Thank you for standing with us!

Dear friend,

We are writing to thank you for supporting our accomplishments this year. But first, we want to share the exciting news about our colleagues who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize! Ales Bialiatski of Viasnia in Belarus; the human rights center, Memorial, in Russia; and the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine were recognized for their courageous and resolute efforts to preserve peace and democracy and fight for freedom.  We are all members of the Civic Solidarity Platform, an international coalition of human rights organizations working in the OSCE region.

The tireless commitment of our colleagues to environmental and human rights, climate justice, and in defense of democracy inspires us every day to do as much as we can to protect our beautiful planet and all those who live on it.

Despite the state of the world, Crude Accountability had many significant achievements this year, and we’d like to thank you for standing with us throughout this challenging time.

Enjoy a few highlights of our recent efforts:

We’ve been analyzing the connections between the oil majors that are extracting hydrocarbons in Central Asia and Russia’s war in Ukraine. For a primer on how western oil companies are side-stepping sanctions, even as they make public statements in support of Ukraine, read our blog. Crude Accountability has also been invited to speak in forums to explain to investors why western companies must divest from Russia, especially its oil and gas sector.

Crude Accountability, as part of the Prove They Are Alive! campaign, partnered with Omanos Analytics, a UK-based space technology start-up, to examine satellite data from one of the most secretive countries in the world – Turkmenistan. Technology allows us to investigate construction at Turkmenistan’s notorious Ovadan Depe prison, which holds many of the country’s political prisoners for whom we are advocating on the international level. We remain committed to uncovering the truth about enforced disappearances in Turkmenistan and beyond.

Our team brought the issue of climate justice to the annual human rights meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Warsaw, Poland, in September—raising the issue for the first time ever at this high-level gathering of diplomats and civil society representatives. As members of the Civic Solidarity Platform, we are leading a new project on climate justice that highlights the destructive impacts of the climate crisis and environmental degradation in the region. We are amplifying the voices of regional experts, activists, and Indigenous People to educate policymakers about the effects of the crisis. Stay tuned for upcoming publications before the end of 2022!

Following our investigation into Chinese investments in the Central Asian oil and gas sector, we have begun looking at Azerbaijan, where China also plays a significant role. The first blog in our new series on this topic provides an overview of this little-understood issue. 

We thank all of you for your commitment to democracy, human rights, environmental and climate justice, and the struggle to end corruption and kleptocracy. We could not accomplish our work without you. 

We are asking each of you to contribute to Crude Accountability in whatever amount you can. And, if you can become a monthly supporter, we would be so grateful for your ongoing support to keep our programs running smoothly! 

Thank you in advance. Together we will continue working for peace and justice.