In COP20 side events the atmosphere is most often the
same. The meeting rooms consist of plain black walls, a white panel at the front of a hundred plain black chairs and a
projector screen to display power points. The content of the sessions however,
is never as dull as the room in which the sessions are held. A recent session that Amy and I attended taught me more in an hour and a half than I could glean
from a week’s worth of research on the same topic. The presentation panel consisted of six
experts discussing UN environmental policies, finance and human rights. The
panel members were professionals of all kinds, including lawyers, university professors,
researchers and even a executive board member from the UN CDM or clean development mechanism.
The CDM is responsible for developing, implementing, supporting and financing sustainable
development projects and emission reduction projects across the globe in an
effort to lower world-wide GHG emissions.
The session dialogue concerned human rights abuses committed during UN CDM endorsed projects. An example of these abuses was given by a university professor from Guatemala who detailed the various human rights violations committed by construction workers, private security personnel and police hired to construct and protect a dam in the north of Guatemala. The project was registered under the UN CDM in an effort to prevent the dependence on hydrocarbons in a developing part of Guatemala. The abuses included the unlawful detainment of those who protested the dam, the militarization of the area in which the dam was being constructed, and the death of five people two of them children.
After this claim was presented other panel members took turns explaining the shortcomings of the vetting procedures and safeguards that allowed things like this to happen. The CDM has registered 7,000 projects world-wide, the majority of them in developing countries. The governments and/or private companies that are responsible for carrying out these projects are often negligent in dealing with these human rights violations, or are directly responsible for them. The UN has a series of safe guards in place that it uses to vet government agencies and private companies that are responsible for these projects. However depending on what agency or body of the UN these entities are getting funding from or which body of the UN the project was first submitted to for consideration, the safeguards the parties responsible for the projects are subject to vary greatly. This makes for grey areas and loop holes in the way these projects are run and delays the UN’s ability to step in and take action when human rights violations are reported.
It was the general consensus of the panel members that there is a need for a more coherent and universal set of safeguards and regulations for projects that are endorsed and funded by the CDM, Green Climate Fund or any other UN body. Enacting this recommendation would not be a simple process. Imposing a brand new set of universally applied rules and safeguards would step on a lot of toes in route to adoption. However, because the problem is human rights abuse reported under the UN’s watch, action may move faster than it otherwise would on different issues.
Indeed progress and reform are on the way. One panelist, a lawyer with the IBA or International Bar Association, had just written a report on the topic that included a number of solutions he believed would come across as fair to all stakeholders involved. The report contained a series of policies that would help expedite the UN’s response to abuse reports. More hope was offered from another panel member who held a senior position on the board of the CDM. The CDM has already taken steps to remove red tape that slowed or even prevented the UN from taking action to put a hold on or discontinue projects that had committed human rights abuses. The UN was founded on the idea that protecting human rights is a fundamental global concern. For this reason their efforts to resolve this issue are not surprising and have begun to take shape.
The session dialogue concerned human rights abuses committed during UN CDM endorsed projects. An example of these abuses was given by a university professor from Guatemala who detailed the various human rights violations committed by construction workers, private security personnel and police hired to construct and protect a dam in the north of Guatemala. The project was registered under the UN CDM in an effort to prevent the dependence on hydrocarbons in a developing part of Guatemala. The abuses included the unlawful detainment of those who protested the dam, the militarization of the area in which the dam was being constructed, and the death of five people two of them children.
After this claim was presented other panel members took turns explaining the shortcomings of the vetting procedures and safeguards that allowed things like this to happen. The CDM has registered 7,000 projects world-wide, the majority of them in developing countries. The governments and/or private companies that are responsible for carrying out these projects are often negligent in dealing with these human rights violations, or are directly responsible for them. The UN has a series of safe guards in place that it uses to vet government agencies and private companies that are responsible for these projects. However depending on what agency or body of the UN these entities are getting funding from or which body of the UN the project was first submitted to for consideration, the safeguards the parties responsible for the projects are subject to vary greatly. This makes for grey areas and loop holes in the way these projects are run and delays the UN’s ability to step in and take action when human rights violations are reported.
It was the general consensus of the panel members that there is a need for a more coherent and universal set of safeguards and regulations for projects that are endorsed and funded by the CDM, Green Climate Fund or any other UN body. Enacting this recommendation would not be a simple process. Imposing a brand new set of universally applied rules and safeguards would step on a lot of toes in route to adoption. However, because the problem is human rights abuse reported under the UN’s watch, action may move faster than it otherwise would on different issues.
Indeed progress and reform are on the way. One panelist, a lawyer with the IBA or International Bar Association, had just written a report on the topic that included a number of solutions he believed would come across as fair to all stakeholders involved. The report contained a series of policies that would help expedite the UN’s response to abuse reports. More hope was offered from another panel member who held a senior position on the board of the CDM. The CDM has already taken steps to remove red tape that slowed or even prevented the UN from taking action to put a hold on or discontinue projects that had committed human rights abuses. The UN was founded on the idea that protecting human rights is a fundamental global concern. For this reason their efforts to resolve this issue are not surprising and have begun to take shape.
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