Attending the forum were businesses that have specific interests in the new restoration projects, especially dredging, engineering, and construction firms; government agencies that help retrain and locate workers; nonprofits that work in the communities; and conservation organizations that aim to maximize investments in ecosystem restoration projects that protect coastal communities and make them more resilient in the face of hazards.

“The RESTORE Act gives the region a tremendous opportunity to repair and restore the vital and delicate ecosystems that many have relied on for their livelihoods,” said Irit Tamir, Senior Advocacy and Collaborations Advisor for Oxfam. “We see the opportunity to create a whole new market that employs hundreds and thousands of people and injects new life into the communities.”

Oxfam America and The Nature Conservancy presented a new report at the forum entitled “Rebuilding Our Economy, Restoring Our Environment: How the Emerging Restoration Economy Offers New and Expanded Opportunities for Gulf Coast Businesses and Communities.” The report underscores the importance of the Gulf Coast to the country’s environment and economy, and explores the potential of the new restoration economy to employ people, revitalize the economy, and repair vital ecosystems.

"It was tremendously exciting to gather these people from such different arenas, to see how they could assist each other in embarking on new enterprises that benefit the environment and economy of the Gulf Coast,” said Cindy Brown, Gulf of Mexico Program Director for The Nature Conservancy. 

"The business community has always been a tremendous supporter of coastal restoration in our area,” noted Simone Maloz, Executive Director of Restore or Retreat, a regional coastal advocacy group based in Thibodaux, and host of the forum.  “We are pleased to be able to give back in a small way by hosting this forum and providing information about the ways that coastal restoration can help local businesses grow and maximize their investments in this restoration economy.”

The joint report notes that an investment of $1 million dollars in a restoration project generates from 17 to 36 jobs. “That’s a tremendous return on investment,” said Scott Kirkpatrick, President of the Coast Builders Coalition. “And we have further proof that these are good jobs that pay wages that can sustain families. Business owners are invested in the health of our communities, and are eager to use the local workforce where practical.”

“In order for businesses to enter new markets such as the construction of oyster reefs, the flow of funding for ecosystem restoration and management cannot be intermittent or cyclic,” said Dr. Sherwood “Woody” Gagliano, CEO of Coastal Environments, Inc. who presented at the forum. “With the passage of the RESTORE Act, there is an opportunity for long-term, meaningful investment in projects that will not only provide significant benefits to the environment, but also to local workers, businesses, and communities.”

“This is a moment of incredible opportunity,” said Patrick Barnes, President of BFA Environmental and founder of Limitless Vistas, a nonprofit organization preparing New Orleans area disadvantaged youths for environmental jobs. “The money from the oil spill fines gives us a real chance to make things right in the community and in the environment. We can retrain the folks who were displaced, and employ them in repairing the damage. If the game plan to repair the environmental harm does not include making the impacted communities whole through training and real job opportunities, then we would have failed. These projects must help to revitalize the local economy and the life of these communities as they adapt to these challenges.”

The landmark law, known as Section 1504 or the Cardin-Lugar provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, requires companies filing reports with the SEC to disclose taxes, royalties and other payments related to the exploration and extraction of oil, gas and minerals in every country of operation. The required information, which includes project-level payment information, will arm watchdog groups, citizens and journalists in resource-rich countries with crucial information they can use to help hold governments accountable. The reports will also help investors assess the risks companies face.

“In too many countries around the world, oil and mineral wealth is squandered through government mismanagement and corruption instead of being invested in health, education and agriculture,” said Ian Gary, senior policy manager of Oxfam America’s oil, gas and mining program. “There’s no time left to waste. The SEC should not give in to industry pressure to water down the rules.”

Transparency advocates won the battle two years ago to get the law on the books, but the fight continues with the SEC, which has missed the statutory deadline to issue final rules needed to bring Section 1504 into effect by more than a year. To compel the agency to follow the law, Oxfam America filed a lawsuit against the SEC in May. The SEC responded to the lawsuit in a court filing on July 26.

“The SEC has told the public the meeting for the vote is scheduled for August 22 and is now using this scheduled vote as its principal excuse to the court. The August 22 date must not slip,” said Gary. “It’s time for the SEC to bring this fight to an end and follow the letter of the law.”

Yesterday, Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) joined Arlene McCarthy, a leading Member of the European Parliament, on Capitol Hill to call for strong and swift action by the SEC. The European Parliament is working with the European Commission and European Council to complete a similar mandatory requirement for listed and large privately-held extractive companies in Europe.

“We’ve acted and the SEC is our implementing arm and they are required to follow the law passed by Congress,” Senator Cardin said. “Read the law. It’s simple. There is no ambiguity and I don’t think the SEC has a lot of discretion.”

Many Members of Congress, Oxfam and campaigners with Publish What You Pay USA have urged that the final rule should allow no exemptions and should define the project-level reporting requirement included in the law as payments made at the lease, license or contract level in host countries. MEP McCarthy emphasized in meetings with SEC Commissioners Walter and Aguilar that a majority in the relevant committee supports project level reporting and that they will not accept proposals from industry to create exemptions for alleged laws in host countries prohibiting disclosures.

“We are not prepared to create exemptions when we have no evidence that the problem exists… I told the SEC that we want a strong rule from the SEC and that this will help us in Europe. We won’t accept industry to play off two jurisdictions to weaken rules,” McCarthy said.

“Transparency is essential to good governance wherever you live on the globe. The US shares a commitment with our EU partners to support local citizens and level the playing field for all companies by harmonizing requirements to decrease corruption through greater transparency in resource-rich countries,” said Senator Cardin “Two years after passage of the US law that includes project-by-project reporting, with no exemptions, we look forward to completion of the SEC rule on August 22. This final information will be critical to ensuring that the EU has the information it needs to write its own rules.”

The warning came as the UN increased the amount of money being sought for its Yemen appeal in response to mounting needs. The appeal increased from $447 million to $591 million. It is just 42 percent funded.  Some 10 million people – 44 percent of the population of Yemen – do not have enough food to eat. The UN estimates that 267,000 Yemeni children are facing life threatening levels of malnutrition.
 
Yemen is now in the midst of its hunger season, before the next harvest in October. The start of Ramadan is also pushing up prices in markets. For example, sugar and wheat prices have increased by 21 percent and 42 percent in rural areas compared to prices last month.  The aid organizations called on more donors to fund the aid response, warning that failing to help people quickly could cost lives now and have serious consequences for Yemen for decades to come.
 
Hashem Awnallah, Islamic Relief’s Country Director in Yemen, said:
 
“One in three children under five in Al Hodeidah is acutely malnourished – double the level that constitutes an emergency in UN terms. Children are being taken out of school to work, and an increase in early marriage has been reported. As well as being dangerous for children’s health, this crisis could rob children of a decent future and lead them to poverty, alienation and unrest.”
 
The organizations said although $4 billion was pledged at the Friends of Yemen meeting in May, where world leaders met to discuss the country’s future, it is unclear when this money will arrive in Yemen and how this money will be spent. The organizations said donors needed to respond to humanitarian needs immediately and stressed that they should look beyond food aid. There is food available in markets in Yemen, but people cannot afford to buy it. The organizations said that donors can help poor Yemeni families by ensuring that they have the cash they need to purchase food. 

However, American women report feeling disconnected from the people that produce their food and say they don’t have enough information about how their food choices affect people and the planet. To help answer these questions Oxfam’s GROW campaign is launching a new Facebook app and Pinterest cookbook to promote Oxfam’s GROW Method which offers 5 easy steps for moms -and everyone else- to feed their families in ways that help ensure everyone has enough to eat.

“In most homes in America and around the world it is women who put food on the table,” said Vicky Rateau Campaign Manager for Oxfam America’s GROW campaign. “This puts women in a uniquely powerful position to kick start the transformation of our broken food system with tiny changes in the way we enjoy our food.”

Mothers are crucial to helping everyone get enough to eat because they make the majority of food buying decisions. Women control around $15 trillion or 65 percent of the world’s annual consumer spending. Twice as many women cook as men and globally, women spend four times as long preparing, cooking and cleaning up after meals. Oxfam’s GROW Method emphasizes the power women have to catalyze change and suggests five simple steps for feeding their families healthy, delicious meals that will put the global food system on the road to recovery:

1. Eat less meat: Access to water is essential to food security and more than 1.6 billion people live in areas facing water scarcity.  Meat production soaks up 8 percent of the world’s water supply.  If American moms were to feed their families lentils or other beans instead of beef once per week they would save 6,000 liters of water each meal. That’s the equivalent of seventeen bathtubs of fresh water filled to the brim and then some every week.
2. Reduce food waste: About a third of all food produced for people’s plates goes to waste. In the six countries surveyed one in six apples ends up in the garbage– that’s 5.3 billion apples every year. Lined up side by side those apples would stretch more than nine times around the Earth. The greenhouse gases produced in the growth, trade and decomposition of these apples is equivalent to the burning of 10 million barrels of oil every day, more than the US imports. Only buying the apples we need and storing them in the refrigerator would help cut down on this waste.
3. Support small-scale and sustainable food producers: If consumers in Brazil, UK, USA and Spain ensure two of the chocolate bars they buy each month are Fair Trade it would add up to over 12.5 billion chocolate bars a year - this action alone could help transform the lives of people who live and work on 90,000 small scale cocoa farms across the globe.
4. Cook smarter: Simple changes in how we prepare food such as putting a lid on a pan when cooking, using the right amount of water to cook vegetables and reducing the heat as soon as water starts to boil – can cut the amount of energy we use in cooking by up to 70 percent and to help prevent climate impacts from hurting poor farmers. If women in the 6 surveyed countries took simple steps like this it would be the equivalent of planting 540 million tree seedlings and letting them grow for a decade.
5. Buy Seasonal: A lot of energy is wasted growing food in the wrong place at the wrong time of year.  We can save enormous amounts of energy and cut greenhouse emissions just by eating more of what’s in season near us.

“Change begins at the dinner table,” said Rateau. “Women across America and around the world are concerned about the way food is produced and the people who produce it and want to know what they can do to make a difference.”

The survey of over 5,100 moms living in cities and towns in Brazil, India, Philippines, UK, USA and Spain shows that women in the US and other countries are eager to learn how they can help make a difference through the food choices they make.

Mom’s say they don’t have enough information:

• 89 percent of women in the Philippines feel they know how the food choices they make affect the wider world compared to just 46 percent in the United States.
• 59 percent of women surveyed in India felt a connection to food producers compared to just 28 percent in the US.

But they care about their choices and want to know how to make a difference:

• 67 percent of US women are concerned with how their food is produced.
• 64 percent of US women would like to know how they can make a real difference through the food they choose to buy.

And they are open to the steps recommended by the GROW Method

• 82.4 percent of US women would feel comfortable feeding their family a meat-free meal once per week.
• 73.8 percent of US women are bothered when they have to throw away fresh fruit and vegetables.
• 76.4 percent of US women would like to know how to use less energy when cooking.

“If enough women make even the tiniest of changes, the reverberations will be felt throughout the food chain,” said Rateau. “Governments and the global companies that wield the strings to our broken food system will be forced to change the way they do business.”

\ENDS

Notes to editors
To read the full report: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/files/the-food-transformation/view

Link to Facebook app: https://www.facebook.com/oxfamamerica/app_364544693615521

Link to Pinterest cookbook: http://pinterest.com/oxfamgrowmethod/

Link to the GROW Method: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/growmethod

In a joint letter sent by Oxfam and Amnesty International to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, the artists urge governments to deliver a strong treaty that will save lives. The letter was also signed by Paul Conroy, the British war photographer injured in the mortar attack that killed London Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin and French photo journalist Remi Ochlik in Syria, earlier this year (see full list of signatories below).

“Under the current system, there are less global controls on the sales of ammunition and guns than on bananas and bottled water,” the letter states.

“As supporters of Oxfam and Amnesty International, we urge governments to step forward and deliver a robust, effective treaty that protects human rights. A treaty that puts a stop to the needless deaths and injuries which occur every day as a result of armed violence and conflict. The decisions taken around this treaty really are a matter of life and death,” continues the letter.

The deadly and poorly regulated trade in arms leads to serious human rights abuses, armed violence, conflict, poverty and organized crime around the world. The lack of clear binding principles governing decisions on international arms transfers combined with patchy diverse and poorly implemented national regulations are inadequate to deal with the increasingly globalised nature of the arms trade. As a result, irresponsible users are allowed to violate international humanitarian and human rights law.

"In Colombia, for decades civilians have been victims of armed conflict. Displacement and violence are everyday occurrences,” said the members of Colombian rock band Aterciopelados who signed the letter. "The ceaseless flow of arms fuels this terrible reality. But this isn't just the story of our country. It's vital that leaders implement a strong Arms Trade Treaty. It is urgently needed that they control arms to protect human rights."

"This impressive range of public figures from many walks of life urging governments to sign-up to a robust treaty this month underlines the importance of the treaty negotiations,” said Anna Macdonald, Oxfam’s head of Control Arms. "This is a critical moment. The world has never before agreed to have a set of international rules on the arms trade. This is a chance of a lifetime, a chance of a generation, to make a difference by stopping the trade flows of arms going into the wrong hands. "

An effective arms trade treaty needs a "Golden Rule:" if there is a substantial risk that arms exported to another country are likely to be used for serious human rights abuses, violations of international humanitarian law, or to undermine sustainable development, those arms supplies must be stopped.

"These are big voices echoing a global civil society message to world leaders that is clear: seize this historic opportunity to agree a Golden Rule to make a strong arms trade treaty that can stamp out irresponsible arms trading, stop shattering the lives of millions and help protect everyone's human rights," said Brian Wood, Amnesty International's manager of Arms Control, Security Trade and Human Rights.

Notes to Editors:

The letter is available here.

The full list of signatories includes:

Gillian Anderson Actor, USA.
Los Aterciopelados Musicians, Colombia.
Harry Belafonte Singer, songwriter, actor and social activist, USA.
Gael Garcia Bernal Actor, Mexico.
Paul Bettany Actor, UK.
Jane Birkin Actor/Singer, UK.
Miguel Bose Singer, Spain.
Rahul Bose Actor, India.
Helena Christensen Photographer and model, Denmark.
Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion Members of Coldplay – Rock band, UK.
Jennifer Connelly Actor, USA.
Paul Conroy War photographer, UK.
Sophie Dahl Writer and model, UK.
Kristin Davis Actor, USA.
Andrea Echiverri Musician, singer and guitarist, Colombia.
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs Musicians, Argentina.
Livia Firth Film Producer and Eco-Age Creative Director, UK.
Anjelica Huston Actor, USA.
Eddie Izzard Comedian, actor and writer, UK.
Bianca Jagger Chair of Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, UK.
Emmanuel Jal Musician and activist, South Sudan
Scarlett Johansson Actor, USA.
Angelique Kidjo Singer, Benin.
Keira Knightley Actor, UK.
Annie Lennox Singer/songwriter, UK.
Baaba Maal Singer/musician, Senegal.
Bill Nighy Actor, UK.
Yoko Ono Artist, author and peace activist, Japan.
Emma Pooley Olympic cyclist, UK.
Tim Roth Actor and director, UK.
Kevin Spacey Actor, director and producer, US.
Dave Stewart Musician and record producer, UK.
Imelda Staunton Actor, UK.
Vivienne Westwood Fashion designer, UK

Dadaab’s population increased by a third in the past year to over 465,000 people, and the needs in the camp are greater than ever before. Yet as global attention has shifted, funding for the camp has not kept pace. The impact of the funding shortfall is already being felt by refugees across Dadaab and will get worse over the coming months:

130,000 refugees will soon be without adequate shelter, living in temporary tents that are quickly destroyed by the harsh climate. At the moment 30,000 new shelters are needed, yet funding is only available for 4,000.

From September 2012, the supply of new water and sanitation services to 50,000 refugees is in danger. Without the only source of safe water and new latrines, the threat of cholera is greatly increased.

Health services are overcrowded and under-equipped. In the Hagadera camp in Dadaab, two health units serve the needs of 78,000 people – quadruple the minimum emergency standard of 1 unit per 10,000 people. From October 2012, funding shortfalls mean there will be no community health workers in Hagadera camp.

164,000 children – over 70 percent of those in Dadaab – are currently out of school. Lack of education and employment opportunities increases the potential for disenfranchised youth to be recruited into militia and banditry. Education is vital to equip refugees to contribute to the reconstruction, peace and stability of their home country and the wider region. Children who do go to school attend classes of over 100 pupils and only one in five teachers have formal training.

Twenty percent of families in Dadaab face threats, harassment and discrimination. Women and children face sexual violence while collecting firewood or walking long distances to use poorly-lit latrines. Reports of sexual violence increased by 36 percent between February and May 2012. Yet funding for protection programmes has decreased, and there are not enough trained staff to provide psychosocial care.  Refugees without proper shelter are particularly vulnerable.

“The funding shortfall means people who have fled unimaginable suffering are not getting the care they need. As well as the human cost, there is also a cost to security in the region. If children are not going to school and if people do not have proper shelter and other services, this has the potential to fuel further insecurity,” said Stephen Vaughan, head of CARE Kenya.

Dadaab has been in existence for 20 years, and last year’s influx saw 160,000 Somalis arrive into the already severely overcrowded camps.

“Refugee camps are only temporary solutions and the situation is increasingly untenable. Funds are needed now to save lives, but we can’t keep pumping money in year after year while the camp keeps getting bigger. A change in approach is urgently needed. However, right now, the world has an obligation not to turn its back on Dadaab and the needs of the people there,” said Nigel Tricks, head of Oxfam in Kenya.

The agencies called for a durable and peaceful solution in Somalia, so that refugees feel able to return home. The agencies also called for a long-term vision that creates employment and infrastructure to remove refugees’ dependence on short-term aid. With insecurity in the camp restricting access for aid agencies, more investment is needed to build the skills and capacity of refugee communities and local organizations to deliver services.

“Humanitarian workers in Dadaab have been working to full capacity under extremely difficult circumstances for the past year. We are committed to providing quality health care here, and supporting the protection of women and girls, but because of the funding shortfall it is likely that some basic services will be cut, leaving refugees more vulnerable,” said Kellie Leeson, Deputy Regional Director of the International Rescue Committee.

Notes to editors

The agencies signing the statement are: CARE, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Danish Refugee Council (DRC), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Oxfam, and Terre des Hommes (TdH)

The $25m figure is calculated from the combined current funding shortages for the eight signatory agencies. This does not cover other work in Dadaab. Costs of operating in Dadaab continue to change, and any further deterioration in security or influx of new arrivals could increase costs further.

The letter follows the alarming surge in repression of free speech, police brutality and human rights violations in Cajamarca, Peru, where protests against Newmont’s $4.8 billion Minas Conga gold mining project intensified last week, leaving five people dead due to the government’s violent response. Community members in Cajamarca are concerned that the project will harm the environment by draining mountain lakes and replacing them with man-made reservoirs, and generating massive amounts of toxic waste.

"We are deeply concerned about the latest mining-related violence in Peru,” said Keith Slack, global program manager of Oxfam America’s oil, gas and mining program. “Urgent action is needed now to prevent the situation in Cajamarca from deteriorating further."

The groups, which include Oxfam America, Amazon Watch, Earthworks, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth, MiningWatch Canada, Rainforest Action Network and the United Steelworkers, raise concerns about the Peruvian government's violently suppressing community opposition to extractive projects. They also call on Newmont, whose gold mine project has been the principal catalyst for the conflict, to make a public declaration against the Peruvian Government’s violent repression of civil liberties and harassment of mining protestors. The letter continues by calling on Newmont to not proceed with the project without obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of affected communities.

“We are dismayed that the Peruvian Government is providing cover for extractive projects by suppressing community opposition through violent means,” stated the letter. “Our organizations support communities’ rights to peaceful and non-violent protest.”

In the last year, conflicts relating to mining have risen sharply in Peru, now numbering over 240. Many of these conflicts can be prevented by companies first engaging in dialogue with affected communities and receiving community consent for projects.

Ahead of a vital donor conference in Tokyo this week, Oxfam calls on governments represented at the summit to maintain levels of aid to Afghanistan and ensure this aid reaches the men, women and children who need it most.

The organization warns that decisions about aid levels and spending come at a critical time for Afghanistan. The country’s single biggest donor, the United States, has  already cut development aid by nearly half in 2011 – from  $4.1 billion to $2.5 billion.

 "Any significant cuts in support could have dire consequences for Afghan people, and we cannot let this happen. While the past 11 years have seen substantial progress, millions of Afghans still lack adequate healthcare, schools, jobs, or law and order. A good hard look at the way aid is spent in Afghanistan is long overdue. Donors need to work harder to address the needs of women and girls, involve local communities in development projects, increase anti-corruption efforts, and ensure projects are designed to be smart, fair and sustainable," said Oxfam’s Louise Hancock, head of policy and advocacy in Afghanistan.

The withdrawal of international combat forces by the end of 2014 is likely to hit the already weak Afghan economy even harder with 97 percent of the country’s gross domestic product related to the international community’s presence. The World Bank has estimated that aid to Afghanistan could drop by as much as 90 percent by 2025.

Oxfam urges donors to follow the example of countries such as the UK, Germany and Australia, who have pledged to maintain or even increase aid levels in the coming years, or see the gains that have been made undermined or even reversed.

Almost $60 billion of aid has been given to Afghanistan since 2001. Over that period life expectancy in the country has  risen dramatically from 47 to 62 years for men and 50 to 64 years for women, with basic health care now accessible in more than 80 percent of districts. There have also been significant gains in education with more than 2.7 million girls enrolled in school compared to just a few thousand under the Taliban. However, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Far too much aid has been poorly spent and too often tied to military objectives or projects designed to win hearts and minds in the short term, rather than supporting long-term development goals.

Oxfam welcomes recent moves by donors and the Afghan government to improve the transparency and accountability of aid delivery, but it is vital that Afghan groups play a role in both monitoring these processes and holding their own government to account.

The organization warned that although many Afghan women and girls have seen positive changes to their lives, these gains remain fragile. Women and girls still lack access to justice or even basic services: one woman continues to die in Afghanistan every two hours from pregnancy-related causes.

Hancock said, "Aid must work much better for women and girls over the next decade. Women have an important role to play in driving development in Afghanistan and helping to create a stable and prosperous country for all Afghans. Donors must ensure women are part of decisions made about the future of their county, from projects in their communities to political processes at the highest level.

"Afghanistan stands at a crossroads, and in Tokyo critical decisions need to be made. Now is not the time to pull back. It is the time to learn from our mistakes and deliver aid projects that the Afghan people need – ones that will have lasting benefits. If we do not, everything that has been achieved at such great cost could be lost."

Included as part of the surface transportation reauthorization bill passed by the House and Senate, the historic measure will send civil fines – amounting to as much as $20 billion –under the Clean Water Act from the 2010 BP oil spill to the Gulf Coast states for restoring vulnerable communities, ecosystems and local economies.

“The US Congress has created an opportunity for the largest investment in a generation in restoring a nationally important ecosystem, and it’s a huge boost for these communities,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. “After decades of environmental degradation, and the one-two punch of Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon disaster, this legislation offers a chance to reduce the risks of some of our most vulnerable coastal communities and create new economic opportunities for low income and disadvantaged working families restoring the coast.”

The language included in the surface transportation bill was based on the RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act, a bipartisan bill in the House and Senate to address the region’s economic and ecological challenges. New research from Mather Economics indicates the bill will create as many as 74,000 jobs, including on coastal restoration and protection projects. Oxfam America has been working with community organizations to urge Congress to ensure the bill helps provide jobs and training opportunities in these projects, so struggling families can find good jobs restoring the coast.

“Projects that restore coastal wetlands, barrier islands and oyster reefs can create good jobs -- from welders to boat captains to heavy equipment operators -- while revitalizing our fisheries for future generations,” continued Offenheiser. “We have a chance to put in place policies that support the training, hiring and economic mobility of residents, providing a new pathway out of poverty for struggling fishers and low income workers along the coast, helping to build more resilient coastal communities.”

“We applaud Senators Landrieu, Shelby and Nelson and Representatives Scalise, Palazzo, Bonner, and Richmond for spearheading this effort,” said Offenheiser. “We also thank Senate and House leadership for ensuring the measure emerged from the conference process, and Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Senator Barbara Boxer for her early leadership."

States in the Gulf Coast region have struggled for years with high poverty and low economic mobility, which impair their ability to cope with disasters. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas regularly rank in the top ten with the worst poverty rates and all five rank among the worst in economic mobility. Poverty is one of the most important factors in determining social vulnerability -- the ability of communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Oxfam America works with local organizations in Mississippi and Louisiana serving socially vulnerable coastal communities, including Zion Travelers Cooperative Center (ZTCC), Bayou Grace Community Services, Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organization (BISCO), Coastal Women for Change (CWC), Asian Americans for Change, GO FISH, Steps Coalition, and Terrebone Readiness & Assistance Coalition (TRAC). All of them contributed greatly to garnering support for the RESTORE Act.

“We thank the Gulf Coast delegation for their work ensuring impacted communities receive vital resources,” said Kaitlyn Troung, Executive Director of Asian Americans for Change in Ocean Springs, MS. “We look forward to working with the states and the federal government to ensure these funds help restore our fisheries for future generations, reduce the risks of our most vulnerable populations, and create new jobs and training opportunities.”

The region has lost 50 percent of its inland and coastal wetlands and oyster reefs. In Louisiana alone, a football field of land disappears into the Gulf every hour. Over the next 20 years, the Gulf is vulnerable to an estimated $300 billion in economic damages from hurricanes and flooding. Investments in oyster reef construction, marsh building, and strengthening living shorelines and barrier islands could help restore damaged ecosystems and reduce vulnerability to hazards.

“The bayous along the Gulf of Mexico have always served as a safety net, helping to employ and feed our families,” said Rebecca Templeton, of Bayou Grace Community Services. “Coastal erosion, sea level rise and now the oil spill are threatening this unique resource. We need to make the best of these funds and repair our coast to protect our communities for future generations.”

/ENDS

While the United States and a few other countries have tough regulations governing the international trade of arms, many countries have weak or ineffective regulations, if they have any at all. In fact, in 2010, only 90 of the world’s governments reported having basic national controls on the import of small arms and light weapons. An arms trade treaty would require countries to adopt strong laws that would govern the flow of arms in and out of their borders and prevent weapons from reaching the hands of warlords and human rights abusers.

“There is more international law governing the trade of bananas than the trade of AK-47s, and that’s simply bananas!” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. “A massive and poorly regulated global trade in arms and ammunition continues to threaten the security and rights of millions of people around the world, exposing them to death, rape, assault and displacement. This global problem requires a global solution: a legally binding arms trade treaty.”

To cap more than a decade of hard work pushing for a global treaty, Oxfam’s new effort includes a front cover wrap in the Washington Post Express, an online action to President Obama and a stunt in front of the United Nations on July 2nd, among other activities.

“For too long, we have witnessed the conflict the illicit arms trade feeds and the deaths caused each day by small arms are only the tip of the tragedy,” said Offenheiser. “With our campaign, we are reminding the United States and other world leaders they have a rare opportunity to make the world a safer place.”

Oxfam’s efforts coincide with the efforts of other groups, from the American Values Network to Amnesty International.

“From faith leaders to retired generals, the chorus advocating for the arms trade treaty is getting louder each day,” continued Offenheiser. “The Arms Trade Treaty offers a common-sense solution and the time to act is now.”

An effective and legally binding treaty would restrict transfers when there is a substantial risk that arms could be used to undermine peace and stability in a country, commit serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, or slow initiatives aimed at reducing poverty. It would also close the loopholes in the current system by establishing the highest possible international legal standards for the import, export, and transfer of conventional weapons such as AK-47’s, and ammunition. Lastly, it would promote transparency and accountability in the international arms market and not infringe on Second Amendment rights.

Notes to editors:

PDF’s and JPEGs are available and the full text of the Express ad is as follows:

[Page 1]
There is more intentional law governing the trade of bananas than the trade of AK-47s. When you peel back the facts, what do you get? Slippery standards that lead to war crimes, displacement, and poverty. More than 2,000 people die every day from armed violence. The US must support a robust international arms trade treaty that would create strong trade rules and save lives.
Agree to the Arms Trade Treaty.
oxfamamerica.org/armstreaty

[Page 2]
There are no international laws governing the global arms trade. That’s simply bananas!
While the US has strong laws controlling the arms trade, less than half of all countries have even basic laws on the trade in AK-47s and similar weapons. It is time for a global arms trade treat to close the loopholes and prevent atrocities.

Blog Post: What's the deal with bananas and the global arms trade?

Online Action
Agree to the Arms Trade Treaty

Additional Resources

Under Section 1504, companies are required to disclose in their annual SEC reports all payments made to either the United States or a foreign government, at the project-level, for the extraction of oil and minerals. The SEC has delayed the rule-making process for more than a year, missing the statutory deadline of April 16, 2011 set by Congress.

“The financial transparency and regulation promised by the Dodd-Frank Act are more important than ever, and Congress is rightly demanding that the promise of the Cardin-Lugar provision be fulfilled by the SEC,” said Ian Gary, senior policy manager of Oxfam America’s oil, gas and mining program. “New discoveries of oil and minerals, such as in East Africa, are being announced almost every week and quick implementation of this provision will help ensure that these countries build on a foundation of transparency.”

The letter demands the SEC issue final rules on the Cardin-Lugar provision, as well as the conflict minerals provision, Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

“These two proposed rules take the issues of secret payments and the use of conflict minerals out of the shadows and into the open, making it possible to fight corruption, increase government accountability and help end the resource curse in developing countries,” highlighted the letter. “The SEC has a history of unmet promises regarding the completion of these rules” and “the issue is too serious to allow further delay.”

“We have been patient but for those living on less than $2 dollars in resource-rich countries, there’s no time left to wait,” continued Gary. “We join these members of Congress to urge Chairman Schapiro to schedule a vote on the final rule now.”

The Congressional letter comes as Senators Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) and Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) weigh in on the battle being fought on the other side of the Atlantic, where oil and mining companies are fighting a draft European Union law similar to Section 1504. To express their appreciation for adopting similar requirements in Europe, the Senators sent a letter to European Commissioners that emphasized the SEC’s mandate to follow the letter of the law.

“As Senators, we assure you that the SEC does not have the authority to remove or change the basic requirements of the law,” said the letter, which also enclosed a copy of the law.

Both letters follow letters from prominent Senators and House members from February and March urging the SEC to “resist” pressure from oil companies, which have been lobbying the Commission to water down the rule.

On May 16, Oxfam America filed a lawsuit against the SEC for unlawfully delaying the issuance of a final rule for Section 1504. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts and asks the court to order the SEC to issue a final rule as required by law. “Oxfam America is simply asking the SEC to follow the law,” Gary said.

Notes to Editor:

The letter was signed by Edward J. Markey, Barney Frank, Howard L. Berman, Jim McDermott, Maxine Waters, Henry A. Waxman, Frank R Wolf, Louise M Slaughter, Dennis J Kucinich, James P Moran, Charles B Rangel, Steve Cohen, Andrew Carson, Michael M Honda, William Lacy Clay, Melvin Watt, John A Yarmuth, Fortney Pete Stark, Barbara Lee, George Miller, Gregory W. Meeks, Raul M. Grijalva, Brad Miller, Brad Sherman, John Olver, Eleanor Holmes Norton, John Conyers, Jr., Carolyn B. Maloney, Gwen Moore, Theodore Deutch, Keith Ellison, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Earl Blumenauer, James P. McGovern, John Lewis, Janice D. Schakowsky, Betty McCollum, Bob Filner, Jose E. Serrano, Anna G. Eshoo, Peter Welch, Michael E. Cupuano, Corrine Brown, Jerrold Nadler, Jackie Speier, Edolphus Towns, Frederica S. Wilson, Maurice D. Hinchey, John B. Larson, Carolyn McCarthy, Louis Capps, John Garamendi, Charles A. Gonzalex, Sam Farr, Karen Bass, Henry C. "Hank" Johnson Jr., Mazie K Hirono, Suzanne Bonamici.

/ENDS

Oxfam America applauds the emphasis of the President's new strategy on security partnerships and building civilian protection capabilities in the document’s peace and security pillar.  For it to be truly "new," however, this strategy needs to set a new course that places the security needs of Africans front and center.  Communities in Africa need real security, delivered by military and police forces with a deep-rooted accountability to the people they serve.  The President’s new strategy articulates these principles, but we are concerned that the US will focus instead on training and equipping forces to fight terrorism and insurgencies, as it often has in the past.

“All the weapons and tactical know-how in the world won’t provide security unless armed forces and police have an abiding commitment to the rule of law and deep respect for human rights,” Oxfam America’s Senior Policy Advisor for Humanitarian Response, Scott Paul, said.

The new strategy rightly highlights the importance of transparency in helping to curb corruption and support citizens groups working to ensure that the continent’s natural resource wealth is used to promote the well-being of all of Africa’s citizens, rather than lining the pockets of a small elite. In addition to home-grown efforts, the U.S. has an important contribution to make by fully implementing final regulations for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act provision on oil and mining payment disclosure, Oxfam America said.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission must issue final revenue transparency regulations and implement the law now. Doing so will shed light on the billions of dollars generated by oil, gas and mining projects and will put information into the public domain where progress under voluntary initiatives is weak or non-existent,” said Ian Gary, Oxfam America’s Senior Policy Manager for Extractive Industries.

As the new strategy signals, the private sector can and should play a positive role in the development process as the primary engine of broad-based economic growth.  In order for such growth to be truly broad-based, it must reach the poorest of the poor, as poverty is fundamentally tied to marginalization and power disparities.  Long-term development solutions require systemic approaches to markets, cutting across government, business (especially local firms and smallholder farmers), and civil society.

“However, we should be clear that US and African governments must not pass the buck to the private sector:  they have a responsibility to continue public resources to deliver on their end of the deal,” Gregory Adams, Oxfam America’s Director of Aid Effectiveness said.

The strategy emphasizes promoting resilience and adaptation to the impact of climate change under the pillar of promoting opportunity and growth.  This is crucial as is the promise of continued U.S. prioritization of food security on the continent.  As the government implements this strategy, a focus on supporting small-scale farming particularly by women will be key as will support for the recently-agreed global Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries.

//ENDS