Rather than using their wealth wisely as a building block for development, countries rich in natural-resources, such as oil, gas, timber or minerals, frequently end up blighted by inequality and bad governance. In spite of increasing international recognition of this phenomenon – often referred to as ‘the resource curse’ – governments, multilateral institutions and companies have all failed to do enough to tackle it. In fact, they are often part of the problem.

Global Witness investigates and campaigns to prevent natural resource related conflict and corruption, and associated environmental and human rights abuses. From undercover investigations, to high level lobby meetings, we aim to engage on every level where we might make a difference and bring about change.

Our works falls into four broad strands:

Corruption

Corruption blights millions of lives by diverting vast sums of money earned from a country’s natural resources away from its rightful owners – the citizens of that country. Global Witness campaigns to prevent companies, governments and the international financial system from facilitating corruption on a grand scale.

Conflict

Global Witness campaigns to break the links between natural resources, armed conflict, and human rights abuses.  Our work now covers a range of countries that are affected by or are emerging from violent instability.

Environmental Governance

Forests and land are the planet’s finite resources.  Yet 80% of the world’s tropical forests have been depleted or entirely destroyed and a quarter of the planet’s land has been degraded by deforestation, over-exploitation, industrial activities, and over-grazing.  As demand for resources increases and the planet’s population continues to grow, it is vital that that we take better care of what we have got. 

Maximising accountability and transparency

Commercial deals in the natural resource sector have commonly been covered by a blanket of opacity that prevents citizens from seeing clearly how the deals are being done or who is really benefitting.  Global Witness is working to roll this back so that citizens can hold to account governments and industry in resource-rich countries.