Topic: Political Corruption in Latin America
Country: Ethiopia
Delegate Name: Connor Brezenski
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Ethiopia position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Corruption seems to get the best of our countries no matter our places in this world. Rich or poor, north or south, developed or developing. The impacts foster organized criminal activity, violence, drugs, and crime that only serves to turn a life of political stability into complete chaos. It also erodes the relationship of the rulers and the ruled which means laws on paper are rendered completely useless. But when we adjust the scope to Latin America, we see a cry of help and for us to take action. Latin American corruption in a historical context can be traced back to the Spanish mercantilism at the end of the 15th century to the 19th century where systems of society endorsed loyalty over political and economic rights. This bred autonomous legal norms which only led to birth of corruption in the region. The lack of firm laws and conflict continued up to this point today and can be still seen in many Latin American countries. Therefore, it is time to for us to undo what history has done to the region. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia believes that in order for corruption to be reduced to minimal value, we need to take a multilateral approach with multiple actions to stifle corruption at its root. Ethiopia believes that there are main determinants of corruption that dictate the effect it has on countries especially itself. A poorly functioning legal and judiciary system that arises from inadequate capacity and laws. An overly controlling bureaucracy which puts enforcement over accountability. A poorly paid civil service and finally, a weak system of financial and budgetary controls that comes from inadequately trained staff. Ethiopia has dealt with corruption for decades and still fights it today. After ratifying the United Nations Convention against Corruption on November 26. 2007, the convention became an integral part of the constitution of Ethiopia and has expanded the countries capabilities on combating corruption. We have implemented strong programs and legislation such as the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC) the Ethiopian Federal Police, and Proclamation No.883/2015 and No. 881/2015. In addition to this we have ratified the African Union Convention on preventing and combating corruption which sets guidelines for many African nations to strengthen their mechanisms on preventing, detecting, and punishing corruption. This has put us on the right track of dealing with corruption. The World Bank Anti-Corruption Report explains that, “corruption in Ethiopia does not approach the levels obtained in other Sub-Saharan countries.” As such we do believe that a continued effort against the cause will yield positive impacts on all people, not just our own. That’s why we gladly extend our hand in helping our neighbors in rooting out this plague. An effective resolution will tackle the legal and enforcement aspect. With better enforcement of anti-corruption laws this will drive the incentive of corruption down. Of course, we are open on different perspectives and look forward to working and collaborating with other countries on coming up with a multilateral solution. The positive impacts to be reaped from this are tremendous in Ethiopia’s and Africa’s efforts in anti-corruption. The pouring of illegal drugs and weapons from Latin America into Africa will finally be put on the chopping block once corruption has been addressed.
