Report of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) London Conference, 17 June 2003

Please note all documents on this page are inpdf format. 

Summary

Delegates supported the Statement of Principles and Agreed Actions (Russian translation) and set out in oral and written statements how they planned to participate in efforts to improve transparency in the extractive industries. 

Detail

Some 140 delegates representing 70 governments, companies, industry groups, international organisations, investors and NGOs attended a conference in Lancaster House, London, on 17 June, final attendance list.

The aim of the conference was to agree the Statement of Principles and Agreed Actions to increase transparency over payments and revenues in the extractives sector.

The UK Prime Minister Tony Blair gave the opening address. He underlined the importance of maximising the benefits of natural resources and highlighted the significance of improving transparency. He noted the importance of commitments made by G8 leaders in Evian and welcomed the commitment of African leaders in the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). He called for joint action by governments and companies, built around a shared belief in the principles, a commitment to move forward and readiness to find workable solutions. He underlined the UK's continued commitment to support improved transparency and specific intention to support agreed actions under the EITI, including with an additional £1m for technical assistance to be pooled with resources offered by others.

Oral statements were made by some 60 participants. Written statements were also tabled. These are appended to this report.

Government representatives set out their policies and programmes to achieve transparency, tackle corruption and manage natural resource wealth. A number of governments indicated their readiness to participate in follow-up to the Initiative and to explore ways in which the principles could be developed at a country level. Other countries indicated a readiness to share experience and provide technical or financial support for follow-up activities. (Country statements: Angola, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, France, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mozambique, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, United States).

A number of G8 countries highlighted the commitments made at the Evian Summit in June, set out in the Action Plan on Fighting Corruption and Improving Transparency. This included piloting, on a voluntary basis, an intensified approach to transparency, covering:

Improved disclosure of revenue flows and payments;

Action plans for establishing high standards of transparency for all budget flows and for the awarding of contracts;

Help with capacity building; and

Encouragement of IMF and World Bank engagement in technical support.

A range of companies (national and international) and industry associations expressed their support for the initiative. Most underlined the importance of a voluntary, host government-led approach and respect for the principles set out in the Statement. A number of specific comments were made, including on the draft Reporting Guidelines (Portuguese version)  (Company and Industry Association statements: American Petroleum Institute, AngloAmerican plc., Areva, BG Group, BHP Billiton, BP, Chevron Texaco, ConocoPhillips, De Beers, ExxonMobil, International Association of Oil and Gas Producers, International Council on Mining and Metals, Marathon, Newmont, NNPC, Repsol YPF, RioTinto, Shell, Chamber of Mines of South Africa, SOCAR, Sonangol, Statoil, Total).

International organisations highlighted the range of existing and planned initiatives to address transparency in the extractive industries. Several speakers called on the International Financial Institutions to play a leading role. The World Bank and IMF spelt out in their statements specific ways in which they intended to support the agreed actions under the initiative (International Organisations' statements: European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Development Programme, World Bank).

Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu, Chairman of NEPAD's Steering Committee was unable to attend, but submitted a statement highlighting: the complementarities between EITI and NEPAD's plans; the opportunity for NEPAD to promote African consultation on the Initiative; and the intention to explore the EITI contribution to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

ISIS Asset Management presented a joint statement on behalf of institutional investors representing £1.75 trillion (E2.6 trillion or $3 trillion) calling on companies to support the principles developed by the EITI process, work proactively with governments to develop transparency agreements and encourage host governments not yet participating in the Initiative. Statements were made by: Howard Carter, CEO of ISIS Asset Management and M&G Investment Management Ltd. 

NGOs welcomed efforts to improve transparency under the Initiative but questioned whether a voluntary approach would work. The Publish What You Pay campaign, supported by 130 NGOs, called for: the use of templates to shape mandatory arrangements, reinforcement of the principles through conditionality on export credit agency funding, requirement to disclose on the part of aid programmes, building capacity of civil society, mainstreaming of revenue transparency in the policies and programmes of the World Bank and IMF; and disaggregated disclosure of company data (NGO statements: African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, Angolan Civil Society, CAFOD, CARE International, Global Witness, Human Rights Watch, Open Society Institute, Publish What You Pay, Save the Children Fund, Transparency International, Transparency Kazakhstan, Trend Information Analytical Agency of Azerbaijan ).

In her concluding remarks, Valerie Amos, Secretary of State for International Development: 

Welcomed strong support for the Initiative and for the Statement of Principles and Agreed Actions;

Concluded that we had the necessary basis for collective action to take the Initiative forward to the next stage.

Highlighted the need to keep in view the wider framework and rationale for pursuing the Initiative i.e. our shared commitment to improving transparency and tackling corruption.

Recognised that we were not starting from zero.

Recognised that it is not only in the extractive industries that action on transparency is needed. The extractives should not be picked out as inherently problematic, compared to other sectors. We should keep in view the lessons to be drawn from different approaches and not rule out the possibilities for extending the scope of the Initiative in due course.

Underlined the need to keep follow-up simple.

Highlighted the need to keep the process flexible.

Confirmed the need to work more on the technical issues.

Noted doubts by some as to whether a voluntary route would achieve the desired results.

On next steps, she noted in particular:

Planned follow-up discussions in several countries, including Timor-Leste, Azerbaijan, Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Indonesia and Nigeria;

Further work by experts to refine the reporting guidelines, including on mining;

Further work to design arrangements for provision of technical assistance;

Discussion with the World Bank and IMF on the roles they could play; and

Consideration of proposals for a global UN General Assembly Resolution along the lines developed under the Kimberley Process.

She suggested a meeting in a year's time to review progress.

The EITI team invites attendees to check that individual positions set out in this report are accurately reflected, to provide additional statements or updates on their positions and to offer suggestions and intentions on follow-up actions.

Consistent with the statement of principles, we welcome the engagement of all stakeholders in this process. Other contributions are therefore welcome and those statements will be appended to the Statement of Principles and Agreed Actions.

Background to the Initiative

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was launched by Prime Minister Tony Blair at the World Summit on Sustainable development in Johannesburg, September 2002. Its aim is to increase transparency over payments by companies and revenues to governments in the extractive industries.

A short guide to the initiative.  (Indonesian translation) 

A successful workshop was held in February 2003. The workshop discussion paper and report   (Russian version)

Contacts: Sefton Darby 020 7023 1210 Press enquiries: Press Enquiries: 020 7023 0600 Overseas (+44 20 7023 0600)