Natural Resources | ||
Natural Resources have been been the source of conflict and human rights abuses in recent years. Following are reports and websites related to diamonds, oil, timber and other resource-based conflict in Africa.DiamondsPresentation to the Sierra Leone Truth and ReconciliationSource: Partnership Africa Canada Date: 2003 Presentation of the findings of three years of research on the role of diamonds in the ten-year conflict in Sierra Leone with recommendations for the UN Security Council and national and international governments that would contribute to building human security and democracy in Sierra Leone. The Diamond Peace Alliance An initiative that aims to bring private industry, community, NGOs, and government together to ensure that the Sierra Leone diamond industry contributes positively to peace and prosperity through increasing benefits to the people of Kono from the diamond industry and by helping the government improve its ability to manage diamonds. For a Few Dollars More: How al Qaeda Moved into the Diamond Trade Source: Global Witness Date: 2003 Report showing that the trade networks and routes used by al Qaeda to gain access to rough diamonds are the same as those used for trading in conflict and illicit diamonds. The report concludes with recommendations for governments and the diamond industry, calling for a strengthened Kimberley Process with an independent monitoring mechanism which can ensure that diamonds are no longer tainted by corruption, terrorism and war. Making a Killing: The diamond trade in government-controlled DRC Source: Amnesty International Date: 2002 Report on human rights abuses in government-controlled areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Includes recommendations that commercial activity needs greater international scrutiny and the need for an independent commission of inquiry. Critical Issues Remain in Deterring Conflict Diamond Trade Source: United States General Accounting Office Date: 2002 Report which concludes that the Kimberley Agreement that was completed in March 2002 does not provide reasonable assurance that conflict diamonds will be kept out of the system. It makes recommendations for tougher controls, including risk assessment, better internal controls in the US and appropriate international monitoring of the Kimberley system. Can Controls Work? A Review of the Angolan Diamond Control System Source: Global Witness Date: 2002 Analysis of the system of diamond controls currently being implemented in Angola, evaluating whether effective implementation is possible in an industry sector that is notorious for smuggling and where there is resistance to legal systems such as export regimes and the payment of taxes. Dirty Diamonds and Civil Society Source:PAC Date: 2001 History of the conflict diamond campaign, whereby some small NGOs identified the role that diamonds played infueling some of Africa's most brutal wars and developed a strategic engagement with the media, governments and the diamond industry itself, to bring about change. In its analysis and description of conflict, the paper deals mainly with Sierra Leone, the country most familiar to the authors. A Rough Trade Source: Global Witness Date: 1998 A report reviewing the role of companies and governments in the Angolan conflict, specifically related to diamonds. Available in English and Portuguese. Scroll down to report. OilAddressing the Natural Resource Curse: an illustration from NigeriaSource: IMF Working Paper Date: 2003 Research showing that oil isn't necessarily bad for growth, but it is very bad for institutions. And the more oil, the worse the institutional development. International Advisory Group (IAG) for the Chad�Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project Website that aims to make public, and convey to all interested parties, the documents, mission reports and recommendations of the IAG, mandated to observe progress of the petroleum-development-related projects. Bottom of the Barrel: Africa's Oil Boom and the Poor Source: Catholic Relief Services. Date: 2003 Report addressing two fundamental questions: How can Africa's oil boom contribute to alleviating poverty? What policy changes should be implemented to promote the management and allocation of oil revenues in a way that will benefit ordinary Africans. Documents and Reports of the International Advisory Group on the Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project Source: International Advisory Group, Chad-Cameroon PDPP Date: 2003 The World Bank and the governments of Chad and Cameroon have appointed several monitoring groups for this project, among them an independent supervisory panel: the International Advisory Group. Its reports are posted on its web site the day they are presented. Shifting Sands: Oil exploration in the Rift Valley and the Congo Conflict Source: Pole Institute Date: 2003 Report examining issues related to oil exploration by the Canadian company, Heritage Oil in Western Uganda and Eastern Congo, investigating the implications of the most capital-intensive extractive industry entering one of the world's most complex conflict areas and questioning what needs to be done to ensure that the Congolese population enjoys the benefits of their rich natural environment. Deconstructing Engagement: Corporate Self-Regulation in Conflict Zones Source: Georgette Gagnon, Audrey Macklin, Penelope Simons Date: 2003 Examines the existing governance gap in the accountability of transnational corporations for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law associated with their extraterritorial operations. Talisman Energy's operations in Sudan serve as a case study. The report identifies implications for human rights and Canadian public policy. All the Presidents Men: The devastating story of oil and banking in Angola's privatised war Source: Global Witness Date: 2002 This report provides an update on the campaign for full transparency in the oil and banking sector. It continues an expos�, which started with December 1999's A Crude Awakening, into the mechanisms of wholesale state robbery in Angola. Report available in English, French and Portuguese, in pdf or Word format. The Scorched Earth: oil and war in Sudan Source: Christian Aid Date: 2001 A report on oil development and the continuing civil war in Sudan. Oil Development, Conflict and Displacement in Western Upper Nile, Sudan Source: Canadian Auto Workers, Steelworkers Humanity Fund, the United Church of Canada and World Vision Canada Date: 2001 Report of the intensification of armed attacks on civilians in key areas of Sudan's contested oil region in Western Upper Nile during 2000 and 2001. The report provides viable policy alternatives for the Canadian government and recommendations for Talisman shareholders.
DR Congo "Our brothers who help kill us" - Economic Exploitation & Human Rights Abuses in the East Source: Amnesty International Date: 2003 Report on human rights abuses associated with economic exploitation taking place in areas under the control of the armed opposition groups and foreign forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This report concludes with recommendations aimed at achieving accountability and justice addressed to all parties to the conflict, both governments and armed political groups, and to the international community, including companies doing business in eastern DRC. Poverty Reduction or Poverty Exacerbation? Source: Oxfam, Friends of the Earth, et al Date: 2003 A report examining the World Bank Group's support for extractive industries in Africa over the past 20 years in light of the World Bank's self-proclaimed mission in poverty reduction, describing the obstacles to using extractive industries as a vehicle for poverty reduction and sustainable development and proposes a research agenda to clarify the costs and benefits of WB-supported extractive industries operations. Cursed by Riches: Who Benefits from Resource Exploitation in the DRC Source: All Party Parliamentary Group (U.K.) on the Great Lakes Region & Genocide Prevention Date: 2002 Report looking at the impact of natural resource exploitation on people's lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the implications for a lasting peace in the region. Includes recommendations for U.K. aid and foreign policy, for corporations, the United Nations and for governments in the Great Lakes Region. Making a Killing: The Business of War Source: Center for Public Integrity's International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Date: 2002 11-part series examining the role of private military companies in war zones and their connections with national & corporate interests, especially drilling and mining. Poverty in the midst of Wealth - the Democratic Republic of Congo Source: Oxfam Date: 2002 A briefing paper exploring one of the driving forces behind the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - the desire by the warring parties to have access to, and control over, the DRC's vast natural resources. The report includes a number of recommendations for governments and international agencies, including the need to deliver on the Kimberley Process recommendations. The Economies of Conflict - Private Sector Activities and Armed Conflict Source: Programme for International Co-operation and Conflict Resolution Date: 2002 A series of reports examining how certain private sector activities help sustain armed conflict and what can be done about it. Topics covered include the question of conflict diamonds, timber and oil. Extractive Sectors and the Poor Source: Oxfam Date: 2001 Report contesting the conventional economic wisdom that developing nations prosper by extracting and exporting their oil and mineral wealth, concluding instead that developing countries that rely heavily on oil or mineral exports suffer higher rates of poverty and child mortality, and spend more on their militaries than similar countries with more diverse economies. |
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