Please send this to the government.
Sorry to get all political on folks; but my mate jus sent me this via e-mail asking for my help. Would be cool if as many people as possible could copy and paste this letter and send it to the government. At this e-mail address:
Dear Mr Brown
I am writing in support of the Memorandum from Concerned NGOs on the Lessons of Ilisu, which was presented to Prime Minister Tony Blair on March 14th by the Ilisu Dam Campaign - the Kurdish Human Rights Project and Friends of the Earth.
Although the ECGD's new Business Principles are to be welcomed, they fall far short of a policy, let alone a policy that would bring the ECGD into line with international best practice on the financing of infrastructure projects with potential environment, human rights and cultural heritage
impacts.
Instead of introducing a set of clear, legally binding, ex-ante environmental, development and human rights standards, the new procedures are based on a "benchmarking approach" under which the ECGD decides what standards should be applied on a case-by-case basis. Different standards are thus applied (or not applied) at the discretion of ECGD staff, encouraging an ad hoc approach that is bureaucratic, unwieldy and potentially open to abuse. Moreover, the Principles provide none of the incentives, penalties, binding rules and avenues of redress that would make them a suitable instrument for governing the ECGD's business practice.
In my view it is imperative that the ECGD adopt clear, ex-ante standards that apply to all its projects, as recommended by the Memorandum. Such standards should reflect best international practice, as exemplified, for example, by the recommended guidelines of the World Commission on Dams,
and should cover human rights, environment, cultural heritage, gender and development impacts.
I respectfully urge you to take all due steps to ensure that such standards are adopted by the ECGD as soon as possible.
Yours Sincerely
(put your name here)
***
BACKGROUND ON CAMPAIGN
Official Export Credit and Investment Insurance Agencies (ECAs), which provide taxpayer-backed financial support for a country's exports and investment abroad, have become the largest source of public financial flows to developing countries. However, most ECAs do not have any credible
policies, procedures, safeguards, or standards to protect local communities, the environment, and human rights, including labour rights. As a result, ECAs have provided taxpayer support for a range of projects associated with some of the world's worst environmental, economic, social, and human
rights abuses - from dams to mines, oil development, nuclear power plants and arms exports.
One such project is the planned Ilisu Dam in the Kurdish region of Turkey, which would forcibly evict 78,000 people, mainly ethnic Kurds, and submerge the ancient town of Hasankeyf, a site of major archaeological significance.
The project fails to meet the most basic international standards with regard to resettlement and environment and would exacerbate the potential for regional conflict over water between Turkey and its neighbours, Syria and
Iraq. The dam will only be built with the support of western export credit agencies.
Recently, campaigners in the UK, Italy, Switzerland and the US forced companies in their countries to withdraw from the project. But the UK Export Credits Guarantee Department has said that it will consider any new application for Ilisu. And it is also considering other damaging projects.
On March 14th, campaigners in the UK launched a Memorandum highlighting the lessons of the Ilisu controversy. The Memorandum is highly critical of new
rules which the ECGD has introduced in the wake of Ilisu, arguing that their legal status is unclear and that they fail to protect human rights and the environment.
Campaigners are demanding that the ECGD adopt clear social, environmental and human rights standards that apply to all its projects. The Memorandum also calls for certain products - arms, for example - to be excluded from
ECGD support and for the ECGD to be more transparent.
***
A Memorandum calling for radical reform of the UK Export Cedits Guarantee Department has been submitted to the UK government.
The ECGD supports numerous environmentally and socially damaging projects - from dams to nuclear power plants, arms deals and polluting fossil fuel plants. The
memorandum, signed by over 550 environmentalists, trade union representatives, human rights defenders and parliamentarians, was delivered to Prime Minister Tony Blair on March 14th, the International Day of Action on Dams.
The Memorandum demands that the ECGD adopt clear social, environmental and human rights standards that apply to all its projects. The Memorandum also calls for certain products - arms for example - to be excluded from ECGD
support and for the ECGD to be more transparent.
