Integrity Watch Afghanistan and Global Witness asked the Afghan government during a recent press conference to make a clear commitment to strong protections for the prevention of conflict(s) and corruption in the area of natural resources.
Integrity Watch and Global Witness expressed appreciation for Afghanistan’s willingness to become a member of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and asked for certain improvements at the same time. They called on the government to publish all the contracts and other related documents, bring about necessary policies and laws to make the extractive industries pay due attention to mining activities. They also called on the government to provide a better platform and set rules for a just, transparent and a competitive bidding process.
Integrity Watch has emphasized since long time that there should be legal provisions made for punishment in cases where security forces, and other armed groups, have a stake in the extractives sector.
Integrity Watch Afghanistan and Global Witness reminded stakeholders that most of the points mentioned above are not taken care of in the new mining law.