| Hi there, The global campaign for a more just world doesn’t progress evenly, as we’ve seen again this week. In Lima, Peru, the fight against corruption is taking centre stage at the Summit of the Americas, with activists urging leaders to adopt policy recommendations and honour political commitments. With even highly publicised corruption cases in the region stagnating, greater leadership and action is required. So, it is promising at least that the central theme of the summit is “Democratic Governance against Corruption”. Meanwhile in Hungary, Viktor Orbán won a third term in office in a landslide election. It’s no secret that Orbán’s inner circle could be getting rich from EU-funded public contracts and that he has put pressure on NGOs operating in Hungary. Orbán recently signalled that he could use his new political mandate to continue his crackdown on civil society organisations. In fact, Orbán’s proposed “Stop Soros” law, which could be approved as early as May, could debilitate CSOs in the country – including our chapter there. We are deeply concerned. And in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev ‘won’ a fourth term in office in an election that has been harshly criticised by international observers. Last year, the Azerbaijani Laundromat investigation revealed how part of a US$2.9billion slush fund from Baku allegedly went towards paying off European election observers in the country. This time, at least, few are under any illusions. | 