Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index 2015

Azerbaijan faces “very high” risks of corruption across its defence sector, according to a new Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GI) by Transparency International’s Defence and Security Programme (TI-DSP).
Using a 77-point questionnaire to assess corruption vulnerabilities across the world’s defence sectors, TI-DSP ranked 128 countries’ corruption preparedness on a scale from A (low risk) to F (critical risk).  Azerbaijan received an E – making it one of the most vulnerable countries in Europe.
Recent reforms, such as the 2012-2015 National Anti-Corruption Plan and the dismissal of top military officials, have yet to yield significant results.
Senior military officials face little accountability and Parliament lacks strong oversight of defence spending and policies.  Although defence spending in Azerbaijan increased by 27% in 2015, it remains non-transparent. Parliament plays a little role in shaping the defence spending, and the defence budget is not subject to internal or external audits with publicly disclosed results.
Katherine Dixon, Programme Director Transparency International Defence and Security, said:
“Transparent and accountable defence institutions should be the heart of what NATO stands for as an Alliance. At a time of renewed focus on collective defence, NATO needs to be clear what it is there to defend — societies characterised by the highest democratic standards.
NATO is the world’s largest military and political alliance – through partnerships and military deployments NATO also exerts unparalleled global influence. Whether NATO member states are prepared to hold themselves to the highest standards of integrity and whether they are prepared to tackle corruption in states where they are engaged matters enormously to international security.”
The report shows that across NATO members and partner countries, standards vary widely. The UK topped the table in Band A, outperforming many European neighbours in areas such as whistleblowing and procurement. The USA, Germany, and the Netherlands rank in Band B. Portugal, Ukraine and Turkey, rank in Band D. Afghanistan and Uzbekistan rank alongside Azerbaijan in Band E.
The report is part of a series of studies on the integrity of the world’s defence institutions. Findings across the Middle East, Asia, and the G20 shows that global military expenditure is rising dramatically in exactly those places where governance is weakest, posing a threat to international peace and stability.
Transparency International is urging NATO and European powers to think longer term about their approach to these countries, particularly the risks posed from exporting military capability to what are inherently unstable environments.

NATO: the facts

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the world’s largest military and political alliance.
• Six of its member states are among the world’s 15 top defence spenders.
• In 2014, their budgets constituted 46.5% of worldwide expenditure.
• 10 out of the world’s 20 largest arms exporters are NATO members and a further 3 are European partners.

Contact:
Dominic Kavakeb
Communications Manager
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Notes to editors:
The Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GI) assesses the existence and effectiveness of institutional and informal controls to manage the risk of corruption in defence and security institutions and of their enforcement. Transparency International’s team of experts draws together evidence from a wide variety of sources and interviewees across 77 indicators to provide the government with a detailed assessment of the integrity of their defence institutions.
The 2015 NATO report publishes the country risk rankings derived from this data and examines the trends across the region.
The report follows the Middle East and North Africa, Asia Pacific and G20 reports published in October 2015. Forthcoming reports based on the 2015 index will be released on Africa and fragile states.

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