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*.

In a statement, the six representatives of civil society on the EITI multistakeholder group reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of EITI and the importance of free and independent participation of civil society without fear of harassment or repression. They also called on Nigerien authorities to respect the human rights of Nigerien citizens and demanded the release of civil society activists who have been imprisoned simply for exercising their freedom of expression and association.

In a meeting on Tuesday with Niger’s EITI National Coordinator, civil society representatives re-iterated the decision to withdraw from the EITI process, while affirming a continued commitment to an open dialogue with authorities to find ways to restore security and freedom for civil society. They articulated two conditions that must be met for their re-entry into the EITI process:

• a minimum guarantee of safety and an end to all forms of harassment and repression of civil society
• the unconditional release of Marou Amadou and the dismissal of all charges against him

PWYP** extends its support to its civil society partners in Niger and will continue to work with them to ensure that their human rights and personal security are safeguarded. PWYP commends Nigerian civil society for maintaining open dialogue with the authorities in Niger, and urges all EITI stakeholders to take action in support of civil society concerns and help to ensure that the government of Niger reaffirms its commitment to the EITI principles*** and criteria guaranteeing free participation to civil society.

Notes:

*The PWYP Niger national coalition is called Réseau des Organisations pour la Transparence et l’Analyse Budgetaire (ROTAB). See http://www.publishwhatyoupay.org/en/resources/action-alert-pwyp-calls-ni... for details on Marou Amadou’s arrest.

**Publish What You Pay (PWYP) is a global civil society coalition with over 300 member groups who work together for greater transparency in the oil, gas and mining industries.

***The EITI is a global multi-stakeholder initiative for disclosure of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining. The participation of independent civil society is a fundamental component of the multistakeholder nature of the EITI, which champions dialogue between governments, industry, and civil society. Niger joined EITI in 2005 and has a deadline of March 2010 to become fully compliant with the initiative

Media contact:

Radhika Sarin, PWYP International Coordinator
+44 7917 885 302 (mobile)
+44 20 7031 0204
rsarin@publishwhatyoupay.org

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