The Arcadia Foundation promotes democracy and curbs corruption in governments all over the world. We fight on-the-ground for those with little control over their lives, who yearn for understanding and support from their governments. We provide the platform, the tools and the training for political activism and encourage dialogue and transparency between government and their citizenry.
Its in our hands to create change.
Dec. 27th, 2010
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Justice Department announced charges against two former executives of a Miami-based telecommunications company accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to government officials in Honduras to maintain a long-distance telephone link with the U.S. Read More
Nov. 2nd, 2010
Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe sits down with the Arcadia Foundation to commend them on their efforts to uphold democracy in developing nations and promote fundamental human rights wherever they are being upheld. Read More
Apr. 11th, 2010
Arcadia Foundation President and former Chief Mediator between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army, Betty Bigombe has been awarded the Geuzen Medal for 2010 for her efforts to end the war in northern Uganda.
The following was originally published in Foreign Policy Magazine:
There’s been plenty of reporting about the Georgian government’s extensive lobbying effort in Washington, but little is known about the new and expansive lobbying effort now in place on behalf of a Georgian billionaire and a leading opposition lawmaker, who are confronting Georgia’s president on the world stage.
20 years ago, reeling from decades of Soviet nuclear testing, the nation of Kazakhstan took a monumental stand.
As its first order of business, Kazakhstan made nuclear responsibility a national mandate, renouncing all nuclear weapons and shutting down the test site in Semipalatinsk, where over 400 detonations once took place.
To mark the closure of the test site and the ongoing efforts to raise awareness to the devastating impact nuclear radiation can have on innocent lives, Kazakhstan will be holding an International Forum for a Nuclear Weapon Free World in Astana, October 12-13.
On the Kazakh side of the Aral Sea, water levels are rising, and fishing communities are being rebuilt. The future of the South Aral Sea, bordering on Uzbekistan, is still in doubt. Matilda Lee (Ecologist, Guardian Environment Network) reports from Aral City.
Aral City’s vice-mayor Kolbai Danabaev can’t wait to have a beer by the sea shore. He is optimistic: he thinks he’ll be able to do so in two years time.
Aral City, in western Kazakhstan, on the northern tip of the Aral Sea, has the trappings of a beach spot: sun, sand, and locally-brewed Aral Beer. But, while Kolbai Danabaev and other city officials are happy to pose for PR photos with the local brew in hand, in the background, something crucial is missing.
There is no sea.
Georgian President’s personal photographer Irakli Gedenidze and his wife Natia Gedenidze have been detained, apparently accused of participating in a spying ring, mother of Irakli Gedenidze Marina Andghuladze confirmed to InterPressNews.
“I don’t know the reason of their detention. I only know that Irakli and Natia are detained”, Marina Andghuladze said.
Photo reporter of Georgian MFA Giorgi Abdaladze is also detained.
InterPressNews has been informed a while ago about the detention of the photo reporter Zurab Kurtsikidze, who is in the so-called “Moduli” building. Details and reasons behind the detention are not known yet but the Arcadia Foundation will keep our readers up to speed on any new information that is divulged.
The following comes to us by By Holman W. Jenkins jr., courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.
Stalin died in bed at age 73 of a stroke, virtually untreated, as his aides stood around and debated the propriety of calling in a doctor without an instruction from their master. Given Vladimir Putin’s age (58) and modern life expectancies, it could be decades before his henchmen might have a similar opportunity for inaction.
A moment of suspense came in 2008 when then-President Putin faced a constitutional prohibition on a third consecutive term. He solved his dilemma by turning himself into prime minister, arranging for one of his factotums to be elected as president, and carrying on as before. Now he can stay prime minister indefinitely, or can run in next year’s presidential race.
Bottom line: The world, and Russia, may be living with Mr. Putin for a long time.
In a systemic pattern of Interpol abuse, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that former Duma member Ashot Egiazaryan was placed on the ‘Interpol wanted list’. At the same time, the Investigative Committee failed to note that Interpol itself does not search for anyone, but only circulates notices at the request of Interpol member states.
According to the official position of Interpol, such notices “are not international arrest warrants” but are automatically circulated at the request of the requesting state “to assist the national police in identifying or locating those persons with a view to their arrest”. Arrest warrants are issued exclusively by national authorities, which in Mr. Egiazaryan’s case took place nearly four months ago.
The Investigative Committee’s arrest warrant is also fraudulent. Under Russian law, an arrest warrant may only be issued in the absence of the accused if that individual has been placed on an international wanted list, whereas a mandatory condition for placement on the international wanted list is placement on the national wanted list. Mr. Egiazaryan was placed on the Russian national wanted list on the false pretence that his whereabouts are unknown.
The Council on Foreign Relations reports that the United States could quite possibly be making headway into possible talks between North and South Korea, based on information from the State Department.
At a State Department briefing earlier this week, the spokesman stated that U.S. Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea Ambassador Robert King may be tasked to lead a food assessment mission to North Korea. This announcement comes following a round of consultations led by Ambassador Stephen Bosworth last week in South Korea to manage differences on the issue, since United States sees food assistance as an issue separate from politics while the South Korean government sees food assistance as a form of leverage by which to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table. The consultations resulted in begrudging South Korean government support (or at least the absence of objections to) the U.S. decision to send an assessment team to North Korea. Read Full Paper
As the United States and Russia look to improve their equivocal relationship, there is still great hesitation as to what the future may hold for the two powerhouses. The Moscow Times reports that both sides are eager to come to a common agreement on how they can best serve each other, but with corruption and government fragmentation still plaguing the Eastern country, the U.S. recognizes the importance of patience during coalition discussions.
What’s next for the U.S.-Russian reset? Having already succeeded in ramming the ambitious New START arms control treaty through a reluctant Senate late last year, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is now eyeing the next step in its reboot of relations with Moscow: integrating Russia into the world economy. Read Full Paper
Torture, abuse, and murder have been addressed within Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion. The country, which has been plagued by crime and corruption for years, is being asked to make substantial changes to the way it’s battalion enforces laws to protect the safety and security of it’s people.
The LA times reports that human rights group urged Bangladesh on Tuesday to end torture, extrajudicial killings and related abuses by an elite anticrime force that the organization said had killed nearly 200 people since January 2009, including many allegedly executed while in the unit’s custody.
Human Rights Watch further called on the Asian nation to disband the Rapid Action Battalion if its record doesn’t improve. Read Full Paper
Human rights groups and Anti-Qaddafi supporters voiced their outrage this week by demanding the United Nations remove an official from the counsel who has famously supported the callous Libyan leader. Fox News reports that human rights groups as well as UN Watch have urged the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee to oust Jean Ziegler for his shady alliance.
Dozens of human rights and watchdog groups are calling on the United Nations to expel from its ranks a Swiss official who allegedly had a hand in creating the al-Qaddafi International Prize for Human Rights more than two decades ago.
The prize, as its title suggests, is named after Libyan strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi, whose efforts to mow down rebels and protesters triggered an internationally backed no-fly zone and military intervention last month. Over the years, the award bearing his name has gone to such controversial and dubious figures as Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Louis Farrakhan and French Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy. Read Full Paper
