Brazil, News Briefs
Brazil Breaks Relations With Human Rights Commission Over Belo Monte Dam
May 3, 2011 By Mari Hayman
A member of the Caiapo tribe protests the construction of the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil. Photo by International Rivers @Flickr.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has ordered an immediate cessation of relations with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) after the regional body asked the government to suspend construction of Brazil’s $17 billion Belo Monte dam in April.
The Belo Monte Dam, scheduled for completion in 2015, has been a source of considerable controversy in recent months as indigenous communities, environmentalist groups, and celebrities like Sting and director James Cameron have opposed the project. The dam could flood an estimated 195 square miles of the Amazonian rainforest along the Xingú River and displace some 50,000 people. In February, a federal judge blocked construction for failing to meet specific environmental conditions.
On April 1, the IACHR issued interim measures asking the Brazilian government to immediately suspend its licensing process for the dam after receiving a petition from NGOs last November. The IACHR recommended that the Brazilian government consult with the affected groups before proceeding with the project, undertake measures to protect local tribes, and make environmental and social impact statements available in local indigenous languages. If the recommendations go unheeded, the IACHR could open a case against the Brazilian government in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica.
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by calling the IACHR’s recommendations “precipitous and unwarranted”, submitting a 52-page response that defended the dam to the IACHR in late April. Minister of Defense Nelson Jobim said the regional organization’s request to halt construction would be “returned the way it came” and other officials have confirmed that construction on the dam would continue.
“The request is absurd. It even threatens Brazilian sovereignty,” said Senator Flexa Ribeiro, president of a senate subcommittee that presides over the dam.
The Belo Monte Dam would be the world’s third largest and, according to Brazilian officials, could provide electricity to 23 million homes. Recently, Brazilian mining company Vale agreed to pay $1.4 billion for a stake in the consortium responsible for building the dam. Work has already begun on the project, including the clearing of rainforest and construction of access roads.
Meanwhile, the IACHR, an independent human rights body under the Organization of American States, could lose up to $800,000 in contributions to cover its operating expenses this year. President Rousseff has ordered Brazilian envoy to the OAS Ruy Casaes to remain in Brasilia rather than travel back to Washington, D.C. to take up his post.
Human rights groups in Brazil say that the government’s recent dispute with the IACHR weakens regional protections for human rights that the country has signed on to for decades.
“Belo Monte is one more project that ignores what the people of this region think. They weren’t heard. It’s the model of the military dictatorship,” said Roberta Amanajás, a lawyer from the Paraense Society for the Defense of Human Rights.
Photo: International Rivers @ Flickr.
11 Comments
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I voted for Dilma, but this act makes me so shame about the project itself, but also for her act of cutting relations with the Human Rights Commission over Belo Monte Dam. The project is going to damage the communities around. It is unbelievable that at this point in time/history Brazil is choosing this pass in terms of energy source and as well as an anti-democratic act against the Human Rights Commission!
As a Brazilian, I have to ask for sorry!!
[…] and Senator Flexa Ribeiro, the president of the Senate Subcommittee overseeing the dam, stated that “the request is absurd. It even threatens Brazilian […]
[…] 12 lawsuits awaiting trial inside of Brazil, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asked the government to stop the dam because of a lack of consultation with the affected indigenous […]
[…] than a year the IACHR has given in to government demands, the NGOs observe. "Several months ago, under threat that Brazil would revoke its funding, the IACHR backed down from its order to Brazil to halt construction of the controversial Belo […]
[…] a year the IACHR has given in to government demands, the NGOs observe. “Several months ago, under threat that Brazil would revoke its funding, the IACHR backed down from its order to Brazil to halt construction of the controversial Belo […]
[…] process to gain the “free, prior and informed consent” of local indigenous people. The IACHR backed down after Brazil threatened to withdraw from the […]
[…] process to gain the “free, prior and informed consent” of local indigenous people. The IACHR backed down after Brazil threatened to withdraw from the […]
The World Bank estimates that forcible “development-induced displacement and resettlement” now affects 10 million people per year. According to the World Bank an estimated 33 million people have been displaced by development projects such as dams, urban development and irrigation canals in India alone.
India is well ahead in this respect. A country with as many as over 3600 large dams within its belt can never be the exceptional case regarding displacement. The number of development induced displacement is higher than the conflict induced displacement in India. According to Bogumil Terminski an estimated more than 10 million people have been displaced by development each year.
Athough the exact number of development-induced displaced people (DIDPs) is difficult to know, estimates are that in the last decade 90–100 million people have been displaced by urban, irrigation and power projects alone, with the number of people displaced by urban development becoming greater than those displaced by large infrastructure projects (such as dams). DIDPs outnumber refugees, with the added problem that their plight is often more concealed.
This is what experts have termed “development-induced displacement.” According to Michael Cernea, a World Bank analyst, the causes of development-induced displacement include water supply (dams, reservoirs, irrigation); urban infrastructure; transportation (roads, highways, canals); energy (mining, power plants, oil exploration and extraction, pipelines); agricultural expansion; parks and forest reserves; and population redistribution schemes.
ery interesting article on Belo Monte Dam.
The World Bank estimates that forcible “development-induced displacement and resettlement” now affects 10 million people per year. According to the World Bank an estimated 33 million people have been displaced by development projects such as dams, urban development and irrigation canals in India alone.
India is well ahead in this respect. A country with as many as over 3600 large dams within its belt can never be the exceptional case regarding displacement. The number of development induced displacement is higher than the conflict induced displacement in India. According to Bogumil Terminski an estimated more than 10 million people have been displaced by development each year.
Athough the exact number of development-induced displaced people (DIDPs) is difficult to know, estimates are that in the last decade 90–100 million people have been displaced by urban, irrigation and power projects alone, with the number of people displaced by urban development becoming greater than those displaced by large infrastructure projects (such as dams). DIDPs outnumber refugees, with the added problem that their plight is often more concealed.
This is what experts have termed “development-induced displacement.” According to Michael Cernea, a World Bank analyst, the causes of development-induced displacement include water supply (dams, reservoirs, irrigation); urban infrastructure; transportation (roads, highways, canals); energy (mining, power plants, oil exploration and extraction, pipelines); agricultural expansion; parks and forest reserves; and population redistribution schemes.
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