Blogs & Opinions

Missing the Progress Made in Congo

Dec 5, 2014 | Washington Post

The Dec. 1 front-page article “In Congo, unintended harm from a U.S. law,” about Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, understated the important progress made in the fight to…

Water Wars of the 21st Century

Dec 1, 2014 | Dawn

While oil may have triggered many of the conflicts of the 20th century, many believe that this century’s wars will mostly be over water. Four…

Common Sense on Conflict Minerals

Dec 1, 2014 | Project Syndicate

“That diamond upon your finger, say how came it yours?” asks Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. “Thou’lt torture me,” responds the villainous Iachimo, “to leave unspoken that which, to be…

Pipeline Geopolitics: From Syria to Russia via Ukraine

Nov 30, 2014 | Counter Currents

Prior to landing in Ukraine or before I start glossing the western sanction on Russia, it is important to take the readers through the memory…

Conflict Minerals: EU Can Save Lives and Boost Profits

Nov 29, 2014 | EU Observer

It’s not always fashionable to talk about Brussels wielding power. To many, the inner workings of the European Union seem far-removed from day-to-day life, and…

Going for Congo's Gold

Nov 26, 2014 | Washington Post

Just in time for the holidays, the Enough Project, an advocacy group that has worked for years to stop war crimes in Congo by bringing…

Congo’s Problems Run Deeper than Oil

Nov 21, 2014 | Reuters

Save the gorillas and save the Democratic Republic of Congo, urges “Virunga,” a new documentary from Netflix and enviro-mensches Leonardo DiCaprio and Howard Buffett. The…

Gidon Bromberg on Environmental Peacebuilding in the Lower Jordan Valley

Nov 21, 2014 | New Security Beat

“When you turn on the tap in any community in Israel, water will always flow. That’s not the case in Palestine, and it’s not always…

Kono, Sierra Leone: Cry Me a River

Nov 21, 2014 | The Union

Kono is the main diamond mining district in Sierra Leone. The origin of Blood Diamonds is right here. Even today, the buildings that were damaged…

Iraqi-Kurdish Oil Deal Falls Short of Solutions

Nov 16, 2014 | The Telegraph

Goran Mohammed had just completed his second year of university in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil when he dropped out to help his father…

Europe Is Dragging Its Feet on Conflict Minerals

Nov 16, 2014 | Huffington Post

Don't ask, don't tell. This is the deal consumers have long been offered by companies in exchange for cheaper clothes, cheaper food, and cheaper gadgets.…

Cal Poly Passes Conflict Minerals Resolution

Nov 13, 2014 | Enough Project

On May 20th, 2014, the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) Academic Senate passed a conflict minerals resolution, making Cal Poly the 17th school to go conflict-free. Below…

Study Links Hot Weather to Violent Conflict in Africa

Nov 10, 2014 | Carbon Brief

Analysis of violent events in the past 30 years in sub-Saharan Africa reveals a link to high temperatures, a new study finds.However, the researchers say…

Iraq's Future: It's the Oil, Stupid

Nov 10, 2014 | Al-Jazeera

This week, Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi is scheduled to visit Erbil, his first visit to the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as…

3 Ways Conservation Efforts Can Promote Peace

Nov 5, 2014 | Brittany Ajroud

Illegally mined minerals and timber stripped from Africa’s forests have financed some of the continent’s most brutal wars. Similarly, the illegal ivory trade has been linked…

War and the Environment

Nov 5, 2014 | Cynthia S. Levesque

"Impacts to the environment from war threaten human health, livelihoods and security and can undermine post-conflict peacebuilding. November 6th has been declared by the United Nations General…

Petrodollars: Fight for Kobani Has a Key Oil Aspect to It

Nov 3, 2014 | Platts

The focus of the Islamic State group’s military campaign in Iraq and Syria has shifted in recent weeks from lands around Iraq’s northern oil fields…

International Analysis: A Hostile Climate

Oct 31, 2014 | Peruvian Times

On October 13, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel delivered a major address on climate security at the Conference of the Defense Ministers of the…

Faily: Iraq's energy sector asks for U.S. investments

Oct 30, 2014 | Houston Chronicle

I'm about to visit Houston to discuss investment opportunities in Basra, a province in southern Iraq that is the center of the country's energy industry,…

Conflict Minerals: A Broader Push for Reform is Essential

Oct 30, 2014 | Enough Project

For nearly two decades, the war and widespread illicit exploitation of natural resources in eastern Congo has subjected Congolese citizens to a humanitarian crisis that desperately needs to be…

Alina Saba of Nepal and Agnes Kinaka of Papua New Guinea Reflect on Their Participation in the UN Climate Summit

Oct 29, 2014 | ADWID

In addition to the 120 Heads of State who attended the UN Climate Summit in September, 38 civil society representatives were selected by their peers…

EU Must Give Assurances on the Morality of Trade in Natural Resources

Oct 29, 2014 | EurActiv

We ask European Parliamentarians and European governments to meet the expectations of EU consumers who want assurances that the resources in their mobile phones, computers…

Mineral Certification: The Genesis and Steps Uganda Ought to Remember

Oct 29, 2014 | New Vision

On December 15, 2010, Uganda endorsed the ICGLR Lusaka Declaration adopting six tools to fight Illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Great Lakes Region.

The…

Star Petroleum Response To "Oil: Will Star Shine For South Sudan?"

Oct 28, 2014 | Gurtong

From Star Petroleum

Dear Mrs. Vickers,

Reference to the publication by Global Witness of the report “Scrutinizing South Sudan’s First Post-Independence Oil Deal”, dated 27th October 2014, STAR…

Oil: Will Star Shine for South Sudan?

Oct 27, 2014 | Gurtong

South Sudan’s first post-independence oil deal is high-risk and in urgent need of further scrutiny, according to a new Global Witness report released today. The seven…

The Last Train

Oct 25, 2014 | New York Times

When Secretary of State John Kerry began his high-energy effort to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace, I argued that it was the last train for a…

Intelligent Imagining: Scenarios to Manage Water as the Climate Changes

Oct 23, 2014 | Moushumi Chaudhury, Paul Reig and Tien Shiao

Imagine a world just six years from now, when water governance is weak and there are no laws to manage water in a drying climate.…

No Pain, No Gain: The Hassle of Conflict Mineral Audits Might Actually be Worth It

Oct 22, 2014 | TTI, inc.

It is a simple question companies are required to ask and, depending on the direction of the latest appellate court decision, perhaps even answer: do…

Oil and Gas and the Debate over ‘Quality’ Investment

Oct 19, 2014 | Mizzima

Not enough Myanmar companies are benefitting from foreign investment in the oil and gas sector, says Parami Energy group chairman and chief executive officer U…

China's Water Wars More Reality than Cli-Fi

Oct 19, 2014 | Sydney Morning Herald

Living in Beijing, I often felt bad about taking a shower. It was guilt because, in our house, you had to run a good five…