NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2006

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu
CLEANING UP THE SPILL: TRANSPARENCY EXPERT EIGEN TO TALK ABOUT
FIGHTING CORRUPTION IN THE OIL, GAS INDUSTRY DURING UH LECTURE

Fighting corruption in the oil and gas industry will be the subject of an upcoming lecture sponsored by the University of Houston Law Center’s Houston Journal of International Law April 12.

Peter Eigen, founder and chairman of the Advisory Board of Transparency International (TI), will deliver his lecture “Fighting Corruption in a Global Economy: Transparency Initiatives in the Oil and Gas Industry” at the Magnolia Hotel, 1100 Texas Avenue.

Eigen will talk about the full publication and verification of company payments and government revenues, and ways to develop broadly consistent approaches to financial disclosure and independent auditing. In addition, he will provide updates from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s International Advisory Group that met in Nigeria and Azerbaijan on Feb. 16 and April 5, respectively.

“If no international organization today can ignore the issue of corruption any longer, it is largely due to the work of Transparency International,” Pascal Lamy, director-general of the World Trade Organization and former EU Trade Commissioner, said. “TI, contrary to many of its sister non-governmental organizations, is far more than just an agenda-setter. By joining forces with governments and business, Peter and his troops have managed to shape a range of international instruments to curb corruption, ranging from the OECD to the Council of Europe and the UN.”

Eigen, a lawyer by training, previously worked in economic development for 25 years, mainly as a World Bank manager of programs in Africa and Latin America. Among his assignments, he served as director of the Regional Mission for Eastern Africa from 1988 to 1991. With Ford Foundation sponsorship, he also provided legal and technical assistance to the governments of Botswana and Namibia.

Registration is free but required. To RSVP, please contact Briefcase@uh.edu or (713) 743-2201. Interested media should contact Angie Joe (ajoe@uh.edu or 713-743-8153). One hour of Continuing Legal Education, including one half hour of ethics, credit is available. For more information about the conference, go to http://www.law.uh.edu/news/HJIL2006.pdf.

WHAT: “Fighting Corruption in a Global Economy: Transparency Initiatives in the Oil and Gas Industry.”
WHO: Peter Eigen, founder and chairman of the Advisory Board of Transparency International
WHEN: Wednesday, April 12
5:30 p.m. – Reception
6:30 p.m. – Keynote address
WHERE: Magnolia Ballroom, Magnolia Hotel, 1100 Texas Avenue


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