Oxfam's work—whether helping Guatemalan women organize to fight gender violence, funding irrigation projects in Ethiopia, or standing with people in Darfur—is about building the resilience of local communities over the long haul. We cannot prevent shocks, but we can help our sisters and brothers access some of the same resources we have to cushion us when times are lean.

We cannot rush from crisis to crisis with short-term fixes. What more evidence do we need than what is happening in East Africa now? This is not the region's first famine, but imagine the headline: Africa's last famine.

Demonstrations in the northern Peruvian town of Bagua began in late April, when indigenous organizations began protesting over the content of a set of legislative decrees justified by the Peruvian government as part of the United States-Peru Free Trade Agreement (US-Peru FTA). The national police's action to quell the protests resulted in a tragic loss of lives and a large number of wounded police officers and indigenous peoples.

Indigenous federations and many civil society organizations claim the new legislative decrees could have detrimental consequences for the Amazon rainforest and indigenous land rights, and were passed without transparency or genuine consultation with indigenous communities. This is an apparent contradiction to US-Peru FTA commitments as well as a direct violation of ILO Convention 169. This convention, ratified by the Peruvian government in 1993, grants indigenous communities the right to be consulted on issues affecting them.

"Oxfam calls on the Peruvian government and indigenous organizations to end the use of violence," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "By clarifying that concerns raised by indigenous communities do no conflict with Peru's obligations under the US-Peru FTA, the US government can help foster a mutually beneficial resolution."

On June 10, the Peruvian Congress temporarily suspended two of these legislative decrees, numbers 1090 and 1064.

"The Peruvian Congress has taken an important first step by suspending these decrees, but much more needs to be done to bring an end to this conflict. The US government can help by fostering a solution through dialogue, not force," said Offenheiser.

With the most recent tragic events and the possibility of more violence—especially now that the Peruvian government has communicated its intention to clear protesters in other areas of the Amazon—the US government must act quickly to work with Peru to address the concerns about these legislative decrees, and to clarify what relation, if any, these decrees have to compliance with US-Peru FTA.

"We strongly urge the US government to help bring an end to this crisis by supporting a dialogue that includes views of indigenous communities and protects the human rights of these citizens as guaranteed by national and international law," said Offenheiser.

With some champions in Congress and support from the White House, we're hoping to see domestic legislation that not only fines companies who pollute, but also uses some of these funds to help affected communities build their resilience. If we are successful domestically, we can lay the groundwork for a global deal at the UN Climate Change Conference this December—an agreement that will create a more hospitable climate for us all.

Also in this issue: A force of peace in Peru; Rebuilding in Bangladesh; Oxfam America's new role in Darfur.

Oxfam America is joining other groups in Peru in calling for a complete investigation of these events, and for the individuals responsible for these crimes to be brought to justice.

"We are requesting that the Public Ministry [public prosecutor] and the police carry out an investigation," said Javier Aroca, coordinator of Oxfam International's extractive industries program. "It is essential that these accusations be investigated and that those responsible are punished to ensure that the laws of our country are enforced and that the fundamental rights of our citizens are protected. In the future, we must be able to attain peaceful solutions to social conflicts."

Startling revelations

In January 2009 the National Human Rights Coordinator released a report alleging that 28 community members, who were concerned that mining exploration was being carried out on community farm land without their permission, were kidnapped and detained for three days. They had been marching to the mine site, where the Majaz Mining company (now known as Rio Blanco Copper) was exploring for copper deposits. The community members came from Segunda y Cajas and Yanta in Piura, and Jaén, and San Ignacio in the neighboring department of Cajamarca. According to the report, the march was peaceful—no participants carried any weapons apart from the machetes and whips customarily used when traveling by foot in the rough Huancabamba mountains. According to local leaders, they intended to go and speak with the representatives of the mining company, since other attempts to discuss their concerns had failed.

According to the report published by the National Human Rights Coordinator and FEDAPAZ, the community delegation of approximately 400 people was camped out the night before their planned arrival at the mine site when they were attacked by helicopters shooting tear gas. Soon after, police entered their camp and burned their equipment, food, and medicine. The next day the group was attacked again when it arrived at the Majaz mining camp, one person was killed, 40 were injured, and 28 were kidnapped and detained inside the mining camp. The National Human Rights Coordinator report says the detained individuals were subjected to "diverse forms of physical and psychological torture. As well as being savagely beaten…they were kept hooded, sprayed with tear gas and blindfolded, with no warm clothes in spite of the low temperatures." They were released after three days.

The kidnapped community members made formal legal complaints, but the public prosecutor in the region did not conduct an investigation. Instead, the government accused these individuals of terrorism, and they have been under police investigation. In June of 2008 the Human Rights Coordinator and FEDAPAZ filed a legal case in Piura against the police officers and employees of the security firm Forza who were working for the mine company. The suit also included the public prosecutor and medical examiner, who are alleged to have been aware of the kidnapping and torture, and failed to take proper legal action against the perpetrators.

In January of 2009 the national Human Rights Coordinator received photos taken during the three days in 2005 when the community members were detained at the mine site. The organization says the photographs, submitted anonymously, clearly verify the accounts of the detained individuals and have shocked many in the country.

Proper investigation needed

The Prime Minister and Minister of Justice have issued statements urging a thorough investigation of the incidents in 2005. However the police still have not identified any of the officers involved.

"People living in a democracy should not be kidnapped, tortured, and persecuted just for expressing their opinion and raising their concerns," says Oxfam's Javier Aroca. "We need our institutions to create avenues for dialogue so we can avoid conflict and ensure our laws are respected."

These were the questions taken up by the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in a special session to discuss "Human Rights Violations and the Responsibility of International Financial Institutions."

Financial institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank loan huge sums to governments and companies in Latin America. In 2006 it provided more than $6 billion for 112 projects. World Bank lending in the region was more than $5 billion in 2005. Yet despite the power to affect the lives of millions across the region, these bodies have always claimed they are not bound by international human rights law.

"This was the first time the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has held a hearing on this topic, and they seemed quite enthusiastic about becoming more engaged on the issue," said Ian Gary, Oxfam America's policy advisor on extractive industries. He delivered remarks specifically on the $1.7 billion Camisea gas pipeline in Peru, which benefited from $135 million in financial support from the Inter-American Development Bank. Broader legal arguments regarding the need for international financial institutions to comply with human rights norms in their projects were made by representatives of the Indian Law Resource Center and the Center on International Environmental Law.

Critics of the pipeline charge that it runs through national parks and environmentally sensitive areas of Peru without the proper consultation of indigenous communities living there, a violation of the International Labour Organization's Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal People in Independent Countries. The five spills since the pipeline was completed in 2004 have affected the right to a livelihood of indigenous communities – communities say project impacts have contributed to a decline in fish stocks and access to wild game.. A delegation of NGO representatives led by Oxfam America visiting the pipeline area in 2006 were told by local groups that little of the gas royalties given to local government had been used for social programs, such as schools or health clinics, to help the indigenous people in the area.

"This hearing was an important first step to bring public agencies like the World Bank or the Inter-American Development Bank within a system of accountability to address human rights abuses," Gary said. "Our prospects for sustainable reforms are greatly enhanced when we support local partners to defend their rights and, at the same time, make these arguments in important venues such as this."

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Hearing on Multilateral Development Banks and Human Rights

"The Inter-American Development Bank, the Camisea Gas Project and Human Rights"

Oral Presentation by Ian Gary, Policy Advisor for Extractive Industries, Oxfam America, March 1, 2007

• The World Bank Group and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) provide significant amounts of financial and technical assistance to Organization of American States Member States with the purpose of promoting investment in the region and contributing to economic growth and poverty alleviation. In 2006 the IDB provided the largest amount of multilateral lending for Latin America and the Caribbean, approving over 112 projects totaling close to $6.4 billion.
• Despite the enormous influence that the World Bank Group and the IDB wield in the region, these international financial institutions have long asserted that they are not bound by international human rights law because their Charters, known as Articles of Agreement, do not include explicit references to human rights.
• The case of the Camisea natural gas project in Peru, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, illustrates the impacts on the full range of human rights that can result from IFI-financed activities.
• The Camisea project, a $1.7 billion investment, is one of the most controversial energy projects in the world, taking place in a region of notable biodiversity, national parks and reserves, and the home of recently contacted indigenous communities and indigenous communities in voluntary isolation.
• (By way of introduction, Oxfam America has worked with indigenous communities in the project zone for more than a decade and has supported indigenous federations in the project zone, in addition to policy and research work in Washington. I organized a high-level delegation from Washington to visit the project zone in April 2006.)

Camisea project background

• Companies – upstream operator Pluspetrol - Argentina (40%), Hunt – U.S. (40%), SK Corporation – South Korea (20%) – downstream TGP/Techint operator - Argentina
• Location of blocks in Lower Urubamba - 75 percent of the producing Block 88 is located in the Nahua Kugapakori reserve for isolated indigenous people.
• Pipeline became operational in August 2004

Role of IDB ($135 million A and B loans) and justification

• $75 million to TGP for pipeline – 12/2004
• Syndicated B loan of $65 million
• $5 million to GOP for capacity building
• Value added – bring higher standards to companies and government
• U.S. Export Import Bank declined based upon woefully inadequate environmental impact mitigation measures

Indigenous groups, Peruvian and international environmental and human rights NGOs expressed serious concerns about the project prior to the IDB's decision to co-finance the project. Unfortunately, many of the concerns related to the rights of indigenous peoples and environmental damage have been borne out.

A few examples of violations of human rights:

• Communities in the project zone did not have the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent as enshrined in ILO Convention 169.
• Problems with consultation included a lack of information prior to consultations
• Low levels of compensation for communities providing pipeline right-of-way, etc.
• Five spills in first 18 months of operation – A February 2006 report by E-Tech International, a non-profit engineering consultancy, alleged that the pipeline was constructed, in part, by unqualified and untrained welders using corroded piping and rushing to avoid onerous late completion fees that would have totaled $90 million.
• Loss of livelihoods – Examples include:
  • Soil erosion and increased river traffic have been blamed by communities for decreased fish stocks
  • Hunting has been affected by noise created by helicopter overflights
  • Health impacts, including the introduction of new diseases
  • A May 2004 report, published by the Peruvian health ministry's General Office of Epidemiology noted that incidences of infectious diseases had increased in the reserve among one isolated group, the Nanti, 25% of children now reach adolescence
  • There has been little in the way of increased social spending on the part of the central and local governments, in part due to extremely low capacity levels on the part of local governments to manage funds and execute projects. In 2005, the Municipality of Echarate received around $22m in gas royalties but has had difficulty programming these funds.
  • There has been no independent monitoring system for the project put in place.
• IDB is currently undertaking due diligence for the second phase of the Camisea project (referred to by the IDB externally as "Peru LNG") which involves the construction of an Liquid Natural Gas export plant, additional pipelines and the development of gas fields in Block 56, adjacent to Block 88.
  • While the IDB says its new Indigenous People's Policy will be observed for the second phase, there are concerns that the IDB is refusing to address the lessons and problems of Camisea before embarking on $400 million in financing for a second phase later in 2007. It remains to be seen whether the IDB will repeat the mistakes of the past and contribute to more human rights violations in the Peruvian Amazon.