English  |  Français  |  Español
 
OMCT LogoOMCT logo
Make a donationRSSOMCT on FacebookOMCT on TwitterOMCT BlogHomeAbout OMCTActivitiesCATOMCT NetworkOMCT EuropeContactsMake a donation
  • Urgent campaigns
  • Assistance to victims
  • Human rights defenders
  • ESCR
  • Rights of the child
  • Violence against women
  • Monitoring protection mechanisms
 Save as PDF Print version
ESCR / Urgent Interventions / Bangladesh / 2007 / December

Bangladesh: Bangladesh: Risk of violent suppression of public opposition to Phulbari coal mine project

Download full article
9 pages / 164 KB

OMCT is concerned that police and security forces may again employ violence to deal with public opposition to the Phulbari open-pit mining project

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), on the basis of reliable information received, expresses its concern that communities affected by the proposed Phulbari open-pit coal mine in the Dinajpur District of Bangladesh, have been neither adequately consulted not fully informed regarding this significant project. Estimates put the number of people affected by the mine at anything between 50,000 and 500,000, including a number of indigenous communities. Many of these affected will be forced to leave their homes and land.

A public demonstration against the mine in August 2006 saw at least five persons killed and fifty others injured by the police and personnel of the Bangladesh Rifles. OMCT expresses its serious concern that further violence, ill-treatment and even deaths may ensue if local communities again seek to give public expression to their opposition.

To prevent further human right violations, and having regard to the strong local opposition to the project, OMCT calls upon the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to instigate a thorough independent investigation into the human and environmental impact of the Phulbari coal mine project, ensuring the full and informed participation of all local communities, to make the findings of this investigation available in a public report and to abide by the recommendations of this report. It also calls for the Government to lift the restrictions on public demonstrations imposed under emergency rule and take all necessary steps to prevent future episodes of violence by police and security forces against persons defending their human rights.

OMCT calls upon Global Coal Management Resources Plc (GCM) - the company in charge of the Phulbari project - to suspend its activities in this area until this investigation has been conducted and to abide by the recommendations resulting from this investigation. It also calls upon GCM to fully respect the land rights, resources and livelihoods of all local communities affected by any subsequent mining activity and provide fair and adequate compensation wherever appropriate.

Finally, OMCT calls upon UBS, RAB Capital and Barclays, all of which have significant financial interest in GCM, to use their influence to ensure that the company abides by the recommendations issuing from the independent investigation and to make certain that it complies fully with national laws and international human rights standards.

Properties

Date: December 21, 2007
Activity: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Bangladesh
Subjects: Development actors, Development projects, Economic policies, Indigenous peoples, Land and Housing, Police, Military and Paramilitary, Right to adequate standard of living, Rural poor, Summary executions, extrajudicial killings, Torture and violence

Attachments

  • Barclays' Reply to OMCT
    1 page / 444 KB

  • Credit Suisse's reply to OMCT
    1 page / 306 KB

  • EP DEV Committee's reply to OMCT
    1 page / 131 KB

  • Rab Capital's reply to OMCT
    419 KB

  • Ruggie's Reply to OMCT
    1 page / 281 KB

Share this

Tweet

Related articles

  • Bangladesh: OMCT welcomes the Asian Development Bank’s suspension of support for the Phulbari coal mine project
    Urgent Interventions / July 3, 2008
  • Bangladesh:  Bangladesh: OMCT acts to prevent further violence in connection with a coal mine in Phulbari, Bangladesh
    Urgent Interventions / July 3, 2008

Languages

This page is available in:

English
Spanish


You can also translate it on the fly:

Recently Viewed Articles

OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21, 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 809 4939
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
E-mail:
OMCT Europe
Rue Franklin 111
1000 Brussels
Tel. / Fax: +32 2 218 37 19
E-mail:
OMCT TUNIS
3, Rue Hassen Ibn Nooman
Cité Jardins | Tunis 1002
Tel: +216 71 791 114
Fax: +216 71 791 115
E-mail:
  • Blog
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Rss
  • Privacy Policy