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This image is related to a U.S. GAO report:
Combating Wildlife Trafficking: Agencies Are Taking Action to Reduce Demand but Could Improve Collaboration in Southeast Asia
Chika Sakashita (Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety) at the Official Side Event "Enhancing policy, action and accountability for safe mobility" at the International Transport Forum's 2023 Summit on "Transport Enabling Sustainable Economies" in Leipzig, Germany on 26 May 2023.
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-21-251
TAX FILING: Actions Needed to Address Processing Delays and Risks to the 2021 Filing Season
Ooops! So much for accountability and responsibility, not to mention competence. Accidents are just waiting to happen. . . .
abcnews.go.com/GMA/2010_Elections/rand-paul-fires-back-cr...
The Kentucky Senate candidate also criticized the Obama administration's treatment of BP in the wake of the ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil spill. . . . "I think it's part of this sort of blame game society in the sense that it's always got to be someone's fault instead of the fact that sometimes accidents happen."
jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/400904/ron-littlepage/2010-...
John Mica, the Florida Republican congressman, is a big supporter of the tea partiers. In a speech on the House floor last year, he declared it was his "honor to present their grievances and declaration." Included in those grievances, of course, are loud harangues that the federal government is out of control, sticking its nose in too many places, including private enterprise.
Now flash forward to earlier this week. Mica, taking part in a congressional hearing on the oil spill, had this to say: "In the month of April, the nation lost 29 miners and 11 oil rig workers in two avoidable disasters. Federal agencies failed and federal actions failed to prevent these disasters." He went on to call the Gulf accident the "Obama oil spill."
In other words, it wasn't the private companies - BP, Deepwater Horizon and the mining company - that screwed up. The fault lies with the big, bad federal government for not being big and bad enough.
ecopolitology.org/2010/05/01/limbaugh-enviro-wackos-mark-...
Saying he was 'just noting the timing' of it, conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh suggested that 'environmentalist wackos' may have blown up the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico -- an incident which can already be characterized as one of the largest ecological disasters in U.S. history.
www.grist.org/article/2010-05-20-too-big-to-fail-isnt-wor...
The potential damage from offshore oil accidents is so great that no private industry can assume the full risk. So who assumes the remainder? You, the American taxpayer. Offshore oil companies privatize profit and publicize risk by necessity; it's built into the size of the enterprise and the severity of the possible damage. . .
There's a lesson here about resource gigantism: It is anti-market and anti-democratic. There is no way for costs and risks to be fully internalized (i.e., no way to have a free, competitive market), so government and industry collude to divert them onto the public's back. There's a name for a political system in which government colludes with industry to enrich the owners of capital at the public's expense: corporatism.
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-136
DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE: State Should Improve Accountability Over Funding; USAID Should Assess Whether New Processes Have Improved Award Documentation
a) NED funding is not included in USAID and State combined allocations. However, NED typically receives additional funds from State to make grants in specific countries or regions, and NED's core institutes may also receive funds from State and USAID that is not overseen by NED. Funding under these two circumstances are included in the USAID and State combined allocations but not in the NED funding.
Upon founding the Light Foundation, Matt dreamed about starting a camp where young men could learn lifelong skills that would help them be R.E.A.L (Responsible, Ethical, Accountable, Leaders). For its 10th consecutive year, the Light Foundation’s premier program, Camp Vohokase has done just that.
Each year, Matt chooses four incoming high school freshmen from an at-risk community and asks them to commit the next four years to our leadership program, which includes 10 days at Chenoweth Trails each summer. There are always 18 boys in camp, four from each grade level, with each group coming from a different part of the country. Those locations, all with a connect to the Light Foundation, include Greenville, Ohio, where Matt grew up; Woonsocket, Rhode Island, close to where Matt holds his signature fundraising event; New Orleans, Louisiana, where a like-minded charity had asked for help; West Lafayette, Indiana, where Matt attended Purdue; Gloucester, Worcester and New Bedford, Massachusetts, all close to where Matt played during his NFL years; Hammond, Indiana, where Matt’s wife Susie grew up and identified a need for support; and new this year, Washington D.C, where the treasurer of the board resides.
The young men are required to keep good academic standing, complete a yearly community service project back home, and check in with our head counselors on a frequent basis. Program Director Edgar Flores tracks the kids’ progress year-round. He also does quarterly visits in order to foster the ongoing relationship between the campers, their class, and the foundation. By interacting with them in their own space, we can learn more about their behaviors and how those connect with their personal situations. By entering their homes, we often have the chance to stand as a united front with their parents or guardians in ensuring they’re doing exactly what they need to do to succeed. These visits are critical in reassuring to the young men that we are committed to them and serve as a true support system and not just a summer camp counselor. Not to mention, we have a lot of fun! They bond over some good grub and connect about what’s going on in their lives at that moment. Past day trips during a visit have included: Dave & Buster’s, paint balling, laser tag, amusement parks, farms, and bowling. We do try and balance the fun with more educational opportunities like volunteer community service projects, visiting local museums, or making a college visit for some of our juniors and seniors.
In return of having a good academic standing, the campers spend ten days among nature enjoying all that our beautiful facility has to offer whether it be skeet shooting, woodworking, canoeing, archery, fishing, dirt biking, etc. Despite all the fun we have here, the young men are responsible for daily chores, site visits to area businesses, and the completion of a service project around Darke County. Each night of the stay is reserved for fireside chats. These chats are structured to help create a dialogue about the very real and difficult issues these young boys face back home.
For a lot of these kids, all they need is an opportunity. We use the outdoors as a real teaching tool and a way to get kids to open up. And with us, these kids aren’t given anything. We make them work for everything they achieve. But through that they understand and value hard work, they learn work ethic, and they become proud of what they do, and want to share their accomplishments. Our hope is that after four years, each young man graduates from the program ready to become leaders in their own communities, equipped with the necessary tools and a heart for service.
In the past 11 years, 30 at-risk young men have graduated from Vohokase Cultural Leadership Camp with the tools to tap into their greatest potential as people and community leaders.
Fossil of the day 12 December COP25
1st 🇺🇸 US (again!) for blocking money for victims of severe climate impacts for 6 years now!
2nd - Developed Countries especially 🇪🇺🇨🇦🇦🇺 for lack of ambition in #lossanddamage for vulnerable countries
🇦🇺 Australia for using carbon market loopholes
#RayoftheDay 🌅
For the people rolling up their sleeves to take on the fossil fuel industry
🇵🇭 Philippines - climate activists petitioning #CarbonMajors for human rights
🇳🇴Norway-fighting extraction in the Arctic
Indigenous heroes from the 🇧🇷Amazon to 🇦🇺Australia
Today we have in first place for the fossil of the day award the United States of America (USA) (again and again)!
The main reason is for generally really standing in the way of any money going to the people suffering from climate change. This has been going on for at least six years. This should really raise eyebrows about the country´s lack of empathy. Are there real people in office in the US People with actual hearts? Or have they replaced their humanity with a lump of coal?
First inhumanity, and now they put on full display their paranoia! They are afraid of being held accountable for causing droughts in Africa. They are afraid of being held accountable for the drowning of the Pacific; the destruction of entire civilisations. Actually, they should be held accountable but this is not what the Paris Agreement is about. It is about international cooperation, no developing country talked about liability. Yet the US insists on language on liability and compensation in the draft COP Decision text on the Review of the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss & Damage (WIM).
Hey US you are on your way out, you are not giving a single dollar to the Green Climate Fund and now you don’t want any help to get to the people bearing the brunt of the mess you created! And still, you want to be part of the WIM’s Executive Committee! Pay up or step out, let others move forward already.
The Second Fossil of the Day award goes to developed countries with special mention to the European Union, Canada and Australia for showing lack of ambition in responding to vulnerable peoples’needs on loss and damage.
The WIM Review unofficially began on December 1st, and the overwhelming message was that finance to address loss and damage must be an outcome of COP25.
Two weeks later, poor and vulnerable countries and civil society are wondering if developed countries attended a different meeting on December 1st.
While we acknowledge they have been less problematic than the US, developed countries, including Australia, Canada and the European Union have done very little very late to advance discussions on loss and damage finance age. It’s especially confusing when all three have agreed that existing climate finance is insufficient. Anyhow, aren’t they the rich people in the room? And part of the club that caused the problem in the first place? Why is it so difficult for them to pay for the damages they are still causing. Also…hey Canada… isn’t high time you differentiate yourself from cronies like Australia and the US?
It is beyond us to understand how developed countries can sit by and continue to twiddle their thumbs whilst vulnerable communities in developing countries experience severe losses and damages. You have one day left to show you want to be on the right side of history!
The third fossil award goes to Australia - for using carbon market loopholes to meet its climate targets
We award this fossil to Australia for planning to cheat the atmosphere by carrying over its credits from the Kyoto protocol. Instead of cutting greenhouse gas pollution, Australia is using creative accounting. Please bear with us now: Australia plans to count surplus carbon credits from exceeding previous targets against future targets. Regrettably, this was allowed under the old Kyoto protocol, but it is not even mentioned in the Paris agreement. No country in though about such trickery.
To make things worse, since the Paris Agreement is a new and separate treaty, this is not even legal stuff!
Hey Australia: Article 6 deserves some more love here instead of your distractions. When you rig your climate target you shouldn't showcase this as "overachievement". You must do more in the future, not less. Please stop cooking up the books, stop shifting carbon pollution around. Grow up, be a responsible adult and get over Kyoto, it´s long gone now!
The Ray of the Day goes to the people rolling up their sleeves to take on the fossil fuel industry
We would like to especially mention:
The activists from the Philippines who petitioned the Philippines Commission for Human Rights to denounce the responsibility of the Carbon Majors for climate-induced human rights violations
The amazing Norwegians campaigning to denounce fossil fuel extraction in the Arctic and who will be facing the government in court tomorrow - hoping that the judge will realize how incompatible large scale fossil fuel extraction is with the right to a healthy environment for present and future generations
The indigenous heroes, from the Amazon to Australia risking their already vulnerable lives to fight fossil fuel development on traditional land and to preserve cultural and environmental integrity
These heroes are leading the charge in bringing down the real elephant occupying the UNFCCC hallways and backing the deniers and the blockers. Hur-Ray to the people! They are the hope and they will prevail!
About the fossils:
Every day at 18:00 local time you can watch the Fossil ceremony in Hall 4 during COP25.
The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate talks in 1999, in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations climate change negotiations (www.unfccc.int), members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), vote for countries judged to have done their 'best' to block progress in the negotiations in the last days of talks.
About CAN: The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 1,300 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in more than 120 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels.
Watch the Facebook livestream video
Attribution: John Englart/Climate Action Network
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-412SP
SCIENCE & TECH SPOTLIGHT: 5G Wireless
Op 9 juni 2017 vond in de Tweede Kamer in Den Haag de tweede editie van Accountability Hack plaats, een hackathon waar met open data de prestaties van de overheid in kaart worden gebracht. Accountability Hack is een initiatief van de Algemene Rekenkamer en de Tweede Kamer samen met het CBS en de ministeries van Binnenlandse Zaken, Buitenlandse Zaken, Financiën en Infrastructuur en Milieu. De hackathon werd georganiseerd in samenwerking met Open State Foundation. Kijk voor meer informatie op accountabilityhack.nl/
Every year I take myself off for a couple of days for a bit of a review and reset.
This year it’s in my beloved Swaledale 💕
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-324
IRS RETURN SELECTION: Improved Planning, Internal Controls, and Data Would Enhance Large Business Division Efforts to Implement New Compliance Approach
The CredibilityLab at Mishal Pakistan launched the Media Credibility Index (MCI), an initiative started in January 2013 in collaboration with Pakistan Coalition for Ethical Journalism, leading research and academic institutions, and media practitioners. The launch ceremony was held in Islamabad where prominent media professionals, representatives of regulatory bodies, media development organizations and members of the civil society participated. The Index focuses on the relative credibility and believability of various media channels through which content is created.
Addressing the participants, Founder and Director, Ethical Journalism Network, Aidan White said that launch of the Media Credibility Index is a landmark moment for media accountability in Pakistan. In a country where people are overwhelmed by a torrent of information on all sides, and where corruption lurks in all areas of public life, the greatest challenge facing journalists and media professionals is to produce information that is reliable, useful and above all truthful.
The MCI provides fundamentals for analyzing media discourse in the country. By using benchmarks provided by professionals at national and international level, the MCI provides an opportunity to examine how the news analysis and commentary of high profile news anchors contribute to better understanding of complex issues in Pakistan’s robust landscape of journalism and politics, he further added.
Speaking at on the occasion, Dr. Nazir Saeed, Federal Secretary for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage said, “Television has an overwhelming impact on peoples’ decision-making power. The significance of the Media Credibility Index is in its use and ability to highlight content that can empower both the newsmakers and the information seekers; enabling them to create an effective knowledge ecosystem in the country. MCI has the potential of becoming the source for an informed decision making tool in public policy debate. MCI will promote ethical content practices in the country, information that tells stories not just about the powerful, but also about the powerless, and not just about the life of the decision makers, but also about issues concerning the masses”.
“I feel proud of the fact that the Media Credibility Index has been launched in Pakistan and can be a benchmark for other countries in the world for promoting, balanced, ethical and fair journalism practices”, said Dr. Nazir Saeed.
Center for International Media Ethics (CIME) Ambassador for Pakistan, Puruesh Chaudhary said that the index has been developed after an extensive examination of media laws, ethical principals drafted by different media groups, compliance regulations formulated by regulatory bodies and journalistic organizations. The MCI will explore the state of media in Pakistan against six indicators and 20 sub-indices. The results are currently being published on a weekly basis on the Media Credibility Index website as well.
Senior journalist and founder, Pakistan Coalition for Ethical Journalism, Muhammad Ziauddin said that Mishal has incorporated more than thirty code of conducts, principles of ethical journalism, which include currently prevalent seven national code of conducts and twenty four international code of ethics from international regulatory bodies, which have been agreed upon across the globe. He further said, that the codes of ethics framed by the Pakistani media groups have also being included within the index, these entail Jang group’s Geo Asool, Dunya’s code of ethics, Express group’s journalism code of conduct and Dawn Group’s principles and code of conduct.
After reviewing the principles of journalism and codes of ethics for journalists; six media credibility indicators with 20 sub-indices have been developed in order to assess the media discourse and credibility of current affairs anchors in Pakistan. This extensive study entails thirty-five current affairs programming of the mainstream Pakistani news channels. The Credibility of the anchors and content discourse is being assessed on; Professional Competence, Ethics, Accuracy, Balance, Timeliness and Fairness.
Chief Executive Officer, Mishal Pakistan, Amir Jahangir said the CredibilityLab, through its activities will further strengthen the Triple Helix concept, which relies on three main ideas: (1) a more prominent role for the University in creating new though and research processes, bringing them on par with the Industry and Government that form the basis of a Knowledge Society; (2) a movement toward collaborative relationships among the three major institutional spheres, in which information and knowledge policy is increasingly an outcome of interaction rather than a prescription from the Government; (3) in addition to fulfilling their traditional functions, each institutional sphere also “takes the role of the ‘other’ performing new roles as well as their traditional function.
The CredibilityLab at Mishal will be publishing its research on the state of media and competitiveness in Pakistan in collaboration with its partners. The MCI research has been one of the few initiatives in Pakistan, where research work has been collaborated with eleven academic partners in the country, including University of the Punjab, International Islamic University, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Lahore College for Women University, University of Gujrat, Government College University Faisalabad, Islamia University Bhawalpur, University of Balouchistan, Greenwich University and Bharia University.
Mishal Pakistan is the partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Networks, World Economic Forum. Mishal assists the forum in creating the soft-data on Pakistan, identifying Pakistan’s competitiveness challenges. Mishal has also launched Pakistan’s first journalism awards “AGAHI Awards” on the framework designed jointly with the Center for International Media Ethics and UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators.
As a partner institute Mishal has been working closely with the World Economic Forum on measuring Pakistan’s performance on multiple international indices and reports i.e. Global Competitiveness Index, Global Gender Gap Index, Global Enabling Trade Index, Global Information Technology Report – Network Readiness Index, Financial Development Index and the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index.
For more information on the Media Credibility Index (MCI) please visit: www.mediacredibilityindex.com
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-19-619R
Electronic Cigarettes: U.S. Imports, 2016-2018
Notes: See table 3 in GAO-19-619R for a more detailed presentation of the data for these imports.
The descriptions for the two types of nicotine-containing e-cigarette liquid, corresponding to statistical reporting numbers 3824.99.2840 and 3824.99.9280, reflect recent discussions with U.S. International Trade Commission and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and differ from the descriptions presented in our prior related report (GAO-17-515R). In that report, the descriptions for e-cigarette liquid, developed in consultation with officials from the same agencies, distinguished between the two statistical reporting numbers on the basis of the percentage of nicotine content. The two statistical reporting numbers each cover nicotine-containing formulated liquid mixtures; are distinguished from each other by the percentage of aromatic or modified aromatic substances, including nicotine; and may also contain other substances.
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-22-104364
Cybersecurity: OMB Should Update Inspector General Reporting Guidance to Increase Rating Consistency and Precision
New York City Mayor Eric Adams holds a rally with union leaders for mayoral accountability on the steps of City Hall on Monday, May 9, 2022. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Governor Phil Murphy alongside Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer signs A-3707/S-2395 as a key part of the effort to implement the necessary accountability measures to exit from federal oversight of child protective services administered under the New Jersey Department of Children and Families on Tuesday, December 20, 2022 (Edwin J. Torres/NJ Governorâs Office).
This comic is based on the PSLC's wiki page on 'accountable talk' and high school biology curriculum. It is an introduction for students to use Accountable Talk *moderation* moves when having group discussions.
Moderation moves are typically done by teachers in a classroom, but we're trying to introduce students to the idea of moderating their own group discussions.
I didn’t get elected, but we came a very credible second to the incumbent Labour Party and pushed out the more extreme elements of our political system so I’m very pleased with that. Thanks so much to my darling Claire for all her support as always 💚💚
The Netherlands, The Hague, 20220714
The Government of the Netherlands is hosting, together with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the European Commission, an Ukraine Accountability Conference at ministerial level at the World Forum in The Hague on 14 July.
Photo: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2022
Blair Glencorse, Founder and Executive Director.The Accountability Lab, Demetrios Marantis, Senior Vice-President, Global Government Relations.Visa, Lindiwe Mazibuko, Leader of the Opposition, Parliament of South Africa (2011-2014).Democratic Alliance (DA), Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer.Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Vasilis Koulolias, Director, eGovlab.Stockholm University at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2017 in Durban, South Africa. Copyright by World Economic Forum / Greg Beadle
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-33
ELDER ABUSE: The Extent of Abuse by Guardians Is Unknown, but Some Measures Exist to Help Protect Older Adults
20230217, MSC, Munich Security Conference, Bayerischer Hof: Main Stage I: Panel Discussion.Against Lawlessness: Ensuring Accountability.Conference Hall: Kaja Kallas Prime Minister, Republic of Estonia
Representatives of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices
From left to right:
Steven Green, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group
Nick Wolter, MD, CEO, Billings Clinic
Ira Nash, MD, Senior Vice President, North Shore-LIJ Health System
Norman Chenven, MD, CEO, Austin Regional Clinic; Vice-chair, Council of Accountable Physician Practices (CAPP)
William Conway, MD, CEO, Henry Ford Medical Group
Laura Fegraus, Executive Director, Council of Accountable Physician Practices (CAPP)
Robert Pearl, MD, CEO, The Permanente Medical Group and Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group; Chair of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices (CAPP)
Brian Rank, MD, Executive Medical Director, Park Nicollet HealthPartners Care Group
Karen Cabell, DO, Chief Quality & Safety Officer, Billings Clinic
"“Having ready access to a doctor is vital to high quality healthcare. Yet the busy schedules of consumers and physicians alike often prevent timely attention to routine and urgent healthcare problems in the traditional 9 to 5 physician office visit options. Digital technologies can help overcome the barriers to accessing medical care, yet our survey shows that these tools are not available to most Americans,” said Robert Pearl, M.D., Chairman of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group. “Healthcare providers must step up our adoption of these common-sense and available solutions if we are truly going to reform healthcare delivery.” - See www.bettertogetherhealth.org for event webcast - Hosted at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health on November 4, 2015
"“Having ready access to a doctor is vital to high quality healthcare. Yet the busy schedules of consumers and physicians alike often prevent timely attention to routine and urgent healthcare problems in the traditional 9 to 5 physician office visit options. Digital technologies can help overcome the barriers to accessing medical care, yet our survey shows that these tools are not available to most Americans,” said Robert Pearl, M.D., Chairman of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group. “Healthcare providers must step up our adoption of these common-sense and available solutions if we are truly going to reform healthcare delivery.” - See www.bettertogetherhealth.org for event webcast - Hosted at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health on November 4, 2015
Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) principles were integrated into the design, implementation and evaluation of all FAO projects.
FAO distributed guidelines on key information regarding livestock, including transportation requirements, ideal weight and feed allocation. These guidelines were provided to beneficiaries during the distribution of livestock.
Read more about FAO and the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Photo credit must be given: ©FAO/Rommel Cabrera. Editorial use only. Copyright FAO
European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim A.A. Khan QC and Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra.
The Government of the Netherlands, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the European Commission are hosting an Ukraine Accountability Conference at ministerial level at the World Forum in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 14 July 2022.
© Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2022
Ousmane Ly, ANTIM, Mali
This session features some of the innovative ICT applications for RMNCH, and highlight efforts of international organizations to foster the use of ICT to better implement the recommendations of the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health.
Day 2
14 May 2013
ITU/ J.M. Planche
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim A.A. Khan QC and vice-president of Eurojust Margarita Šniutytė-Daugėlienė.
The Government of the Netherlands, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the European Commission are hosting an Ukraine Accountability Conference at ministerial level at the World Forum in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 14 July 2022.
© Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2022
Roland, one of Santa's accountants, finds it discouraging that Rudolph and the Flight Crew get all the attention. No one ever pays attention to the other support staff. Let the Rednose Reindeer try to balance the budget in this economy and see how much time he has for reindeer games.
Omar Alshogre, Syrian student and detention survivor, addresses the Security Council Arria-formula meeting on Accountability in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Security Council members Estonia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States, with additional co-sponsors Belgium, Canada, Germany, Georgia, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Qatar, Sweden and Turkey holds an informal briefing on the need for increased efforts by the Council to establish full accountability for the most serious international crimes committed in the Syrian Arab Republic.
UN Photo/Manuel Elías
29 November 2021
New York, United States of America
Photo # UN7918177
Op 9 juni 2017 vond in de Tweede Kamer in Den Haag de tweede editie van Accountability Hack plaats, een hackathon waar met open data de prestaties van de overheid in kaart worden gebracht. Accountability Hack is een initiatief van de Algemene Rekenkamer en de Tweede Kamer samen met het CBS en de ministeries van Binnenlandse Zaken, Buitenlandse Zaken, Financiën en Infrastructuur en Milieu. De hackathon werd georganiseerd in samenwerking met Open State Foundation. Kijk voor meer informatie op accountabilityhack.nl/
Sgt. Maj. Joel Collins and 1st Sgt. Daniel Mangrum give a leadership and accountability brief to Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU), Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Headquarters and Services Company, aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7). Iwo Jima is part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group with the embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) and will support maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Scott Youngblood/Released)
120329-N-QM601-315
ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 29, 2012)
Jordi Serrano Pons, Universal Doctors
This session features some of the innovative ICT applications for RMNCH, and highlight efforts of international organizations to foster the use of ICT to better implement the recommendations of the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health.
Day 2
14 May 2013
ITU/ J.M. Planche
The Inspection Panel is completing 25 years in its role, as an accountability mechanism of the World Bank. As you are aware, the Bank’s failure to comply with its operating policies was seen by the entire world in the Bank’s financing with the Sardar Sarovar Dam project on River Narmada. The tenacity of massive grass-roots uprisings from our communities in the 80’s and the sustained hard work of our social movements along with our resoluteness to link it with international coalitions to question the hegemony of the Bank, subsequently led the Bank, for the first time, to commission an independent review of its project. The Independent Review Committee (Morse Committee) constituted by the Bank in 1991 to review the social and environmental costs and benefits of the dam, after years of consistent struggle by Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Movement) and its allies led to a demand from the civil society around the globe for the creation of a grievance redressal system for project-affected communities, which ultimately pressurized the Bank to constitute the Inspection Panel in 1993. We expected this might be a crucial backstop and an opportunity for us to raise our issues of livelihoods, economic loss, displacement from our lands, alienation from natural resources, destruction of environment and threat to our biodiversity and cultural hotspots, where Bank invested in large, supposedly ‘development’ projects like mega dams, energy and other infrastructure projects. Yet, the outcome we expected rarely delivered sufficient remedy for the harm and losses people have experienced over the years.
A number of accountability mechanisms over the next couple of decades in several development finance institutions were formed following the model of World Bank, commonly known as ‘Independent Accountability Mechanisms’[IAMs]. Each year the number of complaints rise which is an indication of the increasing number of grievous projects happening around the world. While IAMs of most MDBs are advertised to provide strong and just processes, many of our experiences imply that the banks are accommodating practices which suit their own needs and their clients, which are borrowing countries and agencies, and not the people for whom the IAMs were built to serve.
Many a time, we have been disappointed by these mechanisms, since these are designed by the banks who are lending for disastrous projects in our lands. And as a result, the already existing narrow mandate of IAMs is further restricted.
In our efforts to hold the lending bank accountable, the communities are always presented with the arduous process of learning the complex formalities and detailed procedures to initially approach the IAMs and get our grievances registered. Our many years’ time and energy then is channelised into seeing through the various cycles of these complaint handling mechanisms, that our entire efforts go into this process, and often our complaint gets dropped off in midst of the procedural rules of the IAMs. People are made to wait many months to clear procedural levels and our cases with the IAMs get highly unpredictable. Further, we face intimidation and reprisals from the state and project agencies for having contacted the IAMs who themselves do not possess any authority to address the violations hurled out to us when we seek dignity, fair treatment and justice from them. There are many of us who feel a loss of morale after long years of struggling with lenders when we fail to see concrete benefits or changes in our circumstances, by which time considerable irreplaceable harm is already done to our lives, environment and livelihoods.
In this manner, our immediate and larger goal of holding banks for their failure to consult with and obtain consent from communities before devising action plans for our lands, water and forests is deflected in the pretext of problem-solving and grievance hearing offered to us in the name of IAMs.
With over 50 registered complaints sent to different IAMS from India in the past 25 years, many more left unregistered due to technical reasons and only a few got investigated, assessed and monitored at different levels, we have a baggage of mixed experiences with the IAMs. A few of the prominent cases from India apart from Narmada project are Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project [WB’s IP], Tata Mega Ultra-01/Mundra and Anjar [IFC’s CAO & ADB’s CRP], India Infrastructure Fund-01/Dhenkanal District [IFC’s CAO], Allain Duhangan Hydro Power Limited-01/Himachal Pradesh [IFC’s CAO] and Mumbai Urban Transport Project (2009) [WB’s IP].
As we now know, what is being witnessed recently is an influx of approved and proposed investments majorly in energy, transport, steel, roads, urban projects, bullet trains, industrial zones/corridors, smart cities, water privatization and other mega projects in India. This has been financed from different multilateral and bilateral sources, foreign corporations, private banks as well as Export-Import Banks (ExIm Banks). It has become a brutal challenge for communities, social movements and CSOs, with lenders and governments constantly shutting their eyes and ears to us who demand accountability for their actions. A compelling and timely need has arisen among diverse groups amongst us to gather together and critically analyze the various trajectories of our engagements with accountability mechanisms of MDBs in order to bring together past 25 years’ learning, insights and reflections of various actors of this accountability process. This urging demand is also an attempt to define the collective experiences in India among our social movements, projected-affected communities and CSOs with IAMs and lending banks, especially appropriating the global political opportunity of Inspection Panel celebrating its 25 years this year.
Speakers:
Thomas Franco, Former General Secretary, AlI India Bank Officers’ Confederation
Arun Kumar, Eminent scholar, Former Professor Jawaharlal Nehru University
C.P. Chandrashekar, Economist, Professor Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Sucheta Dalal, Managing Editor, Moneylife
Soumya Dutta, National Convener, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha
Dunu Roy, Hazards Center, New Delhi
Medha Patkar, Senior Activist, Narmada Bachao Andolan
Tani Alex, Centre for Financial Accountability
M J Vijayan, Activist and Political commentator
Joe Athialy, Centre for Financial Accountability
Anirudha Nagar, Accountability Counsel
Madhuresh Kumar, National Alliance of People’s Movements
A J Vijayan, Chairperson, Western Ghats and Coastal area Protection Forum
Meera Sanghamitra, National Aliance of People’s Movements
Vimal bhai, Matu Jan Sangathan, Uttarakhand
Daniel Adler, Senior Specialist, Compliance Advisor Ombudsman
Joe Athialy, Centre for Financial Accountability
Birgit Kuba, Operations Officer, Inspection Panel
Anuradha Munshi, Centre for Financial Accountability
Bharat Patel, General Secretary, Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan,Gujarat
Awadhesh Kumar, Srijan Lokhit Samiti
Amulya Kumar Nayak, Odisha Chas Parivesh Surekhsa Parishad, Odisha
Dr. Usha Ramanathan, Legal Scholar
Manshi Asher, Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective, Himachal Pradesh
The Inspection Panel is completing 25 years in its role, as an accountability mechanism of the World Bank. As you are aware, the Bank’s failure to comply with its operating policies was seen by the entire world in the Bank’s financing with the Sardar Sarovar Dam project on River Narmada. The tenacity of massive grass-roots uprisings from our communities in the 80’s and the sustained hard work of our social movements along with our resoluteness to link it with international coalitions to question the hegemony of the Bank, subsequently led the Bank, for the first time, to commission an independent review of its project. The Independent Review Committee (Morse Committee) constituted by the Bank in 1991 to review the social and environmental costs and benefits of the dam, after years of consistent struggle by Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Movement) and its allies led to a demand from the civil society around the globe for the creation of a grievance redressal system for project-affected communities, which ultimately pressurized the Bank to constitute the Inspection Panel in 1993. We expected this might be a crucial backstop and an opportunity for us to raise our issues of livelihoods, economic loss, displacement from our lands, alienation from natural resources, destruction of environment and threat to our biodiversity and cultural hotspots, where Bank invested in large, supposedly ‘development’ projects like mega dams, energy and other infrastructure projects. Yet, the outcome we expected rarely delivered sufficient remedy for the harm and losses people have experienced over the years.
A number of accountability mechanisms over the next couple of decades in several development finance institutions were formed following the model of World Bank, commonly known as ‘Independent Accountability Mechanisms’[IAMs]. Each year the number of complaints rise which is an indication of the increasing number of grievous projects happening around the world. While IAMs of most MDBs are advertised to provide strong and just processes, many of our experiences imply that the banks are accommodating practices which suit their own needs and their clients, which are borrowing countries and agencies, and not the people for whom the IAMs were built to serve.
Many a time, we have been disappointed by these mechanisms, since these are designed by the banks who are lending for disastrous projects in our lands. And as a result, the already existing narrow mandate of IAMs is further restricted.
In our efforts to hold the lending bank accountable, the communities are always presented with the arduous process of learning the complex formalities and detailed procedures to initially approach the IAMs and get our grievances registered. Our many years’ time and energy then is channelised into seeing through the various cycles of these complaint handling mechanisms, that our entire efforts go into this process, and often our complaint gets dropped off in midst of the procedural rules of the IAMs. People are made to wait many months to clear procedural levels and our cases with the IAMs get highly unpredictable. Further, we face intimidation and reprisals from the state and project agencies for having contacted the IAMs who themselves do not possess any authority to address the violations hurled out to us when we seek dignity, fair treatment and justice from them. There are many of us who feel a loss of morale after long years of struggling with lenders when we fail to see concrete benefits or changes in our circumstances, by which time considerable irreplaceable harm is already done to our lives, environment and livelihoods.
In this manner, our immediate and larger goal of holding banks for their failure to consult with and obtain consent from communities before devising action plans for our lands, water and forests is deflected in the pretext of problem-solving and grievance hearing offered to us in the name of IAMs.
With over 50 registered complaints sent to different IAMS from India in the past 25 years, many more left unregistered due to technical reasons and only a few got investigated, assessed and monitored at different levels, we have a baggage of mixed experiences with the IAMs. A few of the prominent cases from India apart from Narmada project are Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project [WB’s IP], Tata Mega Ultra-01/Mundra and Anjar [IFC’s CAO & ADB’s CRP], India Infrastructure Fund-01/Dhenkanal District [IFC’s CAO], Allain Duhangan Hydro Power Limited-01/Himachal Pradesh [IFC’s CAO] and Mumbai Urban Transport Project (2009) [WB’s IP].
As we now know, what is being witnessed recently is an influx of approved and proposed investments majorly in energy, transport, steel, roads, urban projects, bullet trains, industrial zones/corridors, smart cities, water privatization and other mega projects in India. This has been financed from different multilateral and bilateral sources, foreign corporations, private banks as well as Export-Import Banks (ExIm Banks). It has become a brutal challenge for communities, social movements and CSOs, with lenders and governments constantly shutting their eyes and ears to us who demand accountability for their actions. A compelling and timely need has arisen among diverse groups amongst us to gather together and critically analyze the various trajectories of our engagements with accountability mechanisms of MDBs in order to bring together past 25 years’ learning, insights and reflections of various actors of this accountability process. This urging demand is also an attempt to define the collective experiences in India among our social movements, projected-affected communities and CSOs with IAMs and lending banks, especially appropriating the global political opportunity of Inspection Panel celebrating its 25 years this year.
Speakers:
Thomas Franco, Former General Secretary, AlI India Bank Officers’ Confederation
Arun Kumar, Eminent scholar, Former Professor Jawaharlal Nehru University
C.P. Chandrashekar, Economist, Professor Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Sucheta Dalal, Managing Editor, Moneylife
Soumya Dutta, National Convener, Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha
Dunu Roy, Hazards Center, New Delhi
Medha Patkar, Senior Activist, Narmada Bachao Andolan
Tani Alex, Centre for Financial Accountability
M J Vijayan, Activist and Political commentator
Joe Athialy, Centre for Financial Accountability
Anirudha Nagar, Accountability Counsel
Madhuresh Kumar, National Alliance of People’s Movements
A J Vijayan, Chairperson, Western Ghats and Coastal area Protection Forum
Meera Sanghamitra, National Aliance of People’s Movements
Vimal bhai, Matu Jan Sangathan, Uttarakhand
Daniel Adler, Senior Specialist, Compliance Advisor Ombudsman
Joe Athialy, Centre for Financial Accountability
Birgit Kuba, Operations Officer, Inspection Panel
Anuradha Munshi, Centre for Financial Accountability
Bharat Patel, General Secretary, Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan,Gujarat
Awadhesh Kumar, Srijan Lokhit Samiti
Amulya Kumar Nayak, Odisha Chas Parivesh Surekhsa Parishad, Odisha
Dr. Usha Ramanathan, Legal Scholar
Manshi Asher, Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective, Himachal Pradesh
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-22-104498
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction: DHS Could Improve Its Acquisition of Key Technology and Coordination with Partners
Note: The dashed yellow square highlights a single radiation portal monitor.
Op 9 juni 2017 vond in de Tweede Kamer in Den Haag de tweede editie van Accountability Hack plaats, een hackathon waar met open data de prestaties van de overheid in kaart worden gebracht. Accountability Hack is een initiatief van de Algemene Rekenkamer en de Tweede Kamer samen met het CBS en de ministeries van Binnenlandse Zaken, Buitenlandse Zaken, Financiën en Infrastructuur en Milieu. De hackathon werd georganiseerd in samenwerking met Open State Foundation. Kijk voor meer informatie op accountabilityhack.nl/