Letter to the BRICS New
Development Bank
We, the below mentioned civil
society organizations from BRICS countries and countries which may likely be
impacted by BRICS investments, write to you on the heels of the New Development
Bank’s (‘NDB’) Board of Governors meeting 20 November 2015. We understand that
this meeting was to include discussion on the preparation of the NDB’s internal
policies. As the NDB begins developing its policy framework, we urge you to
ensure that this policy development takes place as part of a transparent and
participative process, with broad civil society representation.
We applaud the BR ICS
countries’ efforts to create a New Development Bank for a new kind of
development. We believe that development should address the needs of poor
communities and marginalized groups, that it should be built on principles of
sustainability, equality, participation, and accountability, and buttressed
with robust social and environmental standards.
Currently, we have not seen
evidence that the NDB is taking steps towards establishing inclusive,
transparent, or participative development processes, as many have hoped. There
is little to no public information regarding the Bank’s processes or plans for
the development of operational policies and structures, and multiple requests
for information to NDB’s public email address have received no response.
According to news reports, the
NDB is set to begin project financing in April of 2016 and has already selected
its first projects. At the same time, the Bank has not yet established an
operational policy framework or social and environmental safeguards. It does
not have a process for engaging with civil society organizations or conducting
consultations with communities which stand to be affected by NDB-financed
projects.
In order to create a sound
institution that is able to deliver meaningful development, it is critical that
the NDB establish a robust policy and operational framework that ensures
transparency, participation, and accountability in project selection, design,
implementation, and monitoring, and that includes the necessary due diligence
to ensure that NDB-financed activities do not cause or contribute to human
rights abuses. The NDB should learn from the experiences of existing
international finance institutions and build upon established best practice
with regard to social and environmental standards and due diligence. Failing to
do so is simply unacceptable.
We respectfully request a
meeting with NDB representatives in order to discuss these issues further and
to open a process of dialogue.
We additionally call on the
members of the Board of Governors of the NDB to:
- Establish a mechanism for transparent communication with the public and meaningful engagement with civil society, especially those communities who stand to be impacted by NDB-financed activities;
- Develop a plan for participative development of an operational policy framework, which includes meaningful and effective consultations with civil society;
Ensure that this plan in its timeline, communication strategies, and execution provides for participation of the communities which will be most impacted by NDB-financed activities. - Through this participative process with civil society, develop a policy framework that ensures transparent, accountable and rights-respecting development, including, among other things, robust due diligence including assessment and management of social and environmental risks and impacts; community participation in the selection, implementation, and monitoring of projects; and provisions to ensure respect for the rights of women and girls and persons with disabilities; the right to substantive equality and non-discrimination; the rights of indigenous peoples, including free, prior and informed consent; access to justice and remedy; and access to information.
- Ensure that the NDB’s operational framework is an improvement on those of other multilateral development banks by a) placing people-centered sustainable development at the core of the NDB’s mission, and b) moving beyond centralized, large-scale megaprojects to instead prioritize those transformational projects that serve the real needs of poor communities and marginalized groups.
We thank you for your
consideration of these important issues. We would be happy to offer more
informa tion and feedback in order to ensure the NDB fulfills its potential to
finance a new and truly sustainable kind of development.
Sincerely,
·
Centre for Applied Legal Studies, South Africa
·
Conectas Direitos Humanos, Brazil
·
Vasudha Foundation, India
·
Russian Social Ecological Union, Russian
Federation
·
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Asia
·
Zo Indigenous Forum, India
·
Foundation For Environmental Rights, Advocacy
& Development (FENRAD), Nigeria
·
Krasnoyarsk regional environmental public
organization “Plotina”, Russian Federation
·
Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights, India
·
OT Watch, Mongolia
·
Rede Brasileira Pela Integração dos Povos
(REBRIP), Brazil
·
Ecoa- Ecologia e Ação, Brazil
·
Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment
Institute, Southern Africa
·
Borok Peoples Human Rights Organisation (BPHRO),
India
·
Borok Indigenous-Tribal Peoples Development
Centre (BITPDC), India
·
Initiative For Women Empowerment &
Development (IWED), Nigeria
·
Rivers without Boundaries International
Coalition, China-Mongolia-Russian Federation
·
Indigenous Per spectives, India
·
Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur
(CRAM), India
·
Society For Economic Rights & Social Justice
(SERSJ), Nigeria
·
Lumière Synergie pour le Développement, Senegal
·
Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN),
Argentina
·
CBS Center for Bangladesh Studies, Bangladesh
·
Réseau Camerounais des Organisations des Droits
de l’Homme (RECODH), Cameroon