2005, provided for the appointment of a child defender with specific powers, including initiating collective actions in defense of this historically violated group and supervising to the public institutions that house them. During the years in which the position was vacant, the organizations complained to international human rights organizations about the appointment of a holder.
After more than a decade, in 2019 a decision was reached that was decided after a transparent process of thorough evaluation of the capacities of the candidates. This process had shortcomings on the road and was delayed more than it should. That is why it is urgent that the selection of Graham lawyer is final, so that the agency begins to operate immediately as stipulated by law.
Having a head of the Ombudsman is essential to ensure full compliance with the rights of the child. The signing of the agreement reached by the bicameral commission is fundamental to avoid further deepening the violations of rights that children and adolescents face every day in our country.

Once again, it is important to emphasize that the result of the process, almost unprecedented in Argentina, was based on the principles of transparency and suitability. The selection of Marisa Graham and the Deputy Advocates respected the demands of civil society and now, it is necessary that their position be fixed.

That is why, together with the organizations of Lawyers and Lawyers of the Argentine Northwest for Human Rights and Social Studies (ANDHES), Nuestra Mendoza and Foundation for the Study and Research of Women (FEIM), we present a note to the National Congress requesting the treatment and ratification of the elected authorities of the Ombudsman’s Office in the next session of each Chamber, so that the Act of Comprehensive Protection of Children is effective and immediate.

Click here to see full note

Contact

Agustina Palencia, agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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The Superior Court of Justice reviews the judgment of the Chamber and grants our request to access public information

On April 17, the Superior Court of Justice ruled in favor of a cassation appeal filed by Fundeps and Fundación Ciudadanos 365, through which they questioned the Chamber’s decision to reject the amparos for delay in accessing information. and for containing a limited conception of public information.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The case

In 2010, the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Second Nomination of Córdoba rejected nine appeals lodged by the organizations because of the failure to provide public information by various departments of the provincial Executive Power.

On that occasion, the foundations had submitted several requests for public information to the Executive Power of the province and the municipalities of Córdoba and Carlos Paz on finances and public procurement (contracting, bidding and funds of small boxes of the provincial Ministries). None of the requests was answered with the information requested nor were the legal deadlines met, so judicial safeguards were carried out due to default of the Administration in the terms of art. 8 Provincial Law 8803 on Right to Access to Knowledge of State Acts.

Said injunctions were rejected by the Chamber, with fundamentals that do not arise from the text or the spirit of Law 8803, and that even incur in the grounds for a ruling that contradicts previous decisions of the same Chamber. These foundations restricted the Right of Access to Public Information widely recognized by the Provincial, National Constitution and by the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights.

On the one hand, the ruling contained a totally restrictive interpretation of the concept of “public information”, limiting it to that information linked to a specific administrative act that has already been dictated. In addition, it established that citizens could only control the management of public funds through the Legislature and the Court of Auditors, thus cutting off the space for active participation of citizens through a restricted conception of democracy. On the other hand, it omitted to carry out an analysis of the content of the information provided by the State, to verify whether it is “truthful, complete, adequate and timely” with respect to the information requested. Finally, it imposed the costs of the process on the information requester, making the judicial recourse used to access public information expensive.

To challenge this ruling, Fundeps and Fundación Ciudadanos 365 filed an appeal for cassation.

The judgment of the Superior Court of Justice

To begin with, the Superior Court recognizes the active legitimacy of the amparista organizations, adopting a broad notion of the right to information contemplated in local legislation (Law 8803) and in accordance with the provisions of the international treaties on human rights with constitutional hierarchy (cf. Arts 19, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 13.1, American Convention on Human Rights; 19.1, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, III, Inter-American Convention against Corruption and 13.1, Convention on the Rights of the Child). In short, it states that “the human right of access to public information must be analyzed from a broad and holistic point of view” and that “this right belongs to every person without having to show any interest or special legal status, receiving a broad legitimacy which includes both the action in administrative headquarters and in court. ” (Considering No. 14)

On the other hand, the judgment establishes that the individualization of an administrative act linked to the requested information is not necessary, since it does not arise as a requirement neither from the letter nor from the spirit of Law 8803. According to the Inter-American Court, a budget The basic principle of a democratic society is that all information held by the State is presumed to be public, accessible and subject to a limited regime of exceptions. (Considering No. 15)

Regarding the existence of legal limits to access information, the Court understands that “the causes that the Administration can evoke to refuse to provide information are truly exceptional and exhaustive, so that only those expressly provided by the Legislator can be admitted.” Therefore, if there is no exception exception explicitly stipulated in the legislation, “the principle according to which all information held by the State is presumed to be public, in order to guarantee access to data, control, is operative. citizenship and democratic participation.”(Considering No. 16)

Next, the judgment establishes that the lack of clarification of the presentation formulated at the time of requesting the information does not justify the refusal of the administration not to provide the information it has. Even when part of that required information finds limitations tending to avoid that sensitive information is provided about private and public persons in the power of the State, that is, limitations established to protect the confidentiality of the protected data and prevent the aggravation of third parties through access indiscriminate to the specific bases. Even in those cases, the Administration must inform about all the points that are not closed, that is, it must provide the information required in a partial manner (Considering No. 17).

We regret that this process has been extended for 9 years and that only now is guaranteed access to public information that we requested almost a decade ago. This situation draws attention to the standards and the way in which Law 8803 on the Right to Access to Knowledge is implemented to State acts. The Supreme Court uses standards both from the National Law on Access to Public Information and recommendations from human rights committees, which favors access to information. However, there are important aspects of provincial law that could be strengthened as well as public administration practices that should facilitate access to public information.

We celebrate that we have been guaranteed the right to access public information and the recognition by the Court that the State has a positive obligation to give the information that it has in its possession to its citizens. We understand that only through access to public information is it possible to exercise true citizen control of public administration and in the key of transparency.

Contact

Mayca Balaguer,  maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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The situation of official advertising in Córdoba: electoral propaganda on the agenda

The official publicity is a very valuable mechanism of communication between the governments and the citizenship that has as its objective the access to public information and the rendering of accounts. However, the use of official advertising for personal campaigns is already a tradition in Argentina, which does not recognize differences between political parties or electoral years. At national, provincial and municipal levels, official advertising is an instrument used for propaganda purposes.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Using public resources to promote the image of officials is categorically unacceptable. It is understood, in the first instance, that this type of practice involves the financing of personal companies with the ‘citizens’ money’. In the second instance, it means the abuse of power by those to whom the people have entrusted their representation. In a third instance, situations of these characteristics blur the boundaries between the State and the ruling political party; what ultimately stands opposed to democratic and republican values.

According to ADC (Association for Civil Rights), corruption in the use of official guidelines can be reflected in different situations, one of them, in the exercise of party propaganda. In this sense, official advertising should be understood as a channel of communication between the State and the public regarding information of public interest. Latin America presents as a common element, however, the propagandistic use of official guidelines, as a tool for the promotion of officials or official candidates. It is a practice that, in most cases, crosses the different levels of government.

In Argentina, Law 25,188 on Ethics in Public Administration regulates, in its article 42, these types of practices: “the publicity of acts, programs, works, services and campaigns of public bodies must be of an educational, informative or educational nature. social orientation, not being able to include in it names, symbols or images that suppose personal promotion of the authorities or public officials “.

In the country, there are few provinces that have regulations governing official advertising. Among them are the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Chaco, Río Negro and Santa Fe. Therefore, the law of public ethics is the only legal framework with which it is counted in many cases. In Córdoba, as there is no such regulation, the political scene in Cordoba becomes a sort of liberated ground for the existence and use of official advertising for purposes that go beyond mere information and accountability to the citizen. Towards within the province, numerous municipalities have witnessed the proselytizing practice of using the official guideline, in order to promote governmental efforts in the exercise of power. However, some localities have managed to sanction ordinances that seek to make transparent the policies for state money in official advertising.

WHAT HAPPENS IN CÓRDOBA:

As already mentioned, in Córdoba there is no regulation that regulates the use of official advertising and therefore sanctions the political propaganda that could be made from it. Some municipalities, however, have recognized the need to have ordinances that limit this type of practices.

Villa de Soto, Villa General Belgrano and Río Tercero have been some of the Cordoba towns that have advanced with this type of regulation. All its ordinances recognize a normalized situation of use of public spaces for personal propaganda. For this reason, the texts of these regulations establish that the publicity of acts, programs, works, services and campaigns must be of an educational, informative, socially oriented or accountable nature. Not being able to include in it names, symbols or images that suppose personal promotion of the authorities or public officials, nor party symbols, except when reasons of institutional character impose another modality.

Many of the rules mentioned in the previous paragraph, have had their germ in the discontent of the residents of these towns, who have been bombarded by party publicity in spaces that should not be co-opted by it. Also, residents of the town of Bialet Massé have denounced on several occasions the misuse of the official guideline (since the name of the local mayor has been indiscriminately included), and have even tried to promote an ordinance similar to those already in force. mentioned. His initiatives, however, did not have positive results. The same happened in the towns of Cosquín and Pilar.

Particularly, the ordinance presented in Cosquín, is one of the most complete since it not only seeks to limit the use of official advertising, but also establishes the principles that advertising must respect (transparency, plurality of means, reasonableness in spending, equality, accessibility, environmental sustainability, among others). In the same way, the ordinance project details exhaustively the objectives that the official publicity must have. The reasons for vetoing that ordinance were not clear.

It is important to mention that unlike the province, the city of Cordoba has an ordinance of these characteristics, it is the public ethics ordinance, which like the other mentioned norms, prevents the appearance of public figures in management advertisements and / or government announcements.

WICH IS THE IMPORTANCE ABOUT REGULATION OF OFFICIAL ADVERTISING:

In Argentina it seems that the public machine with electoral fines is constantly in operation, limiting the possibilities of competition of possible and / or future electoral options. At a national level, Law 26.5713 stipulates that parties can not hire audiovisual spaces to make the campaign and only those that have been provided by the state and the subjects by lottery. Situation that is at a disadvantage, unfair practices, the start-up and officialism during non-election times. Although the argument to establish this norm is valid, since it is aimed at equal conditions of access to the media, without regulation of official advertising, the effect generates a great asymmetry in political competition.

What role does society occupy in this diagram? The public is inundated with advertising for electoral purposes and with little information content. In terms of transparency, there is an enormous difficulty in obtaining answers about amounts, beneficiaries, and criteria for distributing the guidelines. At the national level, the delivery of information varies from year to year with a tendency towards restrictive in this matter. In Córdoba city and province this is unknown, and it gets worse when you consider the lack of legislation on this. In an electoral 2019, with a bill to finance political parties in order to be discussed, it is necessary to focus on these practices that take away legitimacy from government efforts. It is also time to put on the table the discussion on the need to have a public ethics law at the provincial level.

Contact: Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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We present a report on the human rights situation in Argentina before the IACHR

On October 30, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published a communiqué inviting civil society organizations and other interested social actors of the Organization of American States (OAS) to send information on the situation. of human rights in the region. This information will be used for the preparation of chapter IV A of the annual report of the IACHR corresponding to the year 2018 that will be presented to the General Assembly of the OAS.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Each year, the Commission produces an annual report on the human rights situation in the region, reflecting the trends, challenges, advances and good practices that have occurred in the area of ​​human rights in the OAS member states during the year.

For the Annual Report of 2018, the Commission will emphasize the following axes: Democratic Institutionalization, Institutionality in Human Rights, Access to Justice, Citizen Security and Right to the Environment.

Together with lawyers and lawyers from the Argentine Northwest on Human Rights and Social Studies (ANDHES) we present a report on these axes in the areas we work on:

Institutionality in human rights

1. Hierarchical reduction of National Ministries of Environment, Culture, Health, Labor and Modernization and Communication
2. National Budget 2019
3. Comprehensive Sexual Education Law in danger

Access to justice

1. Preoccupation with the draft bill on collective processes
2. Access to the right to abortion in Argentina – Delay of justice in the case of Portal de Belén (by non-punishable abortion protocol in the province of Córdoba)
3. Access to justice for the elderly

Citizen security

1. Institutional Violence in Tucumán
2. Absence of mechanisms to prevent torture in Tucumán

Right to the Environment

1. Affectations to the right to health caused by the use of agrochemicals
2. Concern over project to amend the seed law
3. Failure to comply with the consultation and free, prior and informed consent of provincial law No. 5,915 to the detriment of the environment and the right to life and territory of indigenous communities in Jujuy.
4. Chinchillas Mining Project and the Pozuelos Lagoon in Jujuy
5. The indigenous community of Solco Yampa and the indiscriminate felling of trees in the province of Tucumán
6. Murder of Javier Chocobar in Tucumán

The cases presented in this report give an account of a general situation of regression of the fulfillment of human rights by the Argentine State. The exposed situations of vulnerability are particularly worrisome because they are part of a regional socio-political crisis context. In order to avoid the impact of cuts, the noncompliance with international standards and the promotion of public policies that do not attack the roots of structural inequality impact fully on the populations that are already in a situation of vulnerability, we ask the IACHR to publicly express concern about the state of compliance with human rights in the country.

More information

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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The Network of Organizations Against Corruption met

On September 27 and 28, representatives of different civil society organizations from Argentina met to shape the Network of Anti-Corruption Organizations (ROCC).

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

In the month of December 2017, Poder Ciudadano, the Center for Research and Prevention of Economic Crime (CIPCE), the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ), Fundación Nuestra Mendoza, Latin American Center for Human Rights (CLADH), Acción Ciudadana Areco, Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS), Transparencia Ciudadana Foundation and, the Transparent Salta Foundation; we are the Network of Organizations Against Corruption.

The purpose of this alliance is to advance in the struggle and political advocacy on corruption issues at the national and provincial levels. Particularly, among the topics that are to be addressed are transparency, access to public information, public ethics, financing of politics, conflicts of interest, among others. We want to promote State policies that ensure an institutionalization made available for government accountability and transparency of government actions. This September the members of the ROCC met to outline upcoming joint actions and lines of action to address from now on.

Contact

Agustina Palencia

agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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Organizations request spaces for participation in the Federal Council for Transparency.

Organizations members of the Network of Organizations against Corruption (ROCC) asked the President of the Federal Council for Transparency to enable participation spaces with Civil Society Organizations.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

Poder Ciudadano, the Center for Research and Prevention of Economic Crime (CIPCE), the Latin American Center for Human Rights (CLADH), Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS), Transparencia Ciudadana Foundation, Nuestra Mendoza Foundation, the Civil Association for equality and justice (ACIJ) Acción Ciudadana Areco and Fundación Salta Transparente – Organizations member of the Network of Organizations against Corruption (ROCC) – presented to the president of the Federal Council for Transparency, Dr. Eduardo Bertoni, a letter requesting the means for the establishment of spaces for consultation, participation and discussion that involve civil society organizations are arbitrated. The Federal Council for Transparency, created by the Law of Access to Public Information, was constituted as a technical cooperation space, made up of representatives of the Executive Power of each province of the country and of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, created for the promotion of public policies on transparency and access to public information throughout the country.

However, the member organizations of the ROCC pointed out that the Federal Council for Transparency does not have a space for articulation and exchange of ideas with key actors, such as civil society organizations, that allow for the nourishment of a space in which discuss and specify public policies of utmost importance for society. The public administration must always take into account that for the design of any public policy of such relevance to society, it is essential to ensure the inclusion of the voices of citizens, which can provide a different point of view and sometimes more consistent with reality from day to day. This type of space is fundamental to achieve a strategic and effective resolution of conflicts related to transparency and access to public information. The Network of Anti-Corruption Organizations is made up of a group of civil society organizations that want a present, transparent, accountable state with the highest standards of integrity. That is why we ask the Federal Council for Transparency to allow dialogue and the participation of Civil Society Organizations since together they can design public policies and action plans much more effective and with greater strength.

Access the note here: LINK

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Transparency and accountability in electoral campaigns

Every 30th of October the day of the recovery of democracy in Argentina is celebrated; to remember the moment in which culminated de facto period that extended from 1976 to 1983. Today, 35 years of the elections that granted the position of president to Raul Alfonsin, it is still difficult to speak of transparency and accountability in the processes Electoral elections.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

In July of this year, a preliminary judicial investigation was opened based on revelations that journalist Juan Amorín published on the website El Destape regarding the 2017 legislative campaign of Cambiemos in the province of Buenos Aires. According to the information, more than 200 beneficiaries of social plans appear as contributors to that coalition, as well as many people who appear as affiliated to the Pro and who denounce never having affiliated to that group. The case was initiated by the federal prosecutor with electoral competence, Jorge Di Lello and then turned over to the court with Buenos Aires electoral competence that is under the jurisdiction of Judge Adolfo Ziulu.

Simultaneously, the National Electoral Chamber as the highest authority for the application of political-electoral legislation, through an internal audit objected to the accountability of the electoral campaign of Change for the 2017 elections. In addition, the audit warned of other irregularities such as contributions made by companies or entities prohibited by law. In this way, the entity advised Federal Judge Adolfo Ziulu not to approve the accountability of the change campaign in the face of the primary elections of last year.

Also, as a result of the aforementioned publication, two other causes were initiated. One of them is instructed by Judge Sebastián Casanello and prosecutor Carlos Stornelli, and the alleged money laundering is investigated when the origin of the funds is unknown. The other began with the denounce of the deputy Teresa García (FPV) for the possible commission of acts of identity theft, forgery of documents, money laundering, and violation of secrets and privacy. It was in the court of Ernesto Kreplak.

As a result, the government of Mauricio Macri hastened to send to the National Congress a project to reform the financing system of political parties, with the aim – among others – to prohibit the contribution of cash in electoral campaigns and to enable the contribution of legal persons.

The Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth (CIPECC), an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization, argues that since the national electoral reform of 2009, Argentina has a system of financing parties and campaigns national elections that are based mainly on public contributions. The norm, until now, was applied in three electoral processes and served as a framework for the exercise of ordinary financing of the parties.

CIPECC analyzes that the balance of that accumulated experience is uneven. On the one hand, an equity floor is guaranteed by allowing all parties and candidates to access the mass media. On the other, there are strong indications that most party and campaign spending occurs informally, either in the form of undeclared contributions and expenditures or the abuse of public resources for partisan purposes. This informality has detrimental effects on the transparency and integrity of democratic institutions: it interferes with the right of every voter to make an informed vote; it facilitates the capture or influence on the part of the interests of particular groups and generates the risk that partisan and electoral politics will be financed with money coming from illicit activities.

The importance of accountability in electoral campaigns denotes the need to have an open government in this regard. An open government is a transparent government, that is, a government that encourages and promotes accountability to citizens and that provides information about what it is doing and about its action plans. Also, it is a collaborative government which implies a government that commits citizens and other actors, internal and external to the administration, in their own work. Finally, a participatory government, which means that it favors the right of citizens to participate actively in the shaping of public policies and encourages the administration to benefit from the knowledge and experience of citizens.

Transparency does not bring value by itself if it is not linked to accountability. Thus, while transparency privileges an informative condition, the rendering of accounts implies the presentation of evidence that leads to argumentation to justify the exercise of authority or the assigned responsibility.

There are organizations that work to promote this transparency. The Open Government Partnership, in English known as OGP (Open Government Partnership), is a multilateral initiative that involves governments and civil society organizations to promote transparency, participation and government innovation. Argentina joined in 2012 and today has its third Action Plan underway. Among the agreed commitments is the preparation of a bill for the financing of political parties that addresses the problems identified and guarantees access to information by citizens. The aim is to guarantee the visibility of the origin and destination of the funds destined to finance the policy, the knowledge on the part of citizens online and in real time of the transactions made with the campaign funds in the campaign and the citizen control over how the parties are financed. .

What happened in the legislative electoral campaign in 2017 demonstrates the immaturity stage of our democracy. In view of the 2019 elections, then, it is imperative that citizens be alert and demand that accountability be present at all times. The results of the research, emerged from a source accessible to the whole society, open data that we had at our disposal. This finally shows that it is the responsibility of the citizens to appropriate the information that the State publishes to control the acts of government.

 

Author:

Stefania Piñedo