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Azerbaijan Suspended Over Rights Crackdown

Baku Responds by Quitting the Transparency Group

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international coalition promoting better governance of resource-rich countries, has suspended Azerbaijan for failing to ease its crackdown on civil society groups. Following years of…
News

Standing Rock’s Next Stand

Fight to Protect Indigenous People’s Rights in The US Continues

On the afternoon of February 23, about 200 police officers entered the Oceti Sakowin camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. They arrived in armored cars, carrying weapons, and arrested about 46 people – the last remaining protestors from an 11-month…
A Native American man leads a protest march with veterans and activists outside the Oceti Sakowin camp at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S., December 5, 2016.
News

Azerbaijan: No Progress On Key Reforms

Transparency Group Should Suspend Country’s Membership

(London) – The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a prominent international coalition, should suspend Azerbaijan’s membership for failing to carry out key reforms, a coalition of 21 groups including Human Rights Watch, ARTICLE 19, and…
An Azerbaijan state flag flutters in the wind on an oil platform in the Caspian Sea east of Baku, January 22, 2013.
News

Joint Letter to the EITI Board Members

February 10, 2017 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative International Secretariat Ruseløkkveien 26, 0251 Oslo, Norway For distribution to Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Board…
News

US: Don’t Suspend Conflict Minerals Rule

Reversing Dodd-Frank Rule Could Enrich Abusive Armed Groups

(Washington, DC, February 10, 2017) – A move reportedly under consideration by the Trump administration to suspend a rule requiring companies to disclose their source for gold and other potential “conflict minerals” could enrich abusive armed groups in…
A child digs for gold in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri District
News

High-Level Visit to Azerbaijan Should Prompt Changes

Transparency Group Should Urge Civil Society Reforms

In one month, the board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international multi-stakeholder group, will decide whether to suspend the natural resource-rich government of Azerbaijan for failing to comply with EITI standards.…
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News

US: Don’t Cancel Oil Transparency Rule

Congressional Resolution Would Help Shield Corruption

Republicans introduced joint resolutions in the United States Senate and House of Representatives today that would gut efforts to carry out a key law for fighting corruption in resource-rich countries, Human Rights Watch said today. Senator Jim Inhofe of…
Oil pump California
News

Malawi: Information Bill Aids Mining Communities

President Should Sign and Put Protections into Effect

(Lilongwe) – Malawi’s recently passed information bill could help communities affected by the extractive industries get information about related environmental, health, and safety risks, Human Rights Watch, Malawi’s Natural Resources…
Malcoal mine in Kayelekera.
Video

Video: Workers' Unions Under Attack in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s new trade union law, adopted after unresolved labor strikes in 2011, has made it more difficult to organize independent unions in the country. Changes to the labor and criminal codes have contributed to an environment hostile to worker…
News

Kazakhstan: Workers’ Rights Violated, Restricted

Fix Labor Laws, End Hostile Environment

(Almaty) – Kazakhstan’s new trade union law, adopted after unresolved labor strikes in 2011, has made it more difficult to organize independent unions in the country, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Changes to the labor and criminal…
Workers at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Temirtau, June 13, 2012.
News

Burma: Farmers Targets of Land Grabs

Livelihoods in Karen State Imperiled by Abusive Militias, Laws, and Local Officials

(Rangoon) – Burma’s government should urgently act to end the unlawful seizure of land in Karen State, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Officials regularly charge villagers with criminal trespass if they refuse to leave…
Two villagers in New Ahtet Kawin in front of their homes.
Report

“The Farmer Becomes the Criminal”

Summary Some things are getting better. There is electricity in the next village, and we may get electricity here, too. But none of that matters if our land is gone. –Nu Yee, San Klo, Karen State, February 2015 The businessman takes the…
News

Dakota Access Pipeline Protests Put Right to Water at Center Stage

US Should Address Issues in North Dakota, Flint, and Beyond

Since August, over 400 people have been arrested protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline – 140 in the last week alone. This after the tribe sued the federal government in July, stating that they were not properly consulted about the construction project.…
Dakota Access Pipeline protesters square off against police near the Standing Rock Reservation and the pipeline route outside the little town of Saint Anthony, North Dakota, U.S., October 5, 2016.
News

Azerbaijan: Transparency Group Insists on Reforms

4 Months to Repeal Restrictive Laws or Face Suspension

(New York) – The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a prominent international coalition, on October 26, 2016, declined to restore Azerbaijan’s full membership status in the organization, Human Rights Watch said today. EITI gave the…
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News

The Failed Promise of Mining Embitters Malawians

  Malita had high hopes when she first heard that foreign and domestic companies would start mining in her area of Malawi. The government and the companies promised jobs, better schools and improved access to healthcare in her village. They…
Malcoal mine in Kayelekera.
Video

Video: Mining Ruins Lives in Malawi

Malawi’s government has failed to protect the rights and livelihoods of people living in nascent mining communities, Human Rights Watch said today in a report released on eve of the International Right to Know Day. Families living near coal and uranium…
News

Malawi: Mining Puts Residents at Risk

Urgent Need to Protect Rights of Lake Malawi Communities

  (Lilongwe) – Malawi’s government has failed to protect the rights and livelihoods of people living in nascent mining communities, Human Rights Watch said today in a report released on eve of the International Right to Know Day. Families…
Nagomba E., 75, standing where her house used to be in Mwabulambo, Karonga district. She and her family were told to relocate in 2008 because the land was needed for coal mining.
News

Witness: “The Mining Company Brought Me Problems”

Unregulated Promotion of Mining in Malawi Causing Hazards and Hardships

Nagomba E. is no longer young; her hip is giving her trouble and her back is stooped from years of bending over her corn and rice fields. Yet every morning, at the crack of dawn, the wiry 74-year-old sets out on a strenuous half-hour walk to fetch water…
Young girl washing dishes at a borehole near Eland coal mine in Mwabulambo, Karonga district.
Report

“They Destroyed Everything”

Summary Whenever they want to do mining again, they should do it far from the people and not the way they did it this time. They should explain to everyone what the advantages and disadvantages are. People need to know what to…