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1 March, 2001Communiqué #13 Princeton University report on World Bank AccountabilityTHE CHIXOY DAM & THE MASSACRES AT RIO NEGRO, AGUA FRIA, XOCOC & LOS ENCUENTROS: A Report on Multilateral Financial Institution Accountability, Submitted to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Working Group on Multilateral Institution Accountability Graduate Policy Workshop: Human Rights and Non-State Actors Woodrow Wilson School Princeton University
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY [for information on how to obtain a full report, click here]Guatemala's Pueblo Viejo-Quixal dam, more commonly referred to as the Chixoy dam, was built during the late 1970s and early 1980s, at the height of the country's violent civil war. Funded largely by the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the dam is associated with many serious allegations of human rights abuses, including:
The UN-sponsored Commission for Historical Clarification specifically cited the Rio Negro massacre as a case study to illustrate its conclusion that genocide was perpetrated against Guatemala's indigenous Mayan population during the civil war. World Bank AccountabilityThis report reviews conflicting claims of World Bank accountability for human rights violations that occurred in relation to the Chixoy dam project. Though allegations of responsibility for such violations extend to many other actors involved with the dam (i.e. the Guatemalan government and military, as well as the Guatemalan National Institute of Electrification, INDE), it is the issue of multilateral institution accountability which remains the most neglected. Several options exist for addressing this issue. However, we chose a UN-led solution, due to its direct organizational relationship with the World Bank as well as its broad, international mandate. Although the report focuses on the World Bank, IDB responsibility also remains an area of similar serious concern. Although the abuses in question occurred nearly twenty years ago, the issue of World Bank accountability for project-related human rights abuses remains extremely relevant to this day. Firstly, the impact of the violations is still be felt and lived. That is to say, that the surviving victims are still alive, suffering the results of the massacres and violations. Secondly, the role that the World Bank played in Guatemala was not an isolated case. For example, the recently approved Chad/Cameroon pipeline, similar to the Chixoy Dam, will be constructed in a country, namely Chad, that is engaged in civil conflict. In 1997, at least 80 unarmed civilians were killed in the Doba oil field where the pipeline will be built, and in 1998, another 100 were killed, both times by the Chadian government. Critics of the pipeline also worry that its construction, which will necessarily result in the displacement of members of the Baka and Bakola indigenous groups in Cameroon, will not allow for adequate compensation since the Cameroonian government does not officially recognize its indigenous populations. Adding to these risks is the fact that the government of Cameroon has been ranked the most corrupt in the world by Transparency International. Despite these concerns, the World Bank still approved its $92.9 million dollar loan in June, 2000, arguing that the government of Chad is making sufficient improvements. The issue of World Bank accountability is also one of great importance to the United Nations itself. When a specialized agency of the UN faces accusations of complicity with genocide and crimes against humanity, it would seem only proper for the UN to undertake a rigorous review of problems arising in connection with the agency's activities. ^^ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY |