6 - Banks

Summary

Introduction

During the life of a major international infrastructure project, large numbers of public and private actors may enter and exit the scene. This poses a challenge for human rights groups. If social change is the goal and the project is sprawling, then who should be targeted? This is further compounded by the shift away from public projects and toward privatized ones. As we saw in Chapter 3, when projects were public, investment in strategies targeting governments and the World Bank paid dividends. However, under the privatization approach, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community groups are still experimenting with targets and strategies. At present, the aim of prominent NGOs is to identify major players with the power to impact on the human rights practices of projects and to convince them to legalize human rights commitments. Furthermore, the aim is to make sure that the major players not only legally commit to sound human rights practices, but also that they translate their public minded pronouncements into practice.

Major campaigns targeting private financiers and constructors of privatized infrastructure projects are underway. One of the most high profile campaigns targets the Camisea natural gas pipeline in Peru. It runs through the land of several indigenous communities in the Amazon rain forest and is the largest natural gas project in South America. NGOs and community groups have mounted campaigns to prevent the project from going forward in its present form. Student protestors, Hollywood actors and actresses, and high-profile musicians have joined them.