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BERLIN (AP) — Efforts to combat public sector corruption have stalled around the world, according to a corruption index released Tuesday, in part due to the “This is a significant decline.”
Transparency International, which compiles its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, said 23 countries, including both high-ranking democracies and authoritarian states, are at their worst levels since the world rankings began nearly 30 years ago. discovered.
Commenting on the reported decline in the judiciary, the group said: “The rise of authoritarianism in some countries is contributing to this trend, weakening the mechanisms that restrain governments even in democratic settings.” ” he said.
“Until the justice system is able to punish wrongdoing and rein in governments, corruption will continue to flourish,” Francois Valérian, chairman of Transparency International, said in a statement. “Leaders cannot abide by the law. “We need to comply, ensure the independence of the organizations that address the issue, and fully invest in them.” corruption. “
The organization measures perceptions of public sector corruption based on 13 data sources, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and private risk and consulting firms. It ranks 180 countries and territories on a scale from 0 (very corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Among the countries that reached the lowest levels were relatively high-scoring democracies such as Iceland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Authoritarian states such as Iran, Russia, and Venezuela also fell.
Denmark had the highest score of 90 points, ranking first for the sixth consecutive year. Finland followed with 87 points, followed by New Zealand with 85 points. Others in the top 10 include Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg.
The United States remained unchanged at 24th place with 69 points.
Meanwhile, Somalia again had the lowest score of 11. South Sudan, Syria and Venezuela followed with 13 each. Yemen has 16 people. Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, North Korea and Nicaragua each had 17 cases.
The global average remained unchanged at 43 points for the 12th consecutive year, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50 points.
The report says there has been “little or no meaningful progress” in curbing corruption in the Asia-Pacific region and expresses concern about “opacity and undue influence” in justice systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. did.
The average score for Arab countries on the index was a record low of 34, while sub-Saharan Africa remained stagnant at 33.
Transparency International says that even in the best-performing regions of Western Europe and the European Union, “weak accountability and political corruption undermine public trust and give narrow interest groups too much control over political decision-making.” It was discovered that the
Poland scored 54 points, while Hungary scored 42 points, pointing out “weaknesses in the judicial system.”
Regarding Poland, the report noted the former ruling party’s “systematic efforts to monopolize power at the expense of the public interest.” He acknowledged the new government’s efforts to uphold the rule of law, but said the ousted ruling party continued to exert “considerable influence” over the judiciary.
Ukraine, with a score of 36, continued to improve over 11 years despite Russian aggression by focusing on reforming its judicial system, a component of its bid to join the EU. However, the report states that “the existence of a significant number of high-level corruption cases remains a major concern.”
Russia’s score dropped to 26 points. Transparency International said the government’s “widespread control of public institutions is facilitating widespread abuse of power without accountability” while judicial independence is being undermined.
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