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Bono, ONE co-founder
5:23 PM (7 minutes ago)
to me
Dear Peter,
Right now, some very big oil companies are fighting to hold onto some very rich secrets.
But ONE members won't be bullied by Big Oil. Add your name with just one click.
Big companies pay big money to governments in Africa to extract its vast reserves of natural resources - and yet so many Africans live in extreme poverty because the money often goes missing.
In 2010, Congress passed a very excellent bill that said if you're an oil and gas company and you make a deal, you have to publish what you pay. Then the Securities and Exchange Commission officially approved the rule. (In fact, when they finally did release the rule - they even cited actions taken by ONE members as a factor in their decision.) It was an extraordinary moment in the fight against corruption.
But the oil companies sued the SEC to block this law - and they've stopped it in its tracks.
Now, I'm not a cranky anti-corporate critic here. Some of these companies are doing amazing work in the fight against AIDS and malaria. But you can't give alms to the poor on one level and have your hands on their throats on another.
Activists in Africa are being thrown in jail, having their lives threatened for fighting against this corruption. In the US, the oil lobby should be standing up with these brave activists, not fighting against laws that would empower them.
28 European countries have now passed similar laws. Canada is doing it. It's a transparency revolution. Citizens in resource-rich countries around the world want to know - deserve to know - where their money is going and how it's being spent.
Tell the SEC to reissue their rule and not be bullied by Big Oil.
Bono
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