Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

332 john brayInvolve the Insurance SectorExport Development Canada and other export credit agencies arealready requiring environmental and social impact assessments. Theyhave an interest in developing effective tools to ensure that these are carriedout effectively. Both the private and the public sectors should bemore explicit in offering lower premiums to companies that carry outdetailed risk assessments and take steps to mitigate the risks that areidentified. MIGA is specifically promoting South-South investment. Itshould use its influence to promote high standards among the companiesthat it sponsors.Promote Economic DiversificationOne aspect of the resource curse is the lack of economic diversification,and this can lead to outright conflict as well as a distorted economy.The need for diversification is one of the issues that emergefrom risk assessments. Companies, governments, and local civil societyshould work together to develop integrated regional developmentstrategies.Promote TransparencyThere is now an emerging national and international legal regime coveringcompanies that pay bribes outside their home countries. It is essentialto ensure that laws are implemented in the North and to build capacityin the South. In particular, Northern governments need to demonstratethat they are meeting their side of the bargain by implementing the newanticorruption laws passed as a result of the 1997 OECD convention.This means publicizing the laws, distributing them to their own businessconstituencies (surveys by both Transparency International and ControlRisks Group demonstrate high levels of ignorance and complacencyabout the new laws), and prosecuting offenders. So far, no country apartfrom the United States has prosecuted offenders under the new anticorruptionlaws. At the same time, it is important to help build governmentand judicial capacity in the South. Anticorruption initiatives are now animportant feature of many multilateral and bilateral aid programs. Thistrend should continue.Business people express concern that the Publish What You Paytransparency initiative is flawed because it does not cover all types ofcompanies. However, this is not a sufficient reason not to promote theinitiative. As with anticorruption legislation, it is useful for companies tohave an “alibi” so that they can tell officials that they have no choice butto comply.