Initiative Extractive Industries Transparency elevates the status of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan today was downgraded to ‘candidate’ country following a Validation report carried out earlier this year. Validation is the EITI’s independent evaluation mechanism and Azerbaijan is the first country to be validated against the 2013 EITI Standard. The Board had called for an early validation following deep concern for the ability of civil society to engage critically in the EITI process in Azerbaijan.
The decision was made to held on April 14-15 at the 29th meeting of EİTİ in Brazzaville, reported  a meeting participant member of the International Board EİTİ, Gubad Ibadoglu.

According to him, the meeting discussed the evaluation report on Azerbaijan. Evaluation committee invited to participate in the discussions, representatives of governments, investors and civil society 4 variants of possible solutions: postponement  solutions till adoption  a new decision, downgrading in EİTİ, temporary suspension of the participation of Azerbaijan in the structure, with the exclusion  the country from  EİTİ.

Following the discussions, which was not attended by the Azerbaijani delegation because of the conflict, the Board has decided to reduce EİTİ status Azerbaijanas a full-membership to the candidate status.

Along with this, the Board has decided to prepare  action plan for the next year, after which the status of Azerbaijan can be restored. In addition, tajikistan was expelled from EİTİ.

Initiative of the  EİTİ, establishing standards of transparency in the oil, gas and mining industries, was launched at the World Summit on the Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 . It involves the publication of local and foreign companies the money they pay , and the government shoud publish  the information on  funds  it receives.  Azerbaijan announced joining the initiative of the first international conference EİTİ  on June 17, 2003 in London. -03D-