Mining is a pillar of the economy of Burkina Faso. With more than 1.1 billion Euros, gold has been the first export in 2012. This is about 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But gold also has its dark side. It kills. Civil society calls for measures to prevent child labor in artisanal mining sites. There are at least 600,000 miners spread over 700 sites. A UNICEF study in Burkina has estimated 20.000 children aged 5 to 18 on a sample of 90 sites.

Read more … Raw Materials Working Group News February 2013

The jurists and lawyers association Sherpa, specialized in the fight against economic crimes, announced that it was withdrawing from the agreements it had concluded in 2009 with the company Areva.  

These agreements should have promoted the establishment of health observatories in mining areas in Niger and Gabon to prevent health risks associated with uranium exploitation. But they should have also helped to compensate former employees African of Areva Group who contracted diseases related to their professional activity.

Read more … CSR News - January 2013

The court case against Shell in the Netherlands has started again. Ghana’s oil wealth is not reaching the poor. Angola: Oil-rich Cabinda in Angola is getting ever the poorer for it. Oil companies in the US are trying to undermine the recently approved transparency requirements.

Read more … CSR News - October 2012

Two years after the U.S. Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the American government has at last issued the rules detailing how that law will be implemented. U.S.-listed companies will have to publish a detailed account of what they pay the U.S. and foreign governments on a country-by-country and project-by-project basis. Over 1,100 companies will be covered by the information disclosure requirements, including a majority of the most profitable international oil companies and the largest global mining companies.

The legal committee of the European Parliament approved measures similar to Dodd-Frank earlier this month.

Read more … CSR News - September 2012

The Angolan government is unable to explain how it spent $32-billion - mostly revenues coming from the oil sector - which it collected between 2007 and 2010.

The Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) presented a memorandum to the Natural Resources Committee of the Parliament of Uganda at the beginning of May 2012. They gave their recommendations concerning Bills addressing petroleum exploitation.

In March 2012, Kenya became the second East African country, after Uganda, to have discovered oil.

In April the European Parliament discussed for the first time the directives that would introduce, in the EU, transparency of payment regulations for extractive industries, similar to the US Dodd-Frank Act.

Read more … CSR News - May 2012

On March 21, Namibia celebrated the 22nd anniversary of its independence obtained in 1990. Has Namibia really used the chances it had in the cradle of independence? Pleasant climate, abundant natural resources (fish, meat, diamonds, uranium, copper, etc.), an excellent road network, a functioning government and civil law, quality tourism, little debt, only 2 million inhabitants on an area of 825,000 km2.

Read more … Namibia: the disenchantment

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States tasked with implementing Dodd-Frank has taken far more time than originally foreseen and has not yet been able to do so. The delays of the SEC give multinational corporations the opportunity to lobby against the provisions and to try to weaken them as far as possible. Many of the same companies praising transparency have been actively lobbying since the law was passed to water it down.

Read more … CSR News Update - February 2012

In October the European Commission presented draft directives requiring companies listed on EU stock exchanges and large private companies based in member states to disclose their payments to governments for oil, gas, minerals and timber. The reporting has to take place on a country-by-country and project-by-project base. The European Commission also released its new communication on corporate social responsibility.

Read more … CSR News Update November - 2011

Read more … CSR State of Play and Future Perspectives - May 2011

Read more … Mining Ban in Eastern Congo lifted - March 2011

Read more … The EU's Raw Materials Initiative

Read more … Let there be light - Areva in Niger

Read more … European Parliament demands inclusion of CSR in Trade Agreements

Read more … Namibia at the heart of the global uranium strategy

Read more … CSR State of Play - October 2010

Read more … The Gibe III Dam in Ethiopia

Read more … Holding Shell Accountable

Read more … Joint EU Council Presidency Statement on CSR - November 2009

Read more … Corporate Social Responsibility - An Introduction