21/07/2015
EUROsociAL and Transparency International - Berlin are driving the creation of an Anti-Corruption Legal Aid Centre in Brazil with support from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the Sao Paulo Mayor's Office and the Pontificia Universidad Católica.
Picture from ALACs`s campaign. TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL
Brazil will have an Anti-Corruption Legal Aid Centre (ALAC), a tool that the Brazilian government will use to encourage citizens to report corruption and to change the culture of routine coexistence with this problem.
ALACs were created in Romania and in Bosnia Herzegovina byTransparencia Internacional (TI) in 2003 in order to offer free legal services to victims and witnesses of corruption in strict confidentiality. There are currently 90 in a total of 60 countries and 140,000 citizens have been attended to. The ALAC in Brazil is driven by the cooperation programme between EUROsociAL and Transparency International – Berlin, with support from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Sao Paulo Mayor’s Office and the Pontificia Universidad Católica.
Unsung heroes
Reporting an act of corruption is a real challenge. Fear of reprisals, mistrust of State institutions coupled with the complexity and slowness of the justice system, require perseverance, patience, commitment to democratic values and, above all, a large dose of courage. Those who report acts of corruption are often looked upon as whistleblowers or even moralists.
Transparency International calls the complainants “unsung heroes“, because of the bravery they show by giving the confidential information which is essential for promoting change and anti-corruption reforms in Europe and Latin America.
The ALAC in Brazil comes under the umbrella of EUROsociAL in transparency and the fight against corruption being coordinated by the FIIAPP and its operational partner, the CEDDET Foundation.
