ONE responds to the UK and France EITI announcement

Responding to the UK’s decision to join the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, Adrian Lovett, Europe Executive Director at ONE said: “Today’s announcement is another step in the right direction by David Cameron in the fight against extreme poverty. Coming just six weeks after the historic political deal was reached in Europe on new rules requiring extractive companies to declare their payments to foreign governments, the implementation of EITI shows continued political will by the UK and France to support transparency in the extractive sectors both at home and abroad and sends a strong and clear message.

“It is vital that this momentum is not lost. The UK must use it as an important stepping stone towards the G8 summit in June to call on world leaders to adopt legally binding transparency standards for oil, gas and minerals. This would shine a light on the often murky world of extractive deals in Africa, helping ordinary people see where the money paid for their countries’ natural resources is really going and potentially lifting millions out of extreme poverty.”

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