Media Centre

18 June 2013

A transparency revolution has begun. The G8 has made an important contribution, with action on transparency in the oil, gas and mining sectors, on open data, on aid transparency and a significant step forward on tax transparency.

18 June 2013

Brussels – Responding to the outcome of today’s G8 summit, The ONE Campaign calls on the EU to push for transparency on the real owners of companies.

17 June 2013

Adrian Lovett, Europe Executive Director at ONE said: “The next 24 hours will be crucial here in Lough Erne. G8 countries need to tackle the scourge of ‘phantom firms’, by agreeing to disclose who really controls companies and trusts, through public registries. This will ensure that such information is available not only to tax and law enforcement authorities but also to ordinary citizens, the media and others who want to follow the money and root out corruption. The G8 must also ensure that the system they put in place for sharing tax information involves developing countries from the start. “By taking these steps, the G8 will not only puts its own house in order, but do so in ways that help the fight against extreme poverty. The UK must continue to lead the way and lobby its G8 partners, with no let-up in pace or ambition. G8 leaders must decide whether they want to shape the transparency revolution or resist the tide of history.” ENDS Adrian Lovett is at the summit and available for further comment. Please contact Asha Tharoor on 07584 470644 or [email protected]

15 June 2013

The ONE Campaign today welcomed the announcements by the Prime Minister that the UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories have stepped forward to play their part in the fight against corruption and that the UK government intends to lift the veil of secrecy on the hidden deals that prevent African countries from retaining and investing the resources they need to invest in poverty reduction.

15 June 2013

International anti-corruption activists took their message to Downing Street with The ONE Campaign this morning, urging Prime Minister David Cameron to deliver strong commitments on transparency at the G8 Summit.

12 June 2013

The ONE Campaign warmly welcomes today’s vote in the European Parliament on new European rules requiring oil, gas, mining and logging companies to declare the payments they make to foreign governments. The final approval of the rules brings Europe in line with the U.S. Dodd Frank act passed in 2010, and takes the world closer to a global, legally binding transparency standard. According to the rules approved today, EU-listed and large privately-owned oil, gas, mining and logging companies will have to report, on a country by country and project by project basis, all payments over €100,000 to governments wherever they operate.

8 June 2013

This summit marks the biggest milestone in two decades in the fight against child and maternal malnutrition. Robust pledges made by donors, civil society, the private sector and high burden countries are truly historic with a total $4.1 billion promised. This represents a more than doubling in current levels of funding. Vital resources including those from DFID and the EU will go a long way and will enable the international community to achieve our target of 20 million fewer stunted children and 1.7 million child lives saved by 2020.

8 June 2013

Statement at today’s event in London on “Promoting African Agriculture: New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition Security”.

7 June 2013

Adrian Lovett, Europe Executive Director for ONE said: “This is the most transparent and comprehensive assessment yet seen of G8 leaders’ promises in the fight against poverty, hunger and disease. It shows that while the G8 can point to good progress against many of their commitments, there are important areas where they are falling short. On the eve of the UK-led Nutrition Summit, the report shows that commitments made in 2009 on food security have still not been fully met. And while much progress has been made on health funding, support has plateaued in recent years. With less than 1,000 days left to meet the Millennium Development Goals, it is critical that the G8 and others deliver on their promises, raise their investment and allocate effectively to those countries most in need. If previous promises are not kept, future commitments will lack credibility. “The G8 has an important role in helping ensure developing countries’ own resources are more transparent and that governments can be held accountable for how they are used. It’s surprising that the report downplays the recent adoption in the US and European Union of binding transparency laws covering oil, mining and gas. With transparency high on the 2013 G8 agenda, this is a real gap. At the Lough Erne Summit, leaders must make clear commitments on mandatory reporting of payments by companies in the extractives sector, on public registries that make clear who benefits from company ownership, and on a formal system so that tax authorities around the world can automatically exchange information. In a tough economic climate, these steps, together with renewed commitments to aid, are vital to help developing countries retain and invest the resources they earn, rather than lose them through tax evasion and illicit financial flows.”

7 June 2013

Eloise Todd, Brussels director at ONE said: “This scale of investment could be truly transformational. The EU has been ahead of the game in recognising the strategic importance of tackling under-nutrition, but a €3.5 billion pledge shows a serious political commitment to get on with the job.”

6 June 2013

Molly Kinder, Director of Agriculture and Nutrition policy at ONE said: “The Lancet series today shocked us into a new truth: undernutrition is an even deadlier threat to child survival than we ever thought. The new report shows that 3.1 million children every year die because of the underlying problem of undernutrition – that accounts for 45% of all child deaths under 5 years of age. These alarming facts are now irrefutable: undernutrition is responsible for 600,000 more child deaths each year than was previously realised.

3 June 2013

The ONE Campaign applauds Tullow Oil’s decision to publish, for the first time, information detailing its payments to governments around the world.