Post-Conflict Transparency in Liberia and the DRC

Regions of recent civil conflict face an especially urgent demand for natural resource management and revenue transparency. Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are emerging from periods of intense conflict, which has itself been fueled by the exploitation of abundant natural resources.

RWI supported a project carried out by Friends of the Earth (FOE) as part of a plan by PWYP-U.S. to foster dialogue through an analysis of the relationships between conflict, poor governance and natural resources. In Liberia, FOE worked with local partners to build the resource management capacity of civil society and national NGOs. FOE also worked with Liberian partners to monitor the government's fulfillment of revenue management and transparency commitments, and to disseminate key information to the media, policymakers and the public, particularly in the United States and among the international financial institutions (IFIs).

In DRC, FOE collaborated with local partners, to monitor and analyze the government's published plans for extractive industry reform, including the implementation of EITI and the renegotiation of dubious contracts. The collaboration also yielded a policy for advocates and Congressional and State Department staff, outlining the DRC's plan for concessional review and natural resource governance.