Oxfam America and six other international organizations concerned with reform of the oil, gas, and mining industries (Oxfam Novib – Netherlands, Revenue Watch Institute, International Institute for Environment and Development, Global Witness, Bank Information Center, and Publish What You Pay – USA) hosted an international conference in Washington on September 23 to discuss contracts between corporations and governments. Audio recordings of the panels are now available at the links below.
These contracts determine how much governments will receive from the development of their resources and have important implications for communities, human rights, and the environment. While much international attention has been given to transparency and management of government revenues from these industries, less attention has been paid to the underlying agreements between companies and host governments.
The conference discussed the political and legal context of extractive industry contracts; licensing and negotiation; confidentiality and transparency of contracts; citizen and parliamentary participation in negotiation; approval and monitoring of contracts; the financial "take" of the government contracts; and contract renegotiation experiences. Specific experiences in Liberia, Ghana, Peru and Azerbaijan were also examined from a variety of perspectives. Conference participants discussed key areas for a reform agenda as a contribution towards addressing the “resource curse”.
The one-day international conference brought together international NGOs, civil society groups from developing countries, academics and researchers, international financial institutions, corporate and government representatives, and legal practitioners. (Participants came from Ghana, Liberia, Peru, Bolivia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Angola, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Equatorial Guinea, Cambodia, Europe, Canada, and the United States.)
A summary conference report will be available shortly. For more information on the conference, please contact Ian Gary at Oxfam America, igary@oxfamamerica.org, or Susan Maples at Columbia University School of Law, smaple1@law.columbia.edu.
Agenda
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES CONTRACTS
Oxfam America, Oxfam Novib, Revenue Watch Institute, International Institute for Environment and Development, Global Witness, Bank Information Center, Publish What You Pay – USA
September 23, 2009
House of Sweden, Alfred Nobel Hall
Washington, DC, 20007
9 a.m. – 9:30 Coffee and registration
9:30-9:40 Introduction and opening remarks
Ian Gary – Senior Policy Advisor – Extractive Industries, Oxfam America – “Breaking the Resource Curse – the Importance of Addressing Contract Issues”
9:30 – 11:15 Framing Panel
Click here for the audio recording, or download the file here.
Moderator – Ian Gary
The Political, Social and Legal Context of Company-Host Government EI Agreements – Historical Trends, External Constraints and Latest Developments
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Lou Wells, Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management, Harvard Business School
Environmental, Social and Human Rights Implications of EI contracts
- Peter Rosenblum - Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein Clinical Prof. in Human Rights, Columbia Law School
Commonalities and differences between the oil, gas and mineral sectors
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John Gara, Legal Advisor, Commonwealth Secretariat
Contract Disclosure and Fiscal Transparency
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Marco Cangiano - Division Chief, Public Financial Management, Fiscal Affairs Dept., International Monetary Fund
11: 15 – 12:15 Before the Contract – Bidding, Licensing and Negotiation
Click here for the audio recording or download the file here.
Moderator - Kyla Tienhaara - postdoctoral researcher - Regulatory Institutions Network - Australian National University
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Raja Kaul – Chief Technical Advisor, Negotiating and Regulating Investment Contracts, Africa Regional Bureau, UNDP
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Joe Bell – Partner, Hogan and Hartson, Washington/International Senior Lawyers Project
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Corinna Gilfillan – Director, Washington Office, Global Witness
12:15 – 1:00 Lunch Break
1:00 – 1:15 Update on US Congressional Action on Extractive Industries Transparency
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Nilmini Rubin - Senior Professional Staff Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
1:30 – 2:30 Confidentiality and Transparency of Contracts
Click here for the audio recording or download the file here (includes panel above on US Congressional action).
Moderator – Sarah Pray - Coordinator - Publish What You Pay USA
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Susan Maples - Revenue Watch Fellow, Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute
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Curtis Frasier - General Counsel, Upstream Americas, Shell
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Jacqueline Weaver - Prof. of Law, Univ. of Houston Law Center
2:30 – 4:00 Country Cases 1 – Liberia / Ghana
Click here for the audio recording or download the file here.
Moderator – Lorenzo Cotula - Senior Researcher - Law and Sustainable Development, Natural Resources, IIED
Liberia
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Franklin Siakor – Senator for Bong County, National Legislature, Liberia
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Minister Elfrieda Tamba - Deputy Minister of Finance, Liberia
Ghana
- Dominic Ayine – Executive Director, Center for Public Interest Law (CEPIL) – Ghana/Faculty Member, University of Ghana Law School
- Bishop Akolgo – Executive Director, Integrated Social Development Centre – ISODEC - Ghana
4:00 – 4:15 Coffee Break
4:15 – 5:30 Country Cases 2 – Peru
Click here for the audio recording or download the file here (includes closing remarks).
Moderator – Carlos Monge - Regional Coordinator for Latin America, Revenue Watch Institute
Peru
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Cesar Gamboa – President DAR Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Peru (Rights, Environment and Natural Resources)
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Humberto Campodonico – Engineer/Economist, Associate Researcher, Centro de Estudios y Promoción del Desarrollo, DESCO, Columnist, La Republica, Peru
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Juan Aristi - Graduate Associate, RWI/Columbia Business School MBA 2009
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