Chair of Transparency International to visit Latvia next week
The president of the international anti-corruption organisation Transparency International, Huguette Labelle, will be visiting Latvia next week. On Monday and Tuesday, November 5 and 6, Ms Labelle will take part in an international conference on good governance, “Ethics in Democracy”, that is being organised by the Canadian embassy to Latvia, the University of Montreal and the Latvian Human Rights Centre. The embassy invited the TI chairwoman to attend.
Huguette Labelle is also scheduled to meet with the leadership of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau and with the members and employees of Transparency International Latvia. Ms Labelle will also be received by President Valdis Zatlers. After her meeting with the president, Ms Labelle will hold a press briefing at the Rīga Castle. The briefing is scheduled for 4:00 PM on 6 November.
Huguette Labelle, who hails from Canada, has directed Transparency International since 2005. From 1993 until 1999 she was president of the Canadian International Development Agency. She has also held other high-ranking positions in the Canadian government.
Huguette Labelle has a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Ottawa, and she has received 11 honorary doctorates from other universities. She is presently chancellor of Ottawa University and has received numerous awards from the Canadian government for her work in the area of good governance.
The TI chairwoman also holds senior positions in several other non-governmental organisations and consultative institutions such as the UN Global Compact and the consulting council of the World Bank. She is also president of the Centre for the Financial Services Ombudsnetwork.
Transparency International is a global civic organisation which is a leader in the fight against corruption and in the creation of a global anti-corruption coalition. The mission of TI is to achieve changes that are aimed at ridding the world of the evils of corruption.
TI was established in 1993, and it has become the leading anti-corruption organisation in the world. TI has played a decisive role in preparing anti-corruption conventions for the United Nations and the OECD. TI has partnered with governments, integral political leaders, organisations and companies in the fight against corruption.
TI has chapters in more than 90 countries. The movement observes strict impartiality in its work, collaborating with others who wish to fight against corruption irrespective of their political belonging. TI makes significant ethical demands against itself and its partners. It does not investigate specific cases.
As a global network, TI is highly expert and can bring together a wide variety of players in the fight against corruption at the global, regional and national level.
TI is headquartered in Berlin, and its operations are run by a board whose members come from all over the world. TI Latvia founder and former chairwoman Inese Voika was a member of the TI board from 2003 until 2005.
The last meeting between TI leaders and Latvian government officials occurred in 2004, when the then prime minister of Latvia, Indulis Emsis, requested a meeting with the then board chairman of TI, Peter Eigen. He wanted to complain about protests which TI Latvia was making against his nomination of Ingrīda Ūdre to become a member of the European Commission.
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