Legal Defense Funding for Human Rights Activists in Angola
Due to recent incidents in Angola surrounding the detention of human rights activist Dr. Sarah Wykes, the security and protection of civil society partners has become a pressing issue for RWI and PWYP coalition more broadly. In 2006-2007, RWI provided funding to Global Witness to cover legal defence costs associated with Wykes' detainment and ongoing trial. Actions undertaken with RWI's financial support included high profile legal assistance, international information dissemination and lobbying key stakeholders and wielders of influence. RWI and the PWYP coalition succeeded in persuading members of Congress, IFIs and the US government to strongly protest the arrest of Sara Wykes by the government of Angola and ultimately secured her release. RWI has subsequently provided Global Witness with some funding towards her ongoing legal defense.
Hard-hitting investigative GW reports exposing egregious cases of corruption are an effective first step in creating public awareness and political space for a campaign on this issue. They expose the corrupt exploitation of natural resources and international trade systems, to drive campaigns that end impunity, resource-linked conflict, and human rights and environmental abuses. It is one of the first organizations to seek to break the links between the exploitation of natural resources, and conflict and corruption, and the results of their investigations and powerful lobbying skills have been not only a catalyst, but one of the main drivers behind most of the major international mechanisms and initiatives that have been established to address these issues, including the Kimberley Process and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). GW's investigations are carried out in large part by research and fieldwork, similar to that which Dr. Wykes was conducting in Angola prior to her detention; such activities are the foundation of GW's strategic vision and it is important to ensure their ability to continue to fight for these causes.
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Revenue Watch and our partners engage in increasingly diverse forms of public finance monitoring, including service delivery, participatory budgeting, and aid and expenditure tracking. Our partners are coalescing into an indigenous-led network of non-governmental organizations at the forefront of the battle against corruption and abuse of the public interest.
Grant-making is RWI's primary tool for engaging civil society in resource-rich countries and is an important means to motivate, support and build grassroots movements that create sustained local and international demand for revenue and expenditure transparency.
RWI takes a comprehensive approach to improving governance and development across the entire value chain, from the organization of extractive production, revenue generation, and revenue management, and through to the expenditure processes and national development outcomes.