Fight corruption
Africa is a rich continent, with abundant natural resources. But too often money from oil, gas and mining gets lost in a maze of secret payments and dodgy deals. This contributes to the ‘resource curse’ which sees some of the poorest people in the world living next to some of the most valuable resources.
Citizens rarely get to see what their country is actually earning from individual extractive industry projects. These secret payments allow unscrupulous leaders to pocket some of the profits instead of investing in vital services like schools, roads and health clinics that would benefit all citizens.
Transparency is the first step to helping citizens end this. All oil, gas and mining companies should have to publish all the payments they make to the governments of the countries where they operate, broken down to the level of individual projects and to a level of detail that actually helps local communities. ONE is campaigning for US and European laws that would do exactly that, helping millions of people spot corruption and get themselves out of poverty.
Briefing Centre
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Financial reporting requirements for extractive industries within the proposals to amend the Accounting Directive
European negotiations for a Directive that would require oil, gas, mining and forestry companies to ‘Publish What They Pay’ governments around the world are coming to a head. Leaders across Europe and Members of the European Parliament are setting their policy on a law that could help millions escape poverty. The Council has announced their position already, but it requires urgent improvement in four key areas. More
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Financial reporting requirements for extractive industries within the proposals to amend the Accounting Directive – ONE’s view
ONE welcomed the European Commission’s proposals in October 2011 to include in the revision of the Accounting and Transparency Directives the requirement for European extractive and forestry companies to publish information on payments they make to governments in countries where they operate, on a per-project basis. ONE is now calling on European Union member state countries to show leadership by supporting and strengthening these proposals. More
News & Analysis from the ONE BLOG
135,000 ONE members call for the voices of the world's poorest to be heard
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] ONE members Billy, Mark and Francesca delivering our Open for Development campaign to the home of UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Photo: ONE[/caption]This morning we delivered over 135,000 petition signatures for our Open for Development campaign to 10 Downing Street, home ... More
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Can Africa keep its promise to its people?
[caption id="" align="align-right" width="361"] Erik Charas. Photo World Economic Forum / Matthew Jordaan matthew.jordaan@inl.co.za[/caption]Erik Charas is a campaigning journalist in Mozambique. He was recently arrested by local officials for asking government leaders difficult questions about shady deals done in Mozambique’s natural resources ... More
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Celebrations but no complacency after EU win on transparency
This post was originally published on Trust Law.The fight against corruption is messy, unpredictable and often dangerous. In developing countries it has historically been most acute in countries with large deposits of oil, gas and minerals, and involves the diversion of huge sums of money that could otherwise be ... More
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We did it! Europe takes historic stand against corruption
We did it. After months of our hard campaigning, last night European leaders reached a deal that requires oil, gas, mining, and logging companies to publish the payments they make to governments.Previously, these payments were made in secret, fuelling corruption; but this victory will help promote accountability. Now citizens ... More
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A great day for transparency!
Political agreement transparency measures for European oil and mining companies has been reachedToday, the EU reached a political agreement on binding transparency measures for European oil, gas, mining and logging companies. These rules have been almost three years in the making and the strong outcome is a testament to amazing ... More
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VIDEO: Make budgets public now
Last October, I told you about BTAP, the Global Movement for Budget Transparency, Accountability and Participation. Last week, BTAP launched their budget transparency campaign – Make Budgets Public Now!The campaign will focus on ensuring that governments publish the essential documents that enable citizens and civil society to participate in the ... More
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Government Corruption Casts Shadow over International Football Tournament
As world famous players from football clubs across Europe gather to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, Europe's leaders have been urged to take swift action to help combat the rampant corruption and misuse of funds seen in host nation Equatorial Guinea. Campaign groups EG Justice and ONE have joined forces to call on the European Union to quickly adopt robust new rules that would force many of the multinational companies operating in Equatorial Guinea to publish the payments they make to the government for the right to extract oil. More
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A global partnership for progress against poverty
ONE today welcomed the launch by President Obama of the Open Government Partnership in New York, where eight world leaders made commitments on a range of issues that will help drive the development of African countries. These include the transparency of aid, natural resource revenues and budgets in developing countries. More
