The Extractive Industry Transparency Disclosure (EITD) Act of 2008 introduced today would require oil, gas, and mining companies to publicly disclose payments made to foreign governments. With more than half of the world?s poorest people living in countries rich in natural resources, this legislation would provide citizens with vital information to hold their governments accountable for how these so-called ?extractive industry? revenues are used.

?Corruption and mismanagement thrive in environments characterized by secrecy. Access to information is a fundamental aspect of development,? says Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. ?Representative Frank has taken an important step to ensure that communities know how mining and oil projects will impact their lives and lands and how money generated for their governments can contribute to the long-term reduction of poverty.?

With record high oil prices and diminishing reserves, companies are increasingly operating in new areas of developing regions, including West Africa, the Amazon basin, and Southeast Asia. Given the weakness of government oversight in many of these countries, it is even more important that oil and mining companies be transparent. In Angola, for example, more than $4 billion in state oil revenues could not be accounted for between 1997 and 2002?an amount roughly equal to the entire sum spent on social programs by foreign donors and the government in the same years.

Countries dependent on oil and mineral wealth also face a much higher rate of internal conflict and violence. In Africa?s Great Lakes region?which includes parts of Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania?five million people were killed in violent conflicts in the last decade, most of which were directly and indirectly funded by resource extraction.

?It is no secret that lack of transparency in the extractive industry often goes hand-in-hand with government corruption and internal conflict. The industry suffers as a result with company investments at risk and higher energy prices for consumers,? said Offenheiser. ?This legislation would foster accountability in nations where secrecy has undermined development, democracy, and human rights.?

The EITD Act would apply not only to US companies, but to all oil, gas, and mining companies registered with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). This includes European companies, such as Shell and BP, as well as those in emerging markets like China, India, Brazil, and Russia. Like the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969, this legislation could have a ripple effect around the world and would be an important complement to voluntary initiatives that may take hold in only a few countries.

?This legislation is an opportunity for the US to take leadership in the international community,? said Offenheiser. ?Mandatory revenue disclosure has the power to weed out corruption in developing countries making way for stability and real solutions to poverty that the oil, gas, and mining industries can support.?

Oxfam America is working in support of the EITD Act by calling on international extractive companies to show their respect for communities? right to revenue information as well as their right to decide whether they want companies to begin or expand operations on their land.

?Revenue disclosure will give communities the tools they need to have a say in how extractive projects affect their lands and livelihoods. If communities know how much extractive companies are paying their governments for natural resources, they can advocate for a fair share of the benefits to address community needs like education, health care, and jobs,? said Offenheiser.

“It is important for us as retail jewelers to do all practically in our power to adhere to the principles of the No Dirty Gold campaign. It is the ‘right thing to do’ for our community, our customers, as well as the world environment,” said Jonathan Bridge, co-CEO of Seattle-based Ben Bridge Jeweler.

“By signing onto the Golden Rules, these jewelry retailers have burnished their reputations as industry leaders. Customers in Paris and mining-affected communities in Peru alike will take note of their support for improved mining practices,” said Payal Sampat of environmental organization EARTHWORKS and co-director of the No Dirty Gold campaign. More than 55,000 consumers worldwide have signed a pledge calling on jewelers and mining companies to provide an alternative to “dirty” gold.

“The message from the jewelry industry is clear—there is an emerging consensus that “dirty” gold will not be tolerated,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization and co-founder of the No Dirty Gold campaign.

The campaign also added the Target Corporation, the Minnesota-based retailer, to its laggards list. Target has fallen behind these industry leaders by not making the same formal commitments, despite the campaign’s repeated efforts to win the company’s support. No Dirty Gold activists across the country are calling Target stores to lobby the company on its gold sourcing policy. Many are also hosting house parties to send hand-made Valentines to Target CEO Robert Ulrich, urging him to demonstrate the company’s commitment to communities and the environment by signing on to the Golden Rules.

“Unfortunately, Target is still off the mark,” said Offenheiser. “We urge Target to join industry leaders in formally committing to the human rights and environmental criteria outlined in the Golden Rules.”

Last year, the following eight companies endorsed the Golden Rules on Valentine’s Day, one of the biggest jewelry-buying holidays in the United States. These companies are: Zale Corp., the Signet Group (the parent firm of Sterling and Kay Jewelers), Tiffany & Co., Helzberg Diamonds, Fortunoff, Cartier, Piaget, and Van Cleef & Arpels.

More than 80 percent of the gold in the U.S. is used to make jewelry. U.S. retail jewelry sales were an estimated $55 billion in 2005, of which gold jewelry accounted for nearly $18 billion, or one-third of the total. The 19 companies together represent about $12 billion in retail jewelry sales, or 22 percent of total jewelry sales in the United States, which is second only to India in annual gold consumption.

Austin, Texas-based Commemorative Brands, manufacturers of Balfour, ArtCarved and Keystone class rings, is the first class rings company to sign onto the Golden Rules.

“Our primary customers—college and high school students—make up a generation firmly committed to supporting brands that take corporate social responsibility seriously,” said Matt Gase, Commemorative’s General Manager. “By supporting the No Dirty Gold campaign’s Golden Rules, we hope to reflect the values of the many students around the country who have a deep commitment to human rights and the environment.”

Luxury jeweler Birks & Mayors became the first retailer based in Canada to sign onto the Golden Rules, motivated in part by the need to protect the ecological and cultural integrity of the Canadian Boreal Forest which is at risk from mining.

The jewelry sector’s increased awareness of mining’s impacts has spurred the creation of a multi-stakeholder group of retailers, mining companies, and NGOs called the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA). IRMA will seek to establish best practice standards for mining operations, as well as a system to independently verify compliance with those standards.

The production of a single gold ring generates, on average, 20 tons of waste. Gold mining has caused massive environmental destruction, contaminated fisheries and fresh water, and displaced tens of thousands of communities around the world. Approximately half the gold produced worldwide between 1995 and 2015 has or will come from indigenous peoples' lands. For more information, please visit www.nodirtygold.org.

For interviews with No Dirty Gold campaign and jewelry sector spokespeople, or for more information, please contact: Harlin Savage, Resource Media, (720) 564-0500, ext. 11, email: harlin@resource-media.org or Helen DaSilva, Oxfam America, (617) 331-2984, email: hdasilva@oxfamamerica.org.

Note: Statements in this press release from retailers are provided for the information of journalists and do not imply endorsement of the entire release by the individuals quoted therein.

Top 10 U.S. Jewelry Retailers (by sales)

* Does not include $845.5 in UK sales.

** Does not include $204.9 in CAN sales.

“Gold has become the cornerstone of the Malian economy,” said Mamadou Biteye, regional director for Oxfam America. “But a country prioritizing gold mining, and the mining companies operating there, must be transparent and demonstrate to the country’s citizens how they will actually benefit from the boom.”

Mali is currently the third largest exporter of gold in Africa, behind world’s largest exporter, South Africa, and Ghana. “Gold exports from Mali more than tripled between 1996 and 2002, going from 18% to 65.4% of total exports,” said Keith Slack, senior policy advisor for Oxfam America. “Yet Mali has remained at the bottom of the United Nation’s Human Development Index, ranking 175 out of 177 countries in 2006.”

The laws and regulations that constitute Mali’s Mining Code have created a complex set of taxes, fees, and license charges that are effectively incomprehensible to those without some technical background. Mali’s low literacy rate, poor physical infrastructure, and inadequate electronic communications combine to make it nearly impossible for citizens to get clear and complete information about revenues and how they are spent to benefit the public.

“80% of Malians continue to live below the poverty line.” said Tiémoko Sangaré, executive secretary of the Sahel Development Foundation, an Oxfam America partner. “Yet gold has gone from accounting for 2.9% of our country’s gross domestic product in 2002 to 12.7% of in 2004. Where are the profits going?”

In its latest report Oxfam outlines several recommendations for increasing transparency in the gold mining sector in Mali. Recommendations geared at entities such as the World Bank, mining companies and the Government of Mali include:

• Mali’s Mining Code should require both the government and mining companies to report publicly on benefit streams. The government should create opportunities for citizens to participate in decision-making processes in order to hold mining companies and elected officials accountable for appropriate distribution and use of mining revenues.
• World Bank funded projects must require that data about revenues received and expended be made public regularly. In addition, the World Bank needs to engage civil society and non-governmental organizations in the process it began in 2005 of revising the Malian mining code.
• The government of Mali should simplify its public reporting of information on tax revenues received from mining and the distribution of those revenues.
• The government of Mali should effectively engage with civil society on implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Download the report . For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Liz Lucas at +617-728-2575 (office), + 617-785-7772 (cell) or via email llucas@oxfamamerica.org.

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Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Together with individuals and local groups in more than 120 countries, Oxfam saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice.

Sahel Development Foundation (Fondation Pour le Développement au Sahel- FDS) is a Malian non governmental organization that supports development initiatives to improve living conditions for poor communities.

The Publish What You Pay campaign aims to help citizens of resource-rich developing countries hold their governments accountable for the management of revenues from the oil, gas and mining industries. The Publish What You Pay coalition of over 300 NGOs worldwide calls for the mandatory disclosure of the payments made by oil, gas and mining companies’ to all governments for the extraction of natural resources.

The Publish What You Pay (PWYP) United States coalition, which includes Oxfam America, Global Witness, and Revenue Watch Institute, applauds Chairman Frank for holding this important hearing, and encourages the Committee members to consider additional steps to accelerate revenue transparency in oil, gas and mining projects as a means of reducing corruption and enhancing poverty reduction efforts in resource-rich countries.

Ahead of his testimony on behalf of the PWYP coalition before the Committee, Ian Gary, senior policy advisor for Oxfam America, stated, “New legislation should require disclosure of payments in this discrete but vital segment of the international economy. In doing so, it would constitute a crucial piece of the multi-pronged international effort to curb corruption in the extractive industries and would ultimately make the business environment more favorable to international firms navigating these often difficult waters.”

“The US must maintain its place at the forefront of the international community by doing what it can to weed out the rampant corruption and mismanagement in so many oil- and mineral-producing states," continued Gary. "The lack of transparency in these industries, especially in countries that depend heavily on income from these sectors, often goes hand-in-hand with widespread poverty and wealth for a tiny elite."

“In these industries it is not enough to just target bribery. Highly complex financial arrangements coupled with a lack of transparency mean that the funds of overseas mining and oil companies—including American companies—often end up being channeled for corrupt purposes,” said Sarah Pray, coordinator of Publish What You Pay United States.

Lack of revenue transparency and secret contracts between governments and companies prevent any meaningful system of citizen accountability and in turn create opportunities for corruption.

A voluntary provision for resource revenue transparency—the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)—was launched in 2002 in response to campaigning by PWYP, and is strongly backed by the US. While EITI has helped to increase the global push for revenue transparency, only a few countries have taken significant steps toward implementation of the initiative.

“A voluntary mechanism that relies on the will of individual governments for compliance will never capture the most egregious offenders, such as Angola and Equatorial Guinea, for whose citizens transparency is the most critical. A sustainable and comprehensive solution to corruption and the resource curse requires both voluntary and mandatory provisions,” said Corinna Gilfillan, Head of the U.S. office for Global Witness.

The political will to implement voluntary measures in different countries may wax and wane over time. For these reasons, it is important to complement voluntary measures with mandatory transparency regulations in countries that are major beneficiaries of resource-rich nations. All of the major oil, gas and mining companies are extremely supportive of EITI and should continue to support the principles of transparency—both voluntary and mandatory.