Portugal among countries with high risk of corruption in Defense
Portugal is among the countries with a high risk of corruption in the Defense sector, despite having registered some improvements compared to 2015, revealing an assessment by the organization Transparency International (TI) released this Tuesday.
In TI’s assessment of 86 countries, Portugal appears in the group of countries with a high risk of corruption in the Defense sector, with 44 points out of a possible 100, below the European average (59/100).
“The results for Portugal show a positive evolution compared to 2015 data, with emphasis on the thematic areas of political risk and risks associated with personnel management, but there are still problems in the prevention and mitigation of risks arising from the lack of supervision “, refers to IT in the publication Government Defense Integrity Index 2020, which assesses the quality of institutional controls to manage corruption risks in defense and security institutions.
Speaking to Lusa, Karina Carvalho, executive director of TI Portugal, said that “some improvements were registered in relation to 2015, but the results regarding the operational area remain below what would be expected mainly for a country that has responsibilities at the international level”.
“What we are saying is that there has to be more transparency”, said the official, declaring that in the defense sector “there is little published information”.
According to Karina Carvalho, the data indicate that “a marked difference persists between the public reporting of information by the Ministry of National Defense and by the different branches of the Armed Forces”, whose presence is practically non-existent.
TI argues that, among the branches, “the Army tends to publish more information, whereas the Air Force does not” and that “none of the Directorates General of the Ministry of National Defense presents sufficiently detailed information about its activities. and much of the information available is out of date”.
“The lack of specific military doctrine on corruption risks is less and less understandable”
The executive director of TI Portugal also defends “more supervision by the responsible authorities”, considering that the National Defense Commission of the Assembly of the Republic “deviates more supervision of the action of the Ministry itself and also not with regard to the operational context, there must be plans for corruption risk management, more information and more senility”.
TI’s assessment shows that it is an operational risk area in which Portugal “stands out the most in the negative, with a score of zero points”.
“In a context in which the action of the Armed Forces is increasingly developed in complex operational theaters, involving logistical chains with many intermediaries and chains of command, the lack of specific military doctrine on corruption risks is less and less understandable. National Defense Strategy, under review, as the Military Strategic Concept includes specific sections on prevention and mitigation plans for corruption risks and related offenses, which, as seen even in a recent case, are absolutely essential to ensure integrity in this sector “, defends Karina Carvalho.
The executive director of TI Portugal referred to Operation Miriad, which investigates diamond trafficking and other crimes committed by Portuguese military personnel on missions, namely in the Central African Republic, in which 11 people were detained.
For the responsible, this operation “is a very serious crime problem, but it also highlights these flaws in the operational context”.
TI’s report reveals that 62% of countries have a global score of 49/100 or less, indicating a high risk of corruption in the defense sector in all regions of the world.
New Zealand leads the index, with 85 points, while at the bottom of the list is Sudan, with an overall score of five points, where, in October of this year, the military seized power in a violent coup d’état.
The Government Defense Integrity, formerly known as the Government Anti-Corruption Defense Index, assesses and scores 86 countries in the areas of financial, operational, personnel, policy and procurement risk.
Transparency International is a Non-Governmental Organization that is present in over 100 countries and its mission is to contribute to reducing corruption.