AAAS - Chixoy Dam Reparations and Development: Santa Fe Statement

Programs: Science and Policy

http://shr.aaas.org//guatemala/chixoy/santafe.htm

AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

Chixoy Dam Reparations

The AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility (CSFR) recently endorsed a statement by the Santa Fe Group on Reparations and Development concerning the Chixoy dam-affected communities in Guatemala.

Background

The Chixoy Dam was built by Guatemala's National Institute for Electrification (INDE) with financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank. In 1983, the Chixoy Dam began producing the major source of electrical power for the nation of Guatemala. Designs for this facility were approved and construction begun without notifying the local population, conducting a comprehensive survey of affected peoples, or addressing compensation and resettlement for the 3,400 mostly Mayan residents.

In an effort to address the social problems caused by the Chixoy Dam in Guatemala, CSFR member Ruth Krulfeld and Stephen Hansen (SHRP) participated in an expert group to conduct a social impact assessment and come up with reparation and resettlement recommendations. In November 2004, the group met in Santa Fe, New Mexico, constituting itself as the Santa Fe Group on Reparations and Development. The group confirmed that significant violations of law and financial institution procedures occurred, that financial institutions as well as host government agencies and private contractors share liability, and considerable obligations remain. As a result, the Santa Fe group released a statement urging the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank to honor their obligations by participating in the process for negotiation that began recently.

The "Santa Fe Group on Reparations and Development Statement on Chixoy," was endorsed by its authors and received the institutional endorsement of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), and the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility. The statement has been translated and distributed to the dam-affected community leadership and their advocates in Guatemala. It has also been included in a press release packets distributed to the media. The statement was also distributed in the briefing documents sent to members of the "High Level Commission" -- the group established as a result of the September 7, 2004 agreement consisting of members of Congress, representatives of the Executive Branch (COPREDH, the human rights commission), a representative of IDB and the World Bank, and representatives of INDE.

Santa Fe Group on Reparations and Development Statement on Chixoy

The Santa Fe Group on Reparations and Development is composed of civil society, scientific and human rights specialists with decades of experience with resettlement programs. The following statement was promulgated in Santa Fe, New Mexico on November 10, 2004 with respect to legacy issues arising from the violence, the hardships, and the impoverishment associated with the Chixoy Hydroelectric Project.

Global experience demonstrates that the fundamental provisions to enable successful resettlement programs must include:

Legal acquisition of land to be expropriated and compensation in full.

Provision of opportunity to build viable livelihoods for the affected people.

Design of a viable resettlement plan and an agreed budget with the consent of the affected people.

Supervision of the execution of the plan by both the financing and implementing agencies.

Corrective action where and when obstacles are identified in the execution of the plan, in consultation with the communities.

In the case of Chixoy Hydroelectric Project in Guatemala, the legal agreements were inadequate to address the provisions above. Nonetheless, the agreements obligate the Government of Guatemala (GoG), the Instituto Nacional de Electrificacion (INDE), the Inter-American Development Bank (IBD) and the World Bank (IBRD) to legally acquire land and to replace housing and public services (Loan Number 1605 GU, Loan Agreement, Chixoy Power Project, Dated July 21, 1978). These obligations are written into legal agreements that have the status of international law and which therefore were binding on the GoG even during the period of military rule.

Our review of evidence documented in studies spanning 20 years results in the following findings.

Resettlement requirements of the project were inadequately addressed in initial loan documents of IDB and IBRD, which reference a consultant�s report with no agreed budget.

Land acquisition for project construction was not completed and is still incomplete. No realistic (acceptable to the affected people) effort was made to restore the livelihoods of affected people in violation of the Banks own legal agreements.

The IBRD and INDE were informed in 1984 of the failed resettlement process and the risks of impoverishment of the people, but failed to correct the situation when provided the opportunity via the second loan negotiations, representing a violation of IBRD policies. This gives rise to institutional culpability for inducing impoverishment.

Project affected people were not systematically consulted, despite their repeated protests and petitions requesting such to the authorities and the Banks. IBRD and IDB continued to disburse funds and negotiated a new loan without taking into consideration the escalating violence harming project-affected people.

The Banks did not take reasonable and responsible actions when in 1996 firm evidence was established of deepening impoverishment of the affected people, of INDE�s failure to correct prior errors in good faith, and of IBRD�S violation of its own policies. Instead, the IBRD and IDB responded in a way that failed to engage the affected people in planning culturally adequate and comprehensive corrective plans.

We conclude that the people affected by the Chixoy Dam have a strong and just claim for restitution and grounds to seek legal redress. The negotiation process concerning reparations and development has been initiated. We welcome this development and urge all parties to honor their obligations by participating. We would caution against any process that leads to premature closure. This is because the issues are complex, the actors numerous, and the process incomplete.

We suggest that:

The first step in the negotiation process should be to allocate external financing for the process of reaching agreement on the rules of the negotiations.

This financing should include the costs of participation in the first year of negotiations on the part of GoG, IDB, IRBD and costs on the affected people.

This financing should not impose further hardship to the affected people.

Funds to finance the negotiations should be available from the Rural Electrification Trust Fund or comparable assets agreed upon by GoG, IBRD, IDB and INDE.

Simultaneous with the work to agree on the rules of the negotiations, all parties involved should address the urgent needs (e.g. potable water, electricity and adequate food and health care) in the interest of humanitarian consideration.

We therefore urge the stakeholders to convene and write terms of reference to guide the negotiations process, including structure, logistics and rules of the negotiations that permit continuous consultations among representatives of affected people, their indigenous authorities, and their wider communities.

Signed,

Linda M. Whiteford
Professor of Anthropology, University of South Florida;
President, Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA).
Statement endorsed by the SfAAExecutive Board.

Stephen A. Hansen
Science & Human Rights Program Project Manager, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Statement endorsed by the Science and Human Rights Program of the AAAS.

Thayer Scudder
Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, California Institute of Technology;
Former Commissioner, World Commission on Dams.

William L. Partridge
Professor of Human & Organizational Development and Professor of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University;
Former Lead Anthropologist, Latin America and Caribbean Region, World Bank.

Anthony Oliver-Smith
Professor of Anthropology, University of Florida; Involuntary Displacement Consultant;
Chair, American Anthropological Association Commission on the Status of South American Indigenous Peoples.

Ruth M. Krulfeld
Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and International Affairs, The George Washington University;
Member of The Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility and Human Rights of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Statement endorsed by the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility.

Barbara Rose Johnston
Senior Research Fellow, Center for Political Ecology;
Adjunct Full Professor of Anthropology, Michigan State University;
Emeritus Chair, American Anthropological Association Committee for Human Rights.
Statement endorsed by the AAA Committee for Human Rights.

Nicholas Hildyard
Director, The Cornerhouse, United Kingdom.

Carmen Garcia-Downing
Research/Indigenous Affairs Specialist, Rural Health Office, University of Arizona.

The Honorable Ted Downing
Representative, Arizona House of Representatives;
Research Professor, University of Arizona;
President Emeritus, Society for Applied Anthropology;
Chair, The International Network on Displacement and Resettlement.

Michael M. Cernea
Research Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs, George Washington University.

Monti Aguirre
Latin America Program, International Rivers Network, Berkeley, California.

Resources

"The Chixoy Dam Destroyed Our Lives" by Monti Aguirre, Human Rights Dialogue: "Environmental Rights" (Spring 2004)

Mission Report - Continuing the struggle for justice and accountability in Guatemala: Making reparations a reality in the Chixoy Dam case, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), 2004

Updated 01/06/2005
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