Rachel Owens, Acting Campaign Leader at Global Witness said:
"The Azerbaijani Government has escaped punishment by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative with a last minute, cosmetic softening of its crackdown on civil society. We should not be duped – Azerbaijan is gaming the system to preserve its membership of this landmark transparency scheme whilst pushing on with its brutal persecution of activists. The situation underlines the need for the EITI to uphold clear red lines in its safeguards for the protection of civil society, and sanction those that don’t comply. The scheme’s key supporters such as the US and World Bank must support these efforts to ensure the Azerbaijani Government stops its assault on basic freedoms."
/ ENDS
Contacts
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Rachel Owens
Head of EU Office and EU Advocacy / Directrice du Bureau (UE). Campaign Lead on Corporate Accountability
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Oliver Courtney
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