US investment bank Goldman Sachs appears to have turned a blind eye to glaring corruption risks and conflicts of interest in order to underwrite US$1.6 billion in bonds for the Sarawak State Government, Malaysia, said... read more
News and reports
30.04.2013 | Logging in the shadows: how vested interests abuse shadow permits to evade forest sector reforms
Systematic abuse of small, poorly regulated logging permits in Africa by companies, forest officials and politicians is undermining efforts to fight deforestation and keep illegal timber out of the EU, says a new report... read more
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Systematic abuse of small, poorly regulated logging permits in Africa by companies, forest officials and politicians is... read more
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On 9 April 2013, the EU Member States, Parliament and Commission agreed to adopt new transparency rules for oil, gas, mining and logging companies.
The agreement requires extractive and logging companies to publish... read more
Global Witness raised repeated concerns of corruption risks over opaque mining deals in Congo
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced yesterday that they are opening a criminal investigation into FTSE 100... read more
26.04.2013 | UK Defamation Bill becomes law
Yesterday the Defamation Bill received Royal Assent and became the Defamation Act 2013, bringing much-needed changes to the UK’s libel laws. Until now, archaic and claimant-friendly laws have regularly been used by the... read more
Global Witness joins Cambodian activists and citizens in commemorating the death of Chut Wutty, the Director of environmental watchdog Natural Resource Protection Group (NRPG), who was murdered a year ago today by... read more
Tackling this problem is crucial to anti-corruption and development efforts
Prime Minister David Cameron revealed today that the UK will be seeking action from the G8 to end the abuse of anonymous shell companies. He... read more
A criminal complaint filed today by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Global Witness accuses a senior manager of Swiss and German timber manufacturer the Danzer Group of aiding and... read more
19.04.2013 | Open Letter to Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud accepting offer of debate on land and forest use
Dear Chief Minister Taib,
In an interview with the Let’s Talk programme on The Malaysian Observer, you challenged Global Witness to a debate on the allegations of corruption, land grabbing and tax evasion shown in the... read more
Beny Steinmetz Group Resources says there was no corrupt behaviour in its acquisition of licences to one of the world’s largest iron ore concessions, in the West African nation of Guinea. It asserts that the wife of a... read more
The US authorities have arrested a man in Florida in connection with the controversial acquisition of mining rights in Guinea by Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR), according to a US court document and a press... read more
The recently tabled amendment to the UK Defamation Bill risks eroding progress towards libel laws in the UK that would protect freedom of expression and public interest campaigning, said Global Witness today.... read more
12.04.2013 | Global Witness response to reports relating to Beny Steinmetz Group Resources and FTI Consulting LLP
It has been reported in the media today that Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR) has launched a case against its former public relations adviser, FTI Consulting LLP.
BSGR has suggested as part of the case that Global... read more
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For immediate release
New law represents a major victory after decade and a half campaign
The EU has today agreed ground-breaking new rules forcing oil, gas, mining and logging companies to publish details of the... read more
Tackling this problem is crucial to anti-corruption and development efforts
Prime Minister David Cameron revealed today that the UK will be seeking action from the G8 to end the abuse of anonymous shell companies. He... read more
A criminal complaint filed today by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Global Witness accuses a senior manager of Swiss and German timber manufacturer the Danzer Group of aiding and... read more
Beny Steinmetz Group Resources says there was no corrupt behaviour in its acquisition of licences to one of the world’s largest iron ore concessions, in the West African nation of Guinea. It asserts that the wife of a... read more
The US authorities have arrested a man in Florida in connection with the controversial acquisition of mining rights in Guinea by Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR), according to a US court document and a press... read more
The recently tabled amendment to the UK Defamation Bill risks eroding progress towards libel laws in the UK that would protect freedom of expression and public interest campaigning, said Global Witness today.... read more
12.04.2013 | Global Witness response to reports relating to Beny Steinmetz Group Resources and FTI Consulting LLP
It has been reported in the media today that Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR) has launched a case against its former public relations adviser, FTI Consulting LLP.
BSGR has suggested as part of the case that Global... read more
简体中文
For immediate release
New law represents a major victory after decade and a half campaign
The EU has today agreed ground-breaking new rules forcing oil, gas, mining and logging companies to publish details of the... read more
简体中文
As oil production resumes in South Sudan this week, Global Witness is calling on the government to implement the transparency measures passed as part of oil legislation last year and to clarify recent reports of... read more
UK Prime Minister David Cameron and fellow G8 leaders must crack down on anonymous company ownership, said Global Witness today following revelations by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)... read more
22.03.2013 | UK Government Minister opposes exemptions in European Union extractive industry disclosure law
Global Witness welcomes the move by Rwandan-born warlord Bosco Ntaganda to turn himself in at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali yesterday. The group warns, however, that lasting peace in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (... read more
19.03.2013 | Corruption in Malaysia laid bare as investigation catches Sarawak’s ruling elite on camera
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A new investigation by Global Witness today reveals the systemic corruption and illegality at the heart of government in Sarawak, Malaysia’s largest state. A film, shot undercover during the investigation, shows... read more
14.03.2013 | Release of Mam Sonando provides welcome reprieve as Cambodia’s land grabbing crisis worsens
Global Witness welcomes today’s ruling by Cambodia’s Court of Appeal to free longstanding government critic Mam Sonando. The decision provides a glimmer of light in the fight to end the repression of activists who speak... read more
11.03.2013 | Eni era a conoscenza che il pagamento di 1,1 miliardi di dollari era destinato a un pregiudicato che riciclava denaro
To read in English, click here.
L’Italia deve garantire l’evidenza di tali pagamenti in conformità alla nuova direttiva sulla trasparenza
Secondo gli atti di un caso recentemente al vaglio della High Court del Regno... read more
To read about Shell's alleged meeting with Etete, click here. Leggi in italiano
Italy must ensure new Transparency Directive reveals such payments
Proceedings in a recent UK High Court case have revealed that Italian... read more
11.10.2012 | New Congolese oil and mining codes must include strong measures on transparency, tenders and community rights
As the Democratic Republic of Congo begins the process of revising its mining and oil codes, Global Witness has published its recommendations on how the codes could best ensure transparent and accountable management of... read more
This interactive map by Cambodian organisation Licadho lays bare the speed and scale of the landgrabbing crisis currently gripping Cambodia. Over 2.1 million hectares of land – roughly the total area of Wales... read more
04.09.2012 | Signing Their Lives Away: Liberia’s Private Use Permits and the Destruction of Community-Owned Rainforest
Read press release on this issue
Click here for Government announcement of investigation into this issue.
A quarter of Liberia’s total landmass has been granted to logging companies in just two years,... read more
29.08.2012 | Global Witness comment on SEC conflict minerals rule
Click here to read our initial comment on some of the key provisions relating to companies’ implementation.
On 22 August the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted on the rules for the Dodd... read more
A summary by Global Witness, June 2012
Read our briefing document summarising baseline evaluations of artisanal mining communities in eastern DRC.
Seven baseline evaluations of artisanal mining communities in eastern... read more
Read our FAQ on the current situation in eastern DRC
A new rebellion against the Congolese government was launched in April 2012 in eastern DRC. The insurgent group is known as the M23 and is thought to comprise around... read more
02.07.2012 | Letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling for concrete benchmarks at upcoming Tokyo Conference
Thirteen congressional representatives sent a letter today to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, ahead of a key donor conference on Afghanistan being held in Tokyo later this week. The letter highlights the... read more
20.06.2012 | Financing a parallel government?
Conflict Minerals | Zimbabwe | Conflict Diamonds | Business and Human Rights | Conflict | Corruption
Read the press release to accompany this report
Read the ensuing debate in the UK Parliament
This report reveals how Zimbabwe’s feared secret police, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), appears to have received... read more
17.06.2012 | Grave Secrecy
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Read the Press Release
Grave Secrecy was published in June 2012. It reveals evidence that numerous UK companies have been involved in a major money laundering scandal involving a Kyrgyzstan bank, and shows how... read more
This paper puts forward some ideas for how the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the body that sets the global standards designed to curb financial crime, can ensure that these standards are actually implemented... read more
12.06.2012 | Global Witness's memo to ENRC's shareholders
ENRC must address corruption concerns in DRC and publish findings.
Click the link below to download the full memo. read more
11.06.2012 | Joint civil society letter - Four Core Objectives for Good Governance in Afghanistan’s extractives sector
On July 8th 2012, the international community and Afghan government will meet in Tokyo to discuss Afghanistan's future development.
Ahead of the conference, Global Witness has joined national and international NGOs in a... read more
Organisations representing over 1000 civil society groups have written to the EU calling on it to establish a new standard for company ownership transparency. NGO coalitions including Publish What You Pay, the UN... read more
31.05.2012 | Towards a proactive business and human rights regime - A Global Witness paper to the Danish EU Presidency
Background
Global Witness is a non-governmental organisation that for 17 years has run pioneering campaigns against natural resource-related conflict and corruption and associated human rights abuses. We have exposed... read more
30.05.2012 | Coming clean: How supply chain controls can stop Congo's minerals trade fuelling conflict
La version française
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SEC due to vote on Section 1502 of the Dodd Frank Act
Renewed violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) underscores the urgent need for companies and governments to clean up Congo’... read more
This piece first ran on the Guardian website.
The rich world has been busy tightening its belt in recent weeks, with Britain, Germany and Spain all announcing the severest economic cuts in generations and... read more
09.04.2010 | Good news and bad news in the fight for libel reform
I was delighted to see Simon Singh's victory at the Court of Appeal last week, after a massively expensive, two-year fight to defend his right to contest the scientific opinion of the British... read more
03.02.2010 | John Terry's own-goal may benefit civil society
By Charmian Gooch, Founding Director
It's ironic that it takes the hushing of the England football captain's affair to highlight the scale of a problem that threatens campaign groups like Global Witness ... read more
02.02.2010 | Serial optimists disguise urgency of energy concerns
By Simon Taylor, Founding Director
Geoffrey Smith's piece, Energy Guru brings good news to Davos centring on Pulitzer prize winner Daniel Yergin's exuberance about future global oil supply, is typical of the over-... read more
Blog from Global Witness Director, Patrick Alley
If the organisation of the climate talks in Copenhagen is anything to go by, even the best-intentioned negotiations would be lucky to succeed. Queues hundreds of metres... read more
25.04.2011 | Foreign Policy - The New Geopolitics of Food
From the Middle East to Madagascar, high prices are spawning land grabs and ousting dictators, writes Lester Brown. read more
An international financial crime watchdog has been urged not to relax its stance on monitoring political officials in the light of the desperate scramble to freeze the assets of deposed leaders in the Middle East and... read more
If you express concerns about the negative consequences that over-dependence on aid can have for development, as I did in Mali recently, a common response is that there is no alternative. How else can vital services and... read more
European governments need to force businesses to be transparent if Africa's poor are to benefit from oil's riches, says the Guardian's Economics Editor Larry Elliot in the wake of George Osborne's commitment to support... read more
William Hague 'lobbied strongly' for oil companies run by Tory donors, according to the Telegraph. read more
07.02.2011 | Time Magazine - Forests vs. Food?
Time Magazine's Ecocentric Blog: Forests vs. Food? read more
23.01.2011 | The Christian Science Monitor: As Ivory Coast's Gbagbo holds firm, 'blood diamonds' flow for export
The Christian Science Monitor: As Ivory Coast's Gbagbo holds firm, 'blood diamonds' flow for export read more
The US-sponsored plot to kill Patrice Lumumba, the hero of Congolese independence, took place 50 years ago today, says the Guardian's Poverty Matters blog. read more
Nicholas Christof's blog on New York Times - Notes From a Young American in Congo: A Good Man… read more
As we are forced to change the way we think about energy, the energy consumer is caught between need and the increasing risks involved in securing traditional energy sources. The links between energy provision and... read more
21.12.2010 | Guardian - Transparency will make aid work better
A global standard on sharing information is at the heart of democratising aid – for donors and for recipients, says Owen Barder on the Guardian's Global Development Blog. read more
13.12.2010 | New York Times: Why We Might Fight, 2011 Edition
Countries thirst for oil, compete for minerals and confront climate change, says Tom Shanker of the New York Times. The American military, with surprising allies, worries that these issues represent a new source of... read more
13.12.2010 | Guardian: Will Sudan let the south go peacefully?
Southern Sudan looks set to vote for independence – but lingering questions over the future of Abyei are worrying, asks the Guardian's Peter Moszyinski. Read here. read more
BBC News - French appeals court reopens African assets case read more
IEA fear oil spike if climate pledges fail read more
24.11.2011 | Daily Telegraph: Britain's aid towards Democratic Republic of Congo under scrutiny over mining deals
This op-ed appeared in the International Herald Tribune
The Stolen Money Trail
By Anthea Lawson
Earlier this month, Swiss bank regulators found that four Swiss banks had not done enough to identify dictators’ assets... read more
A suspected Sudanese air strike on a refugee camp in South Sudan will not trigger a return to war but belligerent posturing on both sides will complicate and slow talks over oil transit fees and other sensitive disputes... read more
10.11.2011 | Centre for Public Integrity: China-based corporate web behind troubled Africa resource deals
For centuries, wave after wave of colonists and foreign investors have swept through Africa, looking for profits from the continent’s abundant reserves of oil and prized minerals, write Beth Morrissey, Himanshu... read more
06.09.2011 | The Hill - A Crucial Few Weeks for Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) mineral market has vast potential, and if properly regulated, could be the catalyst for the country’s development while offering solid returns for international investors.... read more
With Colonel Muammar Gaddafi all but gone, Libya's prospects can be summed up in one word: oil, says Vivienne Walt in TIME Magazine. Far different from the revolutions in Tunisia or Egypt, or the rebellions in Yemen... read more
Human rights organisations are calling on donor governments to reassess their aid programmes to Cambodia if the country passes a law that can be used to muzzle local and foreign NGOs, writes the Guardian's Marc Tran. read more
31.08.2011 | FT - Wealth fund still conceals inner secrets
Beyond the immediate priority of securing control of the LIA assets frozen as a result of international sanctions, the challenge confronting Libya’s new leadership is how to reform an institution that, if it survives in... read more
15.07.2011 | Guardian | Act now on oil to stop future Gaddafis
The 40-nation Libya contact group is meeting with the Interim National Transitional Council to decide how best to support the rebels against Muammar Gaddafi's forces. Global Witness's Brendan O'Donnell argues on Comment... read more
08.07.2011 | Christian Science Monitor - World's newest country: South Sudan's oil remains a sticking point
As its independence draws near, South Sudan has yet to agree how to divide oil revenues with its northern neighbor, which has the infrastructure to export the oil the south needs to sell to survive - read here. read more
Heavy fighting along the border between north and south Sudan has displaced tens of thousands of people and further complicated next month's planned southern independence, jeopardizing billions of dollars in oil revenue... read more
The London-based anti-corruption campaign group, Global Witness, said it has evidence that Teodorin Obiang, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of the tiny West African state of Equatorial Guinea, has plans to... read more
This article was published in the Financial Times on 24th February 2011.
Read press advisory on this issue.
Don't make it easier for dictators to steal
By Anthea Lawson, head of Kleptocracy campaign
The world may... read more
A U.S. diplomat called Equatorial Guinea's dictator of 31 years one of "the good guys" in leaked diplomatic cables urging Washington to engage with its third largest oil supplier or risk endangering energy security,... read more
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