Black Lives Matter: a watershed moment in the fight against racism

As a global movement, PWYP stands against any forms of racism and intolerance. We also acknowledge that there is always more we can do to combat it and be more inclusive.

The abhorrent murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis is a watershed in the history of institutionalised racism in the United States: a history stretching back to slavery and the Jim Crow laws, and reverberating today in disparities between the black and white populations in income, employment, housing, incarceration, healthcare and more.

But the US is not an anomaly. 

The poison of racism, discrimination and xenophobia runs deep in all societies. And we all have a responsibility to confront it, and to defend the inalienable right of everybody to lives of dignity and equality. 

Why issues of inequality and injustice matter for our movement

As a global movement striving to make oil, gas and mineral governance open, accountable, sustainable, equitable and responsive to all people, these principles are fundamental to our work. We must never be above being challenged on how we address them, or working to strengthen diversity, inclusivity and equality in our team and movement. 

Improving our internal systems and practices

Having concrete measures in place are vital for our movement to be truly diverse and inclusive, and we need to ensure that we are better at not (even inadvertently) contributing to systemic discrimination, and actively combat it instead.

As a movement, we are constantly striving to improve our diversity and inclusivity, and to be part of the change that’s needed, as laid out in our global strategy Vision 2025.

Resisting racism, xenophobia and discrimination in all its forms, must run in tandem with PWYP’s fight to improve the lives of our societies’ most vulnerable by challenging the vested interests of governments and the extractive sector.