Civil society security

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Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo might be one of the world’s richest countries in natural resources, but its population ranks among the poorest with four out of five citizens living on less than 30 cents a day.

Publish What You Pay* welcomes the recent decision of the civil society representatives sitting on the national Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)** multistakeholder group to resume their participation in the EITI process in Niger.

On 15 September 2009, an appeal court in Niger’s capital Niamey ordered the provisional release of Rotab/PWYP Niger member Marou Amadou.

Marou Amadou, also President of the United Front for the Safeguard of Democratic Assets (FUSAD), was arrested on 10 August 2009 for “undermining state authority” following the publication of a declaration by FUSAD criticising President Tandja’s regime.

Publish What You Pay (PWYP)* is gravely concerned by the increased repression of civil society activists in Niger after ROTAB**/PWYP Niger member Wada Maman was arrested in Niamey on Saturday 22 August.

UPDATE 27 August: Wada Maman provisionally released; Marou Amadou remains in detention

PWYP welcomes the release on bail on 20 August of Golden Misabiko, President of the African Association for the Protection of Human Rights in Katanga province (ASADHO/Katanga) and a member of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On 16 August, civil society members of the EITI multistakeholder group in Niger unanimously announced their decision to suspend their participation in the national EITI process ‘until further notice’. The decision was made following increasingly serious incidents of harassment and intimidation against civil society activists campaigning for good governance and transparency in Niger, including the arbitrary arrest and detention of Rotab/PWYP Niger Member Marou Amadou*.

PWYP strongly condemns the transfer into police custody of Marou Amadou, president of the United Front for the Safeguard of Democratic Assets (FUSAD), coordinator of the Advisory and Orientation Committee for the Defence of Democratic Rights (CROISADE), and member of the Réseau des Organisations pour la Transparence et l’Analyse Budgetaire (ROTAB) – Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Niger.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Clinton,

Publish What You Pay (PWYP), the international civil society coalition for transparency and accountability in the extractive industries, is writing to draw your attention to the continued harassment of transparency and anticorruption advocates in Africa and the need for African governments to respect their commitments to encourage public debate on these issues.

Golden Misabiko, Chair of the African Association for the Protection of Human Rights (ASADHO) in Katanga, was arrested on 24 July and remains in custody in Lubumbashi. Timothée Mbuya, Vice-Chair of ASADHO/Katanga, was also arrested on 24 July but subsequently released on the same day. ASADHO is a member of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Democratic Republic of Congo.

Both men were interrogated in Lubumbashi by members of the Congolese intelligence agency (Agence nationale de renseignements, ANR). Misabiko has been charged with “undermining State security” and “making defamatory statements” and is awaiting trial.

London: Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Gabon Coordinator Marc Ona Essangui has won the prestigious international Goldman Environmental Prize, which is often awarded to individuals who take significant personal risks to protect the environment and local communities.