Issue 5, May 2003

1. Friends of the Earth (FoE) Blasts Bush Administration for Attempt to Force GMO Food Down European Throats

2. Groups File Claim Against BP and Pipeline Partners in Five Countries

3. Camisea Project Sparks Protest by Amazon Indigenous Peoples at Inter-American Development Bank

4. Civil Society Walks Out of Flawed World Bank Consultation Process

1. Friends of the Earth (FoE) Blasts Bush Administration for Attempt to Force GMO Food Down European Throats

FoE blasted the Bush administration's decision to challenge the European Union's restrictions on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) before the World Trade Organization (WTO). FoE said that the case is the latest in a series of attempts by the Bush administration to block efforts by other countries to protect public health and the environment.

"The Bush administration is catering to the interests of major biotech corporations rather than human health. They have been reduced to using the secretive and undemocratic procedures of the WTO to try to force people into accepting food they do not want," said Brent Blackwelder, president of FoE.

"They have no solid scientific basis on which to make their case for these crops. The United States still has no rigorous approval for these foods, and biotech companies have been left to evaluate themselves and the safety of their own products," said Blackwelder.

Biotechnology giants such as Monsanto and big agricultural interests such as the National Corn Growers Association heavily lobbied the Bush administration to bring a formal WTO case challenging the EU's regulatory system for GMO products. WTO negotiations and dispute settlement proceedings are completely closed to the public.

For more information, contact David Waskow at (202) 783-7400 ext. 108 or dwaskow@foe.org.

2. Groups File Claim Against BP and Pipeline Partners in Five Countries

FoE along with 12 other organizations submitted official complaints to the British, French, German, Italian, and U.S. governments charging that several major oil companies are breaching a "corporate code of conduct" in the proposed Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) project - a proposed oil pipeline that would span 1,056 miles from the Azerbaijan capital of Baku, through T'bilisi Georgia, ending in the Mediterranean city of Ceyhan, Turkey.

The little-known "Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises" - which are endorsed by the member countries to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) including the United States - are increasingly regarded as a key yardstick of corporate social responsibility.

The complaints contend that the 11 oil companies - including UK-owned BP and U.S.-owned Unocal, ConocoPhillips, and Amerada Hess - have negotiated agreements with the governments of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan that violate the expectations contained within the guidelines.

Given that the consortium is currently seeking taxpayer money, the groups are calling for an immediate moratorium of construction activities and for financial support to be placed on hold until the oil companies have remedied the breaches to the OECD Guidelines.

For more information, contact Carol Welch at (202) 783-7400 ext. 237 or cwelch@foe.org.

To view the full press release and the U.S. version of the complaint, go to: http://www.foe.org/new/releases/0403btc.html

3. Camisea Project Sparks Protest by Amazon Indigenous Peoples at Inter-American Development Bank

On May 9, over 75 Amazonian indigenous leaders and representatives from non-governmental organizations delivered a statement to the Inter-American Development Bank President. They asked the Bank to immediately adopt an indigenous peoples policy, and to reconsider the loan for the Camisea project as planned, given threats to the survival of isolated indigenous peoples and irreversible impacts to the region's biodiversity.

The Camisea Project is a $1.5 billion oil and gas drilling project that will extract gas from the Nahua-Kugapakori Reserve for the protection of nomadic indigenous peoples who have had little or no contact with the outside world. It will cut through one of the world's most pristine tropical rainforests, home to the Nahua, Kirineri, Nanti, Machiguenga and Yine indigenous groups.

As reported by the Washington Post, the two major U.S. companies involved in the project are Hunt Oil Co. and Halliburton Co., which have longstanding ties to the Bush-Cheney administration and the Republican Party. The project is seeking public financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as export credit agencies in five other countries. Critics point to Citigroup's recent withdrawal as financial advisor for the Camisea project as further indication that the project is financially, environmentally and socially risky.

For more information, contact Jon Sohn at (202) 783-7400 ext. 231 or jsohn@foe.org.

4. Civil Society Walks Out of Flawed World Bank Consultation Process

Non-governmental representatives of civil society walked out of the latest regional consultation of the World Bank's "Extractive Industries Review (EIR)." The EIR is a consultative process initiated by World Bank President James Wolfensohn in 2001 after FoE International challenged him to recognize the significant environmental and social impacts associated with Bank-financed extractive projects.

Citing a variety of shortcomings in the process, the participants concluded that the EIR process is failing to reflect the magnitude of civil society concerns over the Bank's role in extractive industries.

The Asia Pacific walkout throws the legitimacy of the process in doubt. Representatives of global civil society will meet in Amsterdam on May 22, to discuss the future of the EIR.

For more information, contact Steve Herz at (202) 783-7400 ext. 122 or sherz@foe.org.

Civil Society Statement: http://www.walhi.or.id/English/press_release/withdrawal_from_EIR.htm