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Threats and Attacks Against Human Rights Defenders and the Role Of Uncalculated Risks Threats and attacks against human rights defenders and the role of development financiers Uncalculated Risks Threats and attacks against human rights defenders and the role of development financiers May 2019 This report was authored by With case studies and contributions from And with the generous support of Uncalculated Risks Threats and attacks against human rights defenders and the role of development financiers © Coalition for Human Rights in Development, May 2019 The views expressed herein, and any errors or omissions are solely the author’s. We additionally acknowledge the valuable insights and assistance of Valerie Croft, Amy Ekdawi, Lynne-Samantha Severe, Kendyl Salcito, Julia Miyahara, Héctor Herrera, Spencer Vause, Global Witness, Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens, and the various participants of the Defenders in Development Campaign in its production. This report is an initiative of the Defenders in Development Campaign which engages in capacity building and collective action to ensure that communities and marginalized groups have the information, resources, protection and power to shape, participate in, or oppose development activities, and to hold development financiers, governments and companies accountable. We utilize advocacy and campaigning to change how development banks and other actors operate and to ensure that they respect human rights and guarantee a safe enabling environment for public participation. More information: www.rightsindevelopment.org/uncalculatedrisks [email protected] This publication is a CC-BY-SA – Attribution-ShareAlike creative commons license – the text may be used free of charge for the purposes of advocacy, campaigning, education, and research, provided that the source is acknowledged in full. The license holder requests that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, for reuse in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, permission must be secured. Design by Alejandro Scaff Table of Contents Uncalculated Risks CASE STUDIES MAP 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 INTRODUCTION 10 CASE STUDIES TABLE 12 PART I: DEFENDERS IN DEVELOPMENT 13 PART II: POLICY & PRACTICE 18 PART III: THE CASES 37 ANNEX 1: REPRISAL PREVENTION 98 AND RESPONSE PROCESS ANNEX 2: POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 99 ENDNOTES 102 Uncalculated Risks FINANCIER ACRONYMS ADB Asian Development Bank AECID Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation AfDB African Development Bank AIIB Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank BANOBRAS Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos BOC Bank of China BNDES Brazilian Development Bank CABEI Central American Bank for Economic Integration CDB China Development Bank China Ex-Im Export Import Bank of China CMIC Mexican Fondo de Fondos DEG Development Bank of Germany EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EDF European Development Fund EIB European Investment Bank EKF Danish Export Credit Agency EU-AITF EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund Finnfund Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation FMO Dutch Development Bank ICBC Industrial and Commercial Bank of China IDB Inter-American Development Bank IDB Invest Inter-American Development Bank Invest IFC International Finance Corporation KfW German Development Bank KfW Ipex German Export Credit Bank NAFINSA Nacional Financiera OPIC Overseas Private Investment Corporation SIFEM Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets WB World Bank 6 Uncalculated Risks Executive Summary Inclusive and sustainable development requires an environment where all people are free to express their views, to exercise their rights, and to fully participate in the decisions impacting their lives and their communities. Every day, indigenous peoples, communities, social movements, journalists, and individuals are doing essential work protecting their lands and resources from destruction, fighting for equal access to housing and education, exposing corruption and abuse of power, and advocating for investments that reach the poor. Yet today these human rights defenders are increasingly subjected to threats and attacks for their efforts, including harassment, physical violence, criminalization, arbitrary detention, and killing. What’s more, these threats and attacks are increasingly taking place in the context of activities undertaken in the name of development. Through 25 case studies, Uncalculated Risks explores the nature of the threats and attacks against defenders in development, and examines the role of development finance institutions (DFIs) in mitigating or exacerbating these risks. THE FINDINGS Threats and attacks against human rights defenders DFIs continue to finance projects which cause in the context of development activities are significant harm to local communities, despite social widespread – involving a broad range of countries, and environmental safeguards and human rights types of defenders, sectors, types of investments, and commitments. Risk and impact assessments often fail development financiers. to account for social impacts or their distribution on vulnerable groups, and overlook risks stemming from Though they take many different forms, threats and the broader human rights context. Hardly any DFIs attacks often start with the labeling of communities, systematically examine the enabling environment for groups, and individuals as “anti-development.” public participation and human rights defense. Increasingly governments and businesses are utilizing the law to harass and criminalize defenders Early warning signs of potential threats to defenders in an effort to silence them. Stigmatization and are often missed or ignored. DFIs rely heavily on criminalization may quickly escalate into more violent client reporting or on assumptions of functioning attacks. domestic regulatory and legal systems, without adequate due diligence and on the ground monitoring. The imposition of development activities without Communities and defenders also lack access to project the consent or meaningful consultation of local information and transparency that would enable early communities and marginalized groups is one of communication of risks and concerns. the key root causes of threats for defenders in development. The process of engagement with While grievance, accountability and whistleblower local communities is as important, if not more so, mechanisms can provide an avenue for addressing than a project’s physical impacts. In some project certain concerns, none is entirely adequate or contexts, including those where civil society space sufficient for addressing defender related threats. or fundamental freedoms are curtailed, meaningful Without adequate safeguards to prevent reprisals, participation may not be possible. these mechanisms can put defenders at greater risk. Development finance institutions have a duty to DFIs can and have taken action to decrease risks respect human rights and to ensure that their for defenders under threat or to facilitate dialogue investments are not putting people at risk. Yet too between affected communities and other actors. often, development interventions exacerbate risks DFIs have a wide range of resources and influence for defenders due to lack of adequate attention to that can be utilized to change the risk equation for the rights and interests of local communities and defenders under threat, including engagement with marginalized populations, and to the contextual risks governments and companies, public statements in and power imbalances that may cause them to bear support of the rights of defenders, investigations, negative impacts or to be made vulnerable. suspension of financing, visitation of defenders in jail, and provision of remedy. 7 Excecutive Summary Excecutive Uncalculated Risks Unfortunately, DFIs often remain silent in the face file complaints. Some DFIs have published position of threats and attacks, or responses come too little, statements against retaliation; others are developing too late. DFIs miss opportunities to proactively early warning systems and risk screenings to identify create moments of leverage to support the rights threats to defenders. of communities and defenders and are reluctant to effectively utilize the leverage they have. Defenders But much more is needed. and communities are left without protection or remedy for harm. Effectively addressing the shrinking space for participation in development processes and the growing Several DFIs are beginning to grapple with threats threats to defenders will require not only a change in to defenders in development. Various independent policy and practice, but a fundamental shift to place accountability mechanisms have developed guidelines human rights and local communities at the center of to prevent and address reprisals against those who how development is conceived and implemented. FROM THE CASES In Kenya, forest service guards implementing In Jordan, the head of an organization of villagers a conservation project shot at and burned the impacted by pollution from a power plant was homes of indigenous people defending their right detained and threatened by local police for filing to live on their lands. complaints. In Guatemala, indigenous communities opposing a In Peru, the government has used emergency hydroelectric project have been subjected to smear decrees and military force to quash protests and campaigns, and face multiple spurious criminal labor strikes around a copper mine, leading to convictions. several deaths. In Uzbekistan,
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