28/06/2018
With the support of EUROsociAL +, a free and confidential advisory service has been launched for citizens who report acts of corruption.
Opening ceremony of the ACLA in Chile
In order to provide free legal assistance to victims, witnesses and/or whistleblowers in cases of corruption involving public authorities and/or officials, Chile Transparente, the Chilean chapter of Transparency International (TI) ), has set up an Anti-Corruption Legal Assistance (ACLA) office.. The initiative has received the support of EUROsociAL + , a programme funded by the EU, within the framework of the Democratic Governance area managed by the FIIAPP.
The ACLA seeks to encourage citizen participation by providing a secure and confidential channel where anyone can report allegedly corrupt acts. Citizens can report any irregular behaviour or a suspected corrupt act involving the authorities or officials in any public institution within the Chilean State Administration through its website.
These ACLAs originated in Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina and have rapidly spread to other parts of the world. Today there are 90 ACLAs in 60 countries, and more than<231< 140,000 citizens so far have turned to them for assistance.
The official launch of the ACLA took place in Santiago, Chile, and it was attended by the European Union Ambassador to Chile, Stella Zervoudaki; the President of the NGO Transparency International, Delia Ferreira Rubio; the Comptroller General of the Republic, Jorge Bermúdez; the National Public Prosecutor, Jorge Abbott; and the Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency, Gonzalo Blumel.
This initiative will make it possible to tackle corruption, while at the same time encouraging greater involvement of citizens in public activity. In the words of the National Public Prosecutor, “projects such as these are absolutely essential for carrying out investigations into corruption”, since “without civilian control of State activity, it is very difficult for there to be no dark corners within an administration”.
