OGP Civil Society Co-Chairs Call on President Rousseff to Protect CGU
“As civil society co-chairsThe leadership of the Steering Committee is made up of four co-chairs who provide strategic guidance and support to advance OGP’s overarching priorities. Co-Chairs serve two-year terms beginning on ... of the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More, we are deeply concerned about reports that the future of the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU) in Brazil is at risk. CGU was a founding member of the Partnership, serving as its Chair from to 2011-2012, and continuing to play a leadership role as a Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru... member. During their tenure, CGU has advanced critical gains in transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and accountability, including creating the Transparency Portal (also considered one of the five most effective tools in preventing corruption by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime), supporting the passage of Brazil’s first Freedom of Information Law and of the Law on the Liability of Legal Persons for Acts of Corruption. It is essential that the independence and cabinet role for the CGU is maintained, especially at such a critical time for the fight against corruption in Brazil and across Latin America. Undermining CGU’s work would also be a setback in the week when countries have agreed ambitious new Global Goals that include combating corruption and building more effective government institutions. For the future of OGP in Brazil, and for the millions of Brazilians eager to see their government take a robust stand on fraud and corruption, we call on President Dilma Rousseff to keep CGU in its current form.”