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RACING TO RESCUE GHANA FROM ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: POST COVID 19 AND MATTERS ARISING
The report details Ghana's economic crisis in 2022, characterized by credit rating downgrades from Moody's, S&P, and Fitch, and a sharp depreciation of the cedi. It identifies the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2017 banking sector clean-up, and the Russia-Ukraine war as primary drivers, with the latter specifically impacting fertilizer costs and agriculture. Inflation rose to 31.7% by July 2022, driven by imported inflation and rising food prices. The government responded with policy rate hikes by the Bank of Ghana, increasing the rate from 14.5% in January to 22% by August 2022, and attempted to curb forex irregularities. However, the report notes skepticism regarding these measures, emphasizing the need for expenditure cuts and anti-corruption efforts to restore stability.
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Document type: Report
The Nexus Between Violent Extremism and the Illicit Economy in Northern Mozambique: Is Mozambique Under Siege from International Organised Crime?
The report examines the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, led by Alu Sunna Wa-Jama (ASWJ). It argues that the group's growth is driven by a combination of radical Wahhabist ideology, deep-seated ethnic tensions between the Mwani and Makonde groups, and systemic economic marginalisation linked to the extractive industries. The document further details how ASWJ leverages and profits from a thriving illicit economy involving drug, wildlife, and gemstone trafficking, often facilitated by corruption within the Mozambican political establishment. It concludes that heavy-handed military responses have alienated the population and recommends a holistic strategy focusing on inclusive governance, wealth distribution, and community dialogue.
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Document type: Report
Deep Dive: European Elections
The document analyzes disinformation campaigns during the European Parliament elections, highlighting narratives that undermine civic integrity through claims of voter fraud and conspiracy theories. It details targeted attacks on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the framing of the Digital Services Act (DSA) as a tool for censorship. The brief also identifies Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), particularly from Russian state-owned media, aimed at weakening support for European democratic institutions and policies regarding Ukraine.
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Document type: Briefing
GDI_Canada: Hate Speech and Bigotry_FINAL
The report documents a systemic and strategic environment of online hate in Canada, where marginalized groups—including Indigenous, Black, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, 2SLGBTQIA+, and women—are depicted as threats to national identity. It identifies a network of domestic actors, such as Rebel News and Jordan Peterson, and foreign state-linked entities from Russia, China, and India that amplify these narratives. Key findings highlight the use of 'reverse racism' tropes to oppose equity efforts, the persistence of colonial tropes against Indigenous peoples, and the weaponization of 'gender ideology' to target 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals. The document also notes a dangerous feedback loop where online hate mirrors and accelerates real-world hate crimes, which have more than doubled since 2018.
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Document type: Report
Germany September 2024 Deep Dive
The document details a rise in political violence in Germany, noting 3,691 attacks against politically active individuals in 2023. It analyzes how disinformation narratives targeting political leaders, civic institutions, and immigrants are leveraged by domestic actors (such as the AfD and BSW) and foreign actors (primarily Russia via RT Deutsch and Pravda-DE) to destabilize the democratic system. The report highlights the role of 'mirror websites' and VPNs in bypassing sanctions on Russian media and notes that over 75% of adversarial content from analyzed domains relates to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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Document type: Briefing
PUBLIC English/German Russian Invasion of Ukraine Narratives Report
The report analyzes how Russia-aligned actors use disinformation in Germany to discredit Ukraine, NATO, and the EU. It categorizes these narratives into four types: targeting civilians (such as 'denazification' and anti-refugee claims), demoralization (focused on energy security and sanctions), conspiracies (including bio-laboratories and QAnon), and escalatory rhetoric (regarding NATO encirclement and nuclear threats). The document highlights that Germany is a prime target due to its economic status and historical ties to Russia, and recommends ad-tech reforms and continued monitoring to counter these narratives.
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Document type: Report
State of Disinformation: Germany v.FINAL
The document analyzes Germany's disinformation environment, highlighting the role of domestic far-right actors and foreign influence from Russia, China, and Turkey. It examines the shift from the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) to the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) and reports a persistent reach of disinformation websites, with 3.6 billion page views from Germany in 2024. Key narrative clusters include election denialism, anti-immigrant hate speech, and climate policy opposition, while foreign operations aim to polarize society and weaken support for Ukraine.
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Document type: Policy brief
The Investment Case for a Resilient Future
The policy brief by the Global Resilience Partnership advocates for a systemic shift in how capital markets account for resilience-related risks. It argues that current policy frameworks and market incentives are inadequate, leaving assets exposed to increasing global shocks. The document proposes a new definition of resilience based on five attributes: diversity, redundancy, connectivity, inclusivity and equity, and adaptive learning. It emphasizes that investing in resilience, particularly in the Global South, is a risk mitigation strategy that can provide high economic returns, with benefit-cost ratios for climate adaptation ranging from 2:1 to 10:1.
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Document type: Policy brief
Spotlighting power dynamics: Metacoupling as a lens for understanding equitable resilience in southern African
The document introduces 'metacoupling' as a research lens to understand the interdependence of social-ecological systems (SES) across local (intracoupling), adjacent (pericoupling), and distant (telecoupling) scales. By integrating an equity lens—focusing on distributional, procedural, and recognitional dimensions—the framework reveals how global flows of resources and capital influence local inequities. Case studies in South Africa and Namibia illustrate that international market demands and certification standards often marginalize small-scale producers and riverine communities, while power imbalances between local actors and multinational entities constrain equitable resource access.
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Document type: Briefing
Critical mineral mines tied to 111 violent incidents and protests on average a year
Between 2021 and 2023, mining for copper, cobalt, lithium, and nickel was linked to 334 incidents of violence or protest across 19 top-producing countries, averaging 111 per year. Nearly 90% of these events occurred in emerging and developing economies, while the majority of production is controlled by companies from advanced economies and major consumer countries, primarily China. The report warns that social unrest is likely to increase as production is forecast to spike by 2028 to meet climate goals, potentially destabilizing supply chains and increasing costs for renewable technologies.
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Document type: Policy brief
One year on: Western companies traded 533 million barrels of Russian oil
Global Witness reports that Western companies traded 533 million barrels of Russian oil and oil products in the year following the invasion of Ukraine, representing nearly 25% of Russia's total sea-borne exports. While trade shifted toward India, China, and Turkey, Western entities—particularly traders like Vitol and Gunvor, and Greek-owned tankers—remained significant enablers. Western-owned tankers carried over 897 million barrels, with 83% of that volume handled by Greek-owned vessels.
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Document type: Report
Exposing the connections between Wintershall’s Siberian gas fields and Russia’s military supply chain
A joint investigation by Global Witness and Radio Free Europe (RFE) identifies a supply chain connecting Wintershall Dea's gas condensate production in Western Siberia to the Salavat refinery, which in turn supplies diesel to companies with Russian military contracts. While the report notes it is not possible to determine if a specific barrel of diesel contains Wintershall's condensate, it highlights that the refinery's output reaches suppliers for the Federal Guard Service (FSO) and other military units. The report criticizes Wintershall for its continued shareholding in these ventures and its pursuit of German government compensation despite these connections.
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Document type: Report
Pricey food, precious forests: The invasion of Ukraine, global food security and deforestation
The document warns that the global food price surge, driven by climate events and the invasion of Ukraine, is being used by industry actors and politicians to push for the deregulation of forests to increase agricultural production. It argues that deforestation actually undermines food security by disrupting weather cycles and increasing climate shocks, citing examples of crop losses in Brazil and Canada. The author urges the UK, EU, and forest-rich nations to maintain and strengthen due diligence requirements to prevent businesses from profiting from deforestation.
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Document type: Statement
BASF subsidiary profits from Germany’s Russian gas addiction
Global Witness reports that BASF's subsidiary, Wintershall Dea, continued extracting and transporting Russian gas in 2022 despite BASF's public commitment to wind down non-food businesses in Russia. The brief estimates that Russian gas transported by Wintershall across Germany in early 2022 was worth over €14 billion and that the subsidiary earned €400 million from Siberian fields between January and March 2022. It highlights BASF CEO Martin Brudermüller's lobbying to maintain these supplies to avoid economic crisis, while noting that Wintershall's partnership with Gazprom has increased Russia's leverage over Germany's energy security.
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Document type: Policy brief
Trump’s minerals deal: bad for Ukraine, bad for climate
Global Witness criticizes a draft US-Ukraine deal proposed by Donald Trump, which would grant the US control over half of Ukraine's revenues from new oil, gas, and mining projects via a US-controlled 'Reconstruction Investment Fund'. The analysis suggests this puts $353 billion of oil and gas revenue at risk and allows the US to restrict Ukraine's mineral exports to other countries. The document argues that such an arrangement prioritizes US 'war debt' recovery over Ukrainian public services and pushes the country toward fossil fuel dependency instead of a sustainable, green reconstruction.
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Document type: Statement
Setting the Record Straight
Global Witness presents evidence suggesting that David Bernhardt, the nominee for US Interior Department Secretary, may have misled Congress during his 2017 confirmation as Deputy Secretary by denying involvement in lobbying activities for Access Industries. The organization highlights that Bernhardt was previously listed as a lobbyist for Access in multiple reports filed by his law firm, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (BHFS), but these records were amended to remove his name just days before his 2017 nomination and shortly after a $1 million payment from Access to the Trump Inaugural Committee became public. Global Witness contends that Bernhardt's specialized expertise in energy and natural resources makes it unlikely he was not involved in supporting the firm's work for Access. The document also calls for the Senate to pass the For the People Act (H.R.1) to improve lobbying disclosure and regulate inauguration payments.
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Document type: Statement
Global Plastics Treaty must be shored up against oil and gas ambitions
The document criticizes the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists and petrostates on the UN's Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, specifically at INC-5. It highlights how oil-producing nations have blocked agreements to curtail plastic production as the industry seeks new markets for petroleum products. The text details the environmental and health impacts of plastic, including greenhouse gas emissions, flooding in Mumbai and Indonesia, and toxic pollution in Alberta, Canada. It calls for the 2025 INC-5.2 session to establish specific global reduction targets and ensure the inclusion of Indigenous and civil society voices.
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Document type: Statement
The US is set to drown the world in oil
Global Witness warns that new US oil and gas production is forecast to dwarf that of other nations, potentially producing more than twice the current output of Saudi Arabia by the end of the next decade. The analysis suggests that to avoid the worst climate impacts, global production must drop by 40% over ten years, yet US output is set to rise by 25%. The document calls for the next US president to end fossil fuel subsidies—estimated between $4.6 billion and $649 billion annually—and to stop new extraction on federal lands to facilitate a just transition for workers and communities.
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Document type: Statement
Shell’s looming billion-dollar blood money payday
Global Witness highlights that despite Shell's public claims of exiting Russia and writing down its assets, the company may receive over $1 billion from a bid by Novatek for its stake in the Sakhalin-II project. The author contends that 'writing down' assets is a meaningless accounting measure that does not end legal ownership. The document calls for Shell to donate these funds to Ukraine, noting that such a payout would cover more than 10% of the direct damage caused by Russia to Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
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Document type: Statement
Despite Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine, insurers enable the export of 40 million barrels of Russian oil
Global Witness reports that between February 24 and March 21, 2022, over 360 ships carrying approximately 39.3 million barrels of crude oil, 7.52 million barrels of fuel oil, 473,000 tonnes of LNG, and 2.82 million tonnes of coal from Russian ports were insured by members of the International Group of P&I Clubs (IGP&I). The document asserts that this insurance, required by EU law and international conventions, facilitates the trade of 'conflict fuel' that funds Russia's war in Ukraine. While the IGP&I acknowledges that collective withdrawal of cover could have an 'immediate effect' on volumes, it claims this would only cause a 'limited short-term hiatus' as owners might seek alternative insurance. Only one club, Gard, responded to inquiries about excluding such shipowners, arguing that withdrawing protection could expose 'innocent third parties to risks'.
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Document type: Statement