Memorandum submitted by the World Development
Movement
1. INTRODUCTION
1. The World Development Movement (WDM)
campaigns to tackle the root causes of poverty. With our partners
around the world, we win positive change for the world's poorest
people. We believe that charity is not enough. We lobby governments
and companies to change policies that keep people poor. WDM is
a democratic membership organisation of 15,000 individuals
and 70 local groups.
2. We welcome the Joint Committee on Human
Rights decision to hold an inquiry business and human rights.
The terms of reference for the inquiry raise many issues of importance.
This consultation response focuses on the specific case of the
proposed Phulbari open-cast coal mine project in Bangladesh, by
UK company Global Coal Management Resources (GCM). We believe
that this case highlights the need for an independent body to
be established on a permanent basis to review and adjudicate on
the human rights impacts of British corporations overseas.
2. THE PHULBARI
OPEN-CAST
COAL MINE
IN BANGLADESH
3. The following example of the Phulbari
open-cast coal mine in Bangladesh acts as an example of how the
actions of a UK company can negatively impact upon the human rights
of individuals within a host country. It also shows that there
needs to be greater regulation of corporate activity by the UK
government, rather than the government acting purely on behalf
of UK business.
4. UK company Global Coal Management Resources
(GCM) is seeking to develop an open-cast coal mine in Phulbari,
north-west Bangladesh. If built the mine would take away the land
of more than 40,000 people.1 GCM's resettlement plan
says cash compensation would be given to the legal holders of
land and houses, and other agricultural land users and sharecroppers
would receive livelihood restoration grants for just two years.2 It
is not clear how resettling affected families on land of equivalent
size and quality can be achieved without adversely impacting on
other agricultural communities. GCM's resettlement plan states;
"the project will not directly acquire replacement
cultivation land for displaced households, because this
will simply transfer the impacts associated with the loss of
land to households in host communities".3
5. Bangladesh is already one of the most
densely populated countries in the world,4 with huge pressures
on land. Rising sea-levels and increased flooding from climate
change are and will make good quality land even scarcer. Atiq
Rahman from the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, a lead
author from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has
said that 35 million people could be displaced from Bangladesh
coastal areas by 2050.5 In the face of climate change, it
would be disastrous for local people to be displaced from the
good quality land in Phulbari.
6. The Phulbari mine will be dewatered to
its base. The Expert Committee report on the proposed mine, commissioned
by the Bangladesh Government, estimates that the dewatering and
relocation means the mine would affect a total of 220,000 people.6 The
Expert Committee report also raises the likelihood that the mine
would lead to acid mine drainage affecting water supplies and
agriculture for large surrounding areas, and there are fears that
the mine could lead to arsenic and other toxins being released
into water supplies.
7. In August 2006, tens of thousands of
people protested in the area against the mine and Asia Energy.
Five people were killed after Bangladesh government troops opened-fire
on the protest. The Expert Committee says there is a "high
risk of social unrest and conflict" if the relocation
of thousands of people is attempted, and: "The majority
of the local community with whom the Committee exchanged
views was against the Phulbari coal project."7
Forty-two community leaders from the Phulbari area have said:
"we believe that this project will increase the poverty
of the local population as well as cause environmental
disaster."8
8. Under the Emergency Power Rules, declared
by the military backed interim government on 11 January 2007,
all major civil rights were suspended. Movement into and out of
Phulbari has been restricted and there are regular reports about
the inability of people within the project area to congregate
or voice their opinions freely without repression.
9. The World Organisation against Torture
(OMCT) is concerned that police and security forces may again
employ violence to deal with public opposition to the Phulbari
project.9 Over the past two years instances of public torture
and death threats against project critics have been reported.10
10. Since the start of 2008, the Asian Development
Bank, Barclays and RBS have all withdrawn from investing in the
project. However, in a parliamentary answer in April 2008, Gareth
Thomas, UK Minister for International Development and Minister
for Business stated:
11. "We have provided support to
Global Coal Management Resources PLC, through the British high
commission in Dhaka. They have lobbied to ensure that the Government
of Bangladesh take the company's interests into consideration
and do not prohibit opencast mining. The British high commission
will continue to remain in touch with the company and will represent
their interests as appropriate. The Bangladeshi Caretaker Government's
new draft coal policy leaves the way open for opencast mining
in Bangladesh in the future."11
12. In a further parliamentary answer Gareth
Thomas stated: "BERR officials have held regular discussions
with officials from the Department for International Development
on this subject, both in the UK and the British high commission
in Dhaka."12
13. However, in an email to WDM, Bo Sundstrom,
Head of Corporate Business for DfID in Bangladesh said: "DfID
has not looked into the proposed Phulbari coal mine issues
in detail, since other development partners such as the
ADB and the World Bank lead on energy issues in supporting
the Government of Bangladesh."13 It is worth noting that
the Asian Development Bank cancelled its proposed project to fund
GCM and the Phulbari mine in April 2008; the World Bank does not
appear to have shown interest in funding the project.
14. Furthermore, in response to a freedom
of information request from the World Development Movement, DfID
said that it: "does not hold any information about
the discussions"14 between BERR and DfID officials about
the Phulbari mine, whether in the UK or Bangladesh. BERR have
also told us that "No formal meetings have taken place
between DfID and BERR on this subject."15
15. The Phulbari case raises two key issues:
— A British company is pursuing a project
overseas with large human rights implications and no scrutiny
by authorities in the UK.
— Moreover, the UK government has been
lobbying in Bangladesh for the mine to go ahead, even though it
has not investigated the implications of the mine for local people.
16. We believe that this case highlights
the need for an independent body to be established on a permanent
basis to review and adjudicate on the human rights impacts of
British corporations overseas.
REFERENCES
1 Asia Energy. (2006). Bangladesh: Phulbari Coal
Project. Summary Environmental Impact Assessment prepared for
the Asian Development Bank. August 2006.
2 International NGOs. (2008). Letter to the ADB
Board of Directors concerning the Phulbari project. 11/01/08.
3 Asia Energy draft resettlement plan (2006).
The draft resettlement plan was previously available on GCM's
website. In late-2007 it was removed and the website notes
that the revised resettlement plan would be disclosed in "early
2008". However, no updated resettlement plan has been made
publicly available. The 2006 draft has been made publicly
available on the website of the Bank Information Centre http://www.bicusa.org/en/Project.Resources.59.aspx
4 The average population density is 1,042 people
per square km, compared to 246 people per square km in the
UK. Around Phulbari, an agricultural area, the population density
is still 711 people per square km.
5 Rahman, A. (2007). Promoting equity and adaptation
for developing countries. 23/11/07.
6 Expert Committee. (2006). Summary of the Report
of the Expert Committee to Evaluate Feasibility Study Report and
Scheme of Development of the Phulbari Coal Project.
7 Expert Committee. (2006). Summary of the Report
of the Expert Committee to Evaluate Feasibility Study Report and
Scheme of Development of the Phulbari Coal Project.
8 Phulbari Community Leaders. (2007). Letter
to Asian Development Bank. 15/12/07.
9 OMCT. (2007). OMCT Action File: "Bangladesh:
Risk of violent suppression of public opposition to the Phulbari
coal mine project, Dinajpur District, Bangladesh", World
Organisation Against Torture. 21/12/07.
10 "Threats to Anu Muhammad are threats
to a peoples' movement", NewAge, 27.2.2008; "Arrest
of Phulbari movement hero condemned", The Daily Star, 12 February
2007.
11 Thomas, G. (2008). Parliamentary answer to
question from Lynne Jones MP. 28/04/08.
12 Thomas, G. (2008). Parliamentary answer to
question from Lynne Jones MP. 15/07/08.
13 Sundstrom, B. (2008). Email to WDM. DfID.
Dhaka. 29/07/08.
14 Simpson, E. (2008). Letter to WDM in response
to Freedom of Information request F2008-182. DfID. East Kilbride.
15/08/08.
15 Modha, U. (2008). Letter to WDM in response
to Freedom of Information request 08/0561. UK Trade and Investment.
London. 23/09/08.
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