NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Global anti-corruption campaigners at Transparency International elected Peruvian lawyer Jose Ugaz as its new head yesterday marking a shift from quiet diplomacy in combatting fraud and bribery toward more grassroots activism.
Ugaz, best known for leading the investigation against former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori for corruption and human rights abuses, beat the former head of the World Trade Organisation Pascal Lamy by 75 to 49 votes, the advocacy group said.
Ugaz, 55, who served as special prosecutor in a string of high profile corruption cases in his home country, will replace Canadian Huguette Labelle, a former Canadian civil servant who led Transparency International (TI) for nine years.
Ugaz said in a statement that he wants to see much more aggressive action in not only holding to account those who enrich themselves while impoverishing their countries, but also in addressing the mechanisms that allow it.
“We must address the way the corrupt are getting away with it, unmasking them, drawing attention to corrupt schemes such as the abuse of offshore companies, impeding their enjoyment of ill-gotten gains travelling freely and leading a life of luxury while the poor have to pay their bills,” he said.
A former head of TI’s Peruvian chapter, Ugaz represents a younger generation that passionately embraced the organisation’s relatively recent shift toward a more activist approach that calls for zero impunity for those who bend the law and escape punishment.
