AUA Center for Responsible Mining Hosts Civil-Society Organizations for Discussion on EITI

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YEREVAN, Armenia – The American University of Armenia (AUA) Center for Responsible Mining (AUA CRM), in partnership with Transparency International Armenia, hosted an information session to discuss civil society’s role in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international standard for openness and transparency around the management of revenues from natural resources.

The event took place at AUA on February 13, 2015. The session was attended by representatives from civil society organizations, who were provided with essential information about EITI, allowing them to evaluate their interest in taking part in Armenia’s membership process. Ms. Narine Tadevosyan, the World Bank’s expert on EITI, provided background information the discussion. Civil society representatives from Ukraine and Kazakhstan were invited to the discussion via Skype to share firsthand information about their own experiences.

Under EITI, a government must disclose the funds it receives from extractive companies operating in its country and the companies must fully disclose their payments to the government. An essential element of EITI is the formation of a multi-stakeholder group which must include representatives from government, the mining industry and civil society. The information session comes after the Government of Armenia had expressed interest in exploring the possibility of joining EITI in its commitments on Open Government Partnership (OGP), an international governance transparency and accountability initiative Armenia started to join in October 2011.

The video of the presentation and discussion on EITI and civil society is available on the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/auaace. The first 47 minutes of the video is a presentation by Ms. Tadevosyan of the World Bank (in Armenian). From the 50^th minute on, the participants are joined by experts from Ukraine and Kazakhstan who share their experience and challenges on civil-society participation in their respective countries (in Russian).

For Ms. Tadevosyan’s power point presentation document in Armenian please click here and English click here.

The American University of Armenia Center for Responsible Mining (AUA CRM) promotes the creation as well as transfer and adoption in Armenia of best practices in socially, environmentally, and economically responsible mining. AUA CRM works with companies, civil society, and the public sector to achieve this goal.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.

 The American University of Armenia (AUA) Center for Responsible Mining, in partnership with Transparency International Armenia, hosted an information session to discuss the various aspects of civil society’s role in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)