Financial Transparency Coalition

LONDON – The Prime Minister’s backing for tax justice throughout the world won a delighted welcome today from Christian Aid, which has a longstanding campaign against multinationals’ tax dodging.

Africa and the rest of the developing world are often criticized for failing to effectively combat corruption. While many of these countries have a lot to do to get their domestic house in order, not enough attention is paid to the systemic global problems that make it very difficult for even a well-meaning, responsible African government to put a serious dent in illicit financial flows. Western financial secrecy and lax regulations make it very easy for elites in developing countries to squirrel away illicit money, far away from any tax authority.

If you’re not one of the 112 million people to have already watched Jason Russell's Kony 2012 video on YouTube, you might be inclined to tune in here first. Kony 2012 is part-documentary, part-over-produced-Hollywood-flick that has engendered an enormous amount of attention and emotion on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. It concerns Joseph Kony, a warlord from Uganda who, with the help of his forces, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), has abducted and enslaved tens of thousands of children in his own country, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. He remains...

Every other week, the Task Force will be highlighting a Featured Allied Organization. The Task Force has 125 member organizations from all over the world which endorse its mission. Click here to access previous Featured Allied Organization posts. This week’s Featured Allied Organization is Pragati, Koraput. Pragati, Koraput was established in January 1992 with the mission