In the media
UNU-WIDER research on oil theft gains attention

TRACIT is a private sector NGO initiative to mitigate the economic and social damages of illicit trade. TRACIT member companies encompass 1,500 globally recognized brands and subsidiaries, operate in 190 countries, and employ 800,000 people. TRACIT is also supported by a global network of Alliance Partners that represent over 800 companies.

The working papers Global oil theft: impact and policy responses and Countering global oil theft: responses and solutions, by Etienne Romsom, were cited on TRACIT's latest publication Examining The Negative Impact of Illicit Trade On The ASEAN Community Vision 2025. The report, published in May 2023, was sponsored by the EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC).

In addition to this, TRACIT hosted the second Illicit Trade Forum in September 2022, in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This event resulted in the latest update of mapping of the impact of illicit trade on SDG 8, with several references to the two UNU-WIDER papers.

The topic was also discussed in the article by the Nigerian media outlet Punch, and in an interview with Etienne Romsom published by the Africa Report.

'The two UNU-WIDER Working Papers highlight the importance of information sharing and collaboration by the international community to combat oil theft. The visibility created by organisations and media on this important topic is therefore most welcome and a potential catalyst for action to take a stronger stance against oil theft', says Etienne Romsom.

The research is part of Extractives for Development (E4D) – risks and opportunities project. E4D is part of UNU-WIDER's research and capacity development programme on domestic revenue mobilization (DRM), funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (Norad).