The Foreign Service Journal, June 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2016 25 coordinated and comprehensive manner. While the United States is not exempt from the global scourge of corruption—as our Founding Fathers knew all too well and addressed within our Constitution—State and the interagency community are working every day to guard against it. Through continued implementation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, our nation leads by example, fighting the practice of bribing foreign officials, denying the entry of corrupt foreign officials into the United States and targeting perpetrators of corruption and their ill-gotten gains both domestically and around the world. Our colleagues’ work at the Department of Justice litigat- ing FCPA cases not only gives U.S. firms an incentive to enact compliance programs, but serves as a model for other coun- tries’ enforcement agencies. We are pleased that Attorney General Loretta Lynch participated in a March ministerial-level meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, to discuss progress in enforcing the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention. In addition, DOJ has successfully returned some $143 mil- lion in assets since 2004, and is currently litigating stolen asset cases involving more than a billion dollars. State’s denial of visas to current and former foreign government officials and private citizens who have bribed government officials strongly complements such efforts. A Defining Moment The State Department’s release of its latest Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review in 2015 was a water- shed moment. The QDDR gave clear instructions to all State employees to expand anti-corruption initiatives and seek ways to cooperate with interagency colleagues to strengthen partnerships, promote capacity-building abroad and increase enforcement. The document also outlines our institutional commitment to empowering civil society all over the world and ensuring successful implementation of vital initiatives, such as the Open Government Partnership and the United Nations Conven- tion against Corruption. With that in mind, INL is rigorously evaluating its own programming to put limited resources into strategies that deliver accountability. The QDDR stresses the importance of equipping our officers with the right tools to implement our anti-corruption policies. Since corruption touches nearly every sector, State has added formal training opportunities for our political, economic and public diplomacy officers at the Foreign Service Institute. We are also sharing best practices across bureaus and incorporat- ing corruption prevention and good governance priorities into country and regional strategies. Even before the QDDR, our rule-of-law assistance included a focus on building integrity in the judiciary, transparency in government institutions and appropriate implementation of international anti-corruption standards. During Fiscal Year 2015, the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development dedicated more than $120 million to a wide range of programs to fight corruption globally. This assistance helps governments develop electronic systems—typically less prone to corruption—to carry out government services like the provision of identification docu- ments; supports training to build the capacity of law enforce- ment officials, prosecutors and members of the judiciary; and bolsters our efforts to mentor parliamentarians to implement key legislation, among many other effective programs. In just the past year, INL managed anti-corruption programs across the globe, from Eastern Europe and Central America to Afghanistan and West Africa. In Ukraine, we supported the Interior Ministry’s efforts to recruit, vet and train 7,000 new patrol officers; as a result, the police now enjoy an 85-percent approval rating among Ukrainian citizens. To reinforce that progress, last December Vice President Biden visited Kyiv to announce an aid package totaling more than $190 million in The 2015 QDDR gave clear instructions to all State employees to expand anti- corruption initiatives and seek ways to cooperate with interagency colleagues to strengthen partnerships, promote capacity-building abroad and increase enforcement.