From 17 to 21 of August 2026, the Interamerican Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) participated in the UN DESA Regional Workshop “Addressing Multinational Tax Avoidance in the Mining and Extractives Sector: Testing a Risk Assessment Tool,” held in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop brought together tax officials from 18 African countries to test and refine a risk assessment tool developed by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) to help developing countries identify and prioritize vulnerabilities to aggressive tax avoidance by multinational enterprises in their strongest economic sectors. In this case, the sector being analyzed was the mining and extractive industries. The activity was delivered in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining (IGF), the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

CIAT contributed to the workshop as a facilitator and, together with representatives of the partner organizations, addressed the mining value chain and the main commercial, operational, and cross-border features of mining projects. Over the five-day program, participants applied the risk assessment methodology to practical cases, exchanged country experiences on tax audits and vulnerabilities in the extractive sector, identified relevant risk indicators, and discussed possible responses and action plans. 

In particular, lessons were learned from the pilot application of the tool in two African countries. The feedback generated in Nairobi will contribute to refining the tool and its supporting guidance for future use by developing countries, strengthening their capacity to identify emerging tax risks and protect domestic revenue mobilization.

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