Global Witness – Minerals and Conflict Fact Sheet

Mining in fragile states increases the likelihood of violent insurgencies and increases their duration and intensity. Poor governance means that natural resource revenue that could be used to reduce aid dependency and fund development often fuels corruption and weakens governments instead. Driving greater accountability and transparency is important not just as a humanitarian concern, but for the national security of…

Global Witness – Oil and Conflict Fact Sheet

Oil production in fragile states increases the likelihood of violent insurgencies and increases their duration and intensity, while oil revenue that could be used to reduce aid dependency and fund development often fuels corruption and weakens governments instead. Driving greater accountability and transparency is important not just as a humanitarian concern, but for the national security of the United States…

Myth Busting: The Truth About the Cardin-Lugar Anti-Corruption Provision

The Cardin-Lugar provision is a landmark piece of bipartisan legislation. The final anti- corruption rule implementing the Cardin-Lugar provision passed by the SEC in June 2016 significantly advances international efforts to curb corruption and has been applauded by investors, companies and governments around the world. However, a great deal of misinformation has been spread about the rule. Below you will…

Senate and Investor Champions of Section 1504 React to Strong SEC Final Rule

Champions of Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act react to the release of the Security and Exchange Commission’s Final Rule. “Today is a watershed moment as the United States reclaims its position as a leader in the effort to increase global accountability and transparency. This final rule will enable citizens and local civil society organizations to hold government leaders accountable…

Welcome to Extract-A-Fact

This post originally appeared on www.extractafact.org on June 3, 2016 Publish What You Pay – United States (PWYP-US) is excited to launch the Extract-A-Fact project! “Are we getting a good deal on our natural resources?” Extract-A-Fact will provide training modules detailing useful and creative ways to find, analyze, and visualize extractives data, as well as blog posts from PWYP-US and…

The USA’s oil transparency rules: Worth the wait?

Thanks to public pressure and a lawsuit by Oxfam America, the SEC has done it, and last month saw the draft rule published. PWYP-US is currently analysing the details, but overall, it’s good news – it is comparable to the EU Directives (so most companies which are listed in both the US and EU will be able to submit the same report in both places) and the early general verdict is that this is a strong proposed rule, which requires public disclosure of payments by company and by project.