Jesuit Conference and Catholic Relief Services
Launch African Oil Speaking Tour

WASHINGTON, DC///September 26, 2005///The African Oil and Poverty Speaking Tour, sponsored by the Jesuit Conference USA and Catholic Relief Services, will visit 10 Jesuit Universities across the United States October 5-20, 2005. Featured speakers Fr. Antoine Berilengar, SJ of the Petroleum Revenue Oversight and Control Committee in Chad and Austin Onouha of the Center for Social and Corporate Responsibility in Nigeria will illustrate the human rights and environmental consequences of oil extraction in their countries. They will bring their advocacy message for greater transparency and the use of oil revenues for development to US audiences, and provide an example of how these audiences can help, such as socially responsible investing and corporate or political advocacy.

The tour aims to: raise awareness about the governance, environmental and human rights impacts of oil investments among the poor in Africa through the lens of Catholic social teaching; raise awareness among Catholics about the importance of transparency of oil revenues to combat corruption and promote poverty reduction; and encourage grassroots support for governmental and industry policy changes on oil revenue transparency issues.

Most Africans gain little or no benefit from the continent's vast mineral wealth. For many countries in Africa, extraction of mineral wealth has been more of a curse than a blessing, contributing to conflict, corruption and continued poverty and environmental degradation. In Angola alone, which supplies over 8 percent of US oil needs, diamond and oil wealth supported a tragic 27-year civil war that finally ended in 2002 after causing 1.5 million deaths and the displacement of 4 million people. American companies continued to operate profitably despite the war. In most African oil producing countries, basic information about revenues paid to the government, contracts with foreign oil companies and other key data remains hidden from public scrutiny.

Sponsors: CRS has developed comprehensive policy recommendations regarding natural resource exploitation in a number of African nations. (See the CRS report Bottom of the Barrel: Africa's Oil Boom and the Poor for more information. www.crs.org/africanoil.cfm) These recommendations call for the massive revenues derived from oil and mining in Africa to be transparent and open to public scrutiny. Transparency aims to reduce corruption and allow African citizens to influence spending decisions by their own governments regarding poverty reduction programs.

Speakers include Austin Onuoha from Nigeria and Jesuit Father Antoine Berilengar from Chad to discuss this compelling issue. Mr. Austin Onuoha is a staff member of the Center for Social and Corporate Responsibility in the oil-producing region of Nigeria. He has been involved in dialogue with Chevron-Texaco on human rights issues. He is currently working on a doctorate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. He conducts trainings about human rights and conflict mediation with a number of groups throughout Nigeria.

Fr. Antoine Berilengar, SJ, is a religious representative on the Petroleum Revenue Oversight and Control Committee in Chad and is the Social Apostolate co-ordinator for the Jesuits in Africa. In addition, he serves as a staff member of CEFOD, (Development Studies and Training Center). Fr. Antoine has been very involved in Exxon's Chad-Cameroon oil project. Also, while studying in the U.S., he wrote a Masters thesis on Catholic Social Teaching and the Chad-Cameroon project.

The Jesuit Conference seeks to advocate for and effect change in corporate behavior by coordinating shareholder advocacy initiatives at both the province and national levels. The Conference also works to expand awareness of socially responsible investment issues in Jesuit-related institutions.

In concert with its priority and concern for Africa, the Jesuit Conference has engaged in shareholder actions related to human rights and extractive industry companies over the last several years. Recently, the Conference led a collaborative effort with Occidental Petroleum Corporation to develop a corporate-wide human rights policy. This policy, adopted by Occidental's board of directors in December 2004, strengthens Occidental's existing Code of Conduct and spells out its commitment to ensure and support human rights through specifically tailored programs. This historic agreement established an important milestone for the extractive industry and continues to be the model for the Jesuits' work with US-based oil companies operating in Africa. For more information, please see the "Occidental Adopts Human Rights Policy" press release at http://www.jesuit.org/images/docs/z1xYWQ.pdf.

October 2005 Schedule

University Date Time Location City
Loyola University Chicago Oct. 5 7 pm Crown Center Auditorium Chicago, IL
Fordham University Oct. 6 7 pm Lincoln Center New York City, NY
Seattle University Oct. 12 7 pm Schaeffer Auditorium Seattle, WA
Jesuit School Theology at Berkeley Oct. 13 luncheon TBA Berkeley, CA
University of San Francisco Oct. 13 6:30 pm Lone Mountain Handlery Rm San Francisco, CA
Santa Clara University Oct. 14 12-1:30 pm Binson Center Parlors San Jose, CA
Georgetown University Oct. 18 luncheon TBA Washington, DC
St. Joe's University Oct. 20 11:30-1 pm Campion Forum Theatre Philadelphia, PA
Boston College Oct. 20 7:30 pm Fulton 511 Boston, MA

For more information, please contact jgerschutz@jesuit.org. Press, please contact James Rogers at jrogers@jesuit.org.