|
Issue 11, November 2003
1. Friends of the Earth in Miami Next Week for the FTAA Ministerial Meeting - Says Investment Rules Should be Scrapped
2. New Report Coming Soon - Hiding Climate Change Risks from Investors and the SEC
3. Friends of the Earth Blasts World Bank and EBRD's Approval of Controversial Caspian Pipeline
4. U.S. Government Agencies Refuse to Release Key Information on Iraq Contracts
5. Security Council Statement on Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo Expected This Month
Friends of the Earth in Miami for the FTAA Ministerial – Says Investment Rules Should be Scrapped
Friends of the Earth will be in Miami to call for a halt to negotiations on the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) trade agreement during the upcoming FTAA Ministerial meeting Nov. 16 21.
"Attempts to force extensive new rights for multinational corporations on developing countries will make for a completely unsustainable trade policy," said David Waskow, trade policy analyst.
Friends of the Earth will be participating in a number of events, including teach-ins and a major march and rally on Nov. 20. A calendar of events is available at www.citizenstrade.org/miamicalendar.php. David Waskow will be writing updates for Grist Magazine each day from Nov. 17-21, which will be posted in the "Dear Me" section of the Web site at www.gristmagazine.com.
New Report Coming Soon – Hiding Climate Change Risks from Investors and the SEC
On Nov. 20, the eve of the Institutional Investors' Summit on Climate Change taking place in Washington, DC, Friends of the Earth will release a new report that shows how companies are hiding climate change related risks from their investors in violation of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure rules.
The report, which is an update of a survey released one year ago, reviewed climate change disclosure in 2002 SEC filings of 96 automobile, insurance, integrated oil and gas, petrochemicals and electric utilities companies.
Friends of the Earth Blasts World Bank a nd EBRD's Approval of Controversial Caspian
Friends of the Earth blasted the World Bank Group for approving financing for the controversial Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. The Bank’s private sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, approved $250 million on Nov. 4. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development followed suit within a matter of days and approved $250 million on Nov. 11. World Bank Group support is a critical seal of approval and private bank investment will soon follow. The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Export-Import Bank are also considering financing the oil pipeline.
Led by BP, the oil consortium also includes U.S.-owned Unocal, ConocoPhillips, and Amerada Hess (through a joint venture with Saudi-owned Delta Oil). The $3.5 billion project will stretch a length equal to the distance from New York to Miami to ship Caspian Sea oil to the United States.
U.S. Government Agencies Refuse to Release Key Information on Iraq Contracts
Friends of the Earth and Public Citizen are fighting to obtain basic information about government contracts for the rebuilding of Iraq – information that the groups contend is public but that the government has refused to provide. The groups were denied access when they sought information through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in June; now both organizations are appealing the rejections as Congress prepares to vote on an $87 billion package for Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army Corps of Engineers refused to release its contract for Iraq oil industry work with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) and any documents about how it decided to give the contract to KBR. The Army Corps asserted that the contract could not be released on national security grounds.
Separately, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) refused to disclose the fixed fee, or profit amount, that the multinational engineering firm Bechtel would receive for its contract to rebuild, assess and repair water, sewerage and electrical systems in Iraq. But the law requires the agency to release the information about both contracts, Public Citizen and Friends of the Earth said in an appeal letter sent to USAID regarding the Bechtel contract.
Security Council Statement on Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Expected This Month
A United Nations Security Council-appointed Panel of Experts recently concluded a three-year investigation into the economic causes of conflict in the DRC when it presented its fourth and final report in October 2003.
The Panel determined that a vicious cycle of resource-driven conflict has taken hold of the country in which networks of high level political, military and business persons in collaboration with various rebel groups are intentionally fueling the conflict in order to retain their control over the DRC’s natural resources.
A section of the final report was excised by the Security Council, because the Panel names members of the new Transitional Government that it maintains are continuing to perpetuate conflict, purportedly with backing from the Rwandan and Ugandan governments. Control of the DRC’s natural resources remains the motivating factor.
Later this month, the Security Council will be proposing a number of measures based on the Panel’s final report to help stop the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Congo.
- For more information, contact Colleen Freeman at (202) 222-0718
|
