This report presents the results of research undertaken by Transparency International on corruption in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It highlights promising developments in the field of anti-corruption, but also notes how the capture of important institutions by powerful interests is seriously undermining the effective enforcement of these laws.
Transparency International national chapters conducted in-depth research on the strengths and weaknesses of more than 60 institutions responsible for preventing and fighting corruption across Central Asia. The five featured countries, increasingly caught between powerful geo-political interests with disparate values, are characterised by relatively high living standards, a weak but developing democratic culture, and a general sense of citizen mistrust of government.
Common trends and issues
- Limited checks and balances on executive power: The presidents of Armenia and Ukraine, for example, wield substantial decision-making power, while in Armenia and Azerbaijan numerous senior politicians maintain strong connections to the business sector. At the same time, in all five countries, the executive is largely unaccountable to other state actors and citizens due to weak systems of checks and balances.
- Politicised and ineffective judiciaries: In Moldova and Ukraine over 80% of citizens perceive the judiciary to be corrupt or extremely corrupt. In the cases of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine, corruption prosecutions tend either to be politically motivated or to target petty offences and those who oppose the government. In the case of Armenia, the number of corruption prosecutions is very limited, while in Moldova much needed judicial reforms are lagging behind and are perceived to be highly politicised.
- Restrictions on civil society: Conditions for independent civil society in Armenia and Azerbaijan have become more restrictive over recent years. In other countries there are some promising signs of greater and more open civil activism, including more successful attempts to hold government to account for its actions, especially in Georgia and Ukraine.
Recommendations
Legal reforms alone are not sufficient to guarantee a corruption-free society. All five countries must therefore focus on ensuring that laws are actually being implemented and enforced:
- end undue political interference in executive affairs through minimising the role of powerful individuals and business interests in key government decisions;
- implement urgent judicial reforms and ensure effective and impartial prosecution of corruption offences by prioritising the prosecution of high-level officials and eliminating political influence over judicial decisions;
- strengthen external oversight of government, by ensuring that sanctions are imposed for failure to act on the findings of external oversight agencies and that the executive responds to questions by parliament in a timely and comprehensive manner;
- support a free and vibrant civil society sector, including easing unreasonable legal and financial restrictions on CSOs and ending all forms of intimidation, harassment and persecution of civic activists and journalists.
The international community, including the European Union, should:
- more clearly articulate and prioritise the specific anti-corruption commitments to which partner countries are expected to subscribe through the Eastern Partnership and other regional agreements;
- provide ongoing support to public watchdogs to ensure that they are able to act independently and impartially, without undue interference from the government which they are supposed to oversee;
- intensify efforts to promote the institutional independence of judiciaries in the region;
- place greater emphasis on providing support to, and dialogue with, civil society in the region, while increasing flexible financial assistance that is accessible to both smaller and larger CSOs as well as to individual activists.