Takehiko Nakao, President
Asian Development Bank
6 ADB Avenue
Mandaluyong City 1550
Philippines
cc:
Board of Directors
Compliance Review Panel Members
Steven Groff, Vice President
James Nugent, Director General, SERD
Eric Sidgwick, Cambodia Country Director
Re: GMS Rehabilitation of the Railway of Cambodia Project Remedial Action Plan April 11, 2014
Dear President Takehiko Nakao,
We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our profound disappointment with the manner in which the Management of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has responded to the Board-approved findings and recommendations of the Compliance Review Panel (CRP) in relation to the Cambodia Railway Project.
The CRP confirmed concerns that have been communicated to the ADB by affected people and civil society monitors since early 2010 that ADB’s “inadequate attention to addressing the resettlement, public communications and disclosure requirements of its own policies…has led to significant yet avoidable adverse social impact on mostly poor and vulnerable people.” The Panel found that families affected by the Railway project “suffered loss of property, livelihoods, and incomes, and as a result have borne a disproportionate cost and burden of the development efforts funded
by ADB.”
The Panel emphasized “the need for an urgent, firm, and clear message to ADB Management that resettlement, environmental, and public disclosure issues should be taken seriously and accorded the priority consideration they deserve.” It found that in this case, as in other cases that it had reviewed, these issues were treated by ADB as “mere add-ons.”
Regrettably, ADB has once again failed to take these responsibilities seriously in the process of developing remedial actions. Following the Board’s decision on January 31st, Management was given 60 days to prepare a remedial action plan (RAP). On April 2, ADB Management made clear to representatives of the Requesters that it does not intend to consult with the Requesters and their legal representatives in the development of an action plan that responds to the Board’s decision. ADB has merely stated that it will share its RAP and seek feedback once it has been submitted to the Board. We are concerned that at that point, affected people will no longer have an opportunity to influence the measures intended to
remediate the harms that they themselves have experienced.
ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement states that “consultation and participation are central to the achievement of safeguard policy objectives.” The policy calls not just for consultation during the planning stages of a project, but for “continued consultation during project implementation to identify and help address safeguard issues that may arise.” The policy stipulates that consultation should enable “the incorporation of all relevant views of affected people and other stakeholders into decision making,” including with respect to mitigation measures.
As Chairperson of the Board, we urge you to ensure that Management disclose its draft remedial action plan, along with comments on the plan provided by the Compliance Review Panel, and provide an adequate opportunity for meaningful
consultation with affected people and their representatives.
Following a robust consultation process, the Board must ensure that the final remedial action plan includes concrete, time-bound, and adequately resourced measures that fully give effect to the Board’s decision of January 31st.
The undersigned organizations express our full support for the letter sent to ADB by the affected communities on April 9. We call upon you to place the communities’ concerns and voices at the center of the remedial action process.
Sincerely,
Eang Vuthy
Executive Director
Equitable Cambodia
David Pred
Managing Director
Inclusive Development International
Rayyan Hassan
Executive Director
NGO Forum on ADB
Toshiyuki Doi
Senior Advisor
Mekong Watch
Gertjan van Bruchem
Acting Cambodia Country Director
Oxfam
Natalie Bridgeman-Fields
Executive Director
Accountability Counsel – USA
Bret Thiele
Co-Executive Director
Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - USA
Megan MacInnes
Campaign Leader – Land
Global Witness
Anuradha Mittal
Executive Director
The Oakland Institute - USA
Tae Joo LEE
Chair
ODA Watch – Korea
Mark Cubit
Trustee
Planet Wheeler Foundation
Tessa Khan
Programme Officer
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development
Wahidah Rustam
Chair of National Executive Body
Solidaritas Perempuan - Indonesia
Sarah Siddiqui
Creed Alliance – Pakistan
Ram Wangkheirakpam
North East Peoples Alliance – India
Titi Soentoro
Aksi: for gender, social and ecological justice – Indonesia
Shalmali Guttal
Focus on the Global South
Rachel Ball
Director – Advocacy and Campaigns
Human Rights Law Centre – Australia
Pablo de la Vega
Coordinador Regional
La Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo
(PIDHDD)
Linna Chiv
In Country Consultant - Cambodia
American Jewish World Service
Jeff Wong
Leaders and Organizers of Community Organizations in Asia
Ayodele Akele
Executive Director
Labour, Health and Human Rights Development Centre - Nigeria
Seng Sokheng
Coordinator
Community Peace-building Network – Cambodia
Sia Phearum
Coordinator
Housing Rights Task Force – Cambodia
Collette O’Regan
Coordinator
People’s Action for Change – Cambodia
Ee Sarom
Executive Director
Sahmakum Teang Tnaut - Cambodia
Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek
President
League for the Promotion & Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) – Cambodia
Thida Khus
Executive Director
SILAKA - Cambodia
Takehiko Nakao, President
Asian Development Bank
6 ADB Avenue
Mandaluyong City 1550
Philippines
cc:
Board of Directors
Compliance Review Panel Members
Steven Groff, Vice President
James Nugent, Director General, SERD
Eric Sidgwick, Cambodia Country Director
Re: GMS Rehabilitation of the Railway of Cambodia Project Remedial Action Plan April 11, 2014
Dear President Takehiko Nakao,
We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our profound disappointment with the manner in which the Management of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has responded to the Board-approved findings and recommendations of the Compliance Review Panel (CRP) in relation to the Cambodia Railway Project.
The CRP confirmed concerns that have been communicated to the ADB by affected people and civil society monitors since early 2010 that ADB’s “inadequate attention to addressing the resettlement, public communications and disclosure requirements of its own policies…has led to significant yet avoidable adverse social impact on mostly poor and vulnerable people.” The Panel found that families affected by the Railway project “suffered loss of property, livelihoods, and incomes, and as a result have borne a disproportionate cost and burden of the development efforts funded
by ADB.”
The Panel emphasized “the need for an urgent, firm, and clear message to ADB Management that resettlement, environmental, and public disclosure issues should be taken seriously and accorded the priority consideration they deserve.” It found that in this case, as in other cases that it had reviewed, these issues were treated by ADB as “mere add-ons.”
Regrettably, ADB has once again failed to take these responsibilities seriously in the process of developing remedial actions. Following the Board’s decision on January 31st, Management was given 60 days to prepare a remedial action plan (RAP). On April 2, ADB Management made clear to representatives of the Requesters that it does not intend to consult with the Requesters and their legal representatives in the development of an action plan that responds to the Board’s decision. ADB has merely stated that it will share its RAP and seek feedback once it has been submitted to the Board. We are concerned that at that point, affected people will no longer have an opportunity to influence the measures intended to
remediate the harms that they themselves have experienced.
ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement states that “consultation and participation are central to the achievement of safeguard policy objectives.” The policy calls not just for consultation during the planning stages of a project, but for “continued consultation during project implementation to identify and help address safeguard issues that may arise.” The policy stipulates that consultation should enable “the incorporation of all relevant views of affected people and other stakeholders into decision making,” including with respect to mitigation measures.
As Chairperson of the Board, we urge you to ensure that Management disclose its draft remedial action plan, along with comments on the plan provided by the Compliance Review Panel, and provide an adequate opportunity for meaningful
consultation with affected people and their representatives.
Following a robust consultation process, the Board must ensure that the final remedial action plan includes concrete, time-bound, and adequately resourced measures that fully give effect to the Board’s decision of January 31st.
The undersigned organizations express our full support for the letter sent to ADB by the affected communities on April 9. We call upon you to place the communities’ concerns and voices at the center of the remedial action process.
Sincerely,
Eang Vuthy
Executive Director
Equitable Cambodia
David Pred
Managing Director
Inclusive Development International
Rayyan Hassan
Executive Director
NGO Forum on ADB
Toshiyuki Doi
Senior Advisor
Mekong Watch
Gertjan van Bruchem
Acting Cambodia Country Director
Oxfam
Natalie Bridgeman-Fields
Executive Director
Accountability Counsel – USA
Bret Thiele
Co-Executive Director
Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - USA
Megan MacInnes
Campaign Leader – Land
Global Witness
Anuradha Mittal
Executive Director
The Oakland Institute - USA
Tae Joo LEE
Chair
ODA Watch – Korea
Mark Cubit
Trustee
Planet Wheeler Foundation
Tessa Khan
Programme Officer
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development
Wahidah Rustam
Chair of National Executive Body
Solidaritas Perempuan - Indonesia
Sarah Siddiqui
Creed Alliance – Pakistan
Ram Wangkheirakpam
North East Peoples Alliance – India
Titi Soentoro
Aksi: for gender, social and ecological justice – Indonesia
Shalmali Guttal
Focus on the Global South
Rachel Ball
Director – Advocacy and Campaigns
Human Rights Law Centre – Australia
Pablo de la Vega
Coordinador Regional
La Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo
(PIDHDD)
Linna Chiv
In Country Consultant - Cambodia
American Jewish World Service
Jeff Wong
Leaders and Organizers of Community Organizations in Asia
Ayodele Akele
Executive Director
Labour, Health and Human Rights Development Centre - Nigeria
Seng Sokheng
Coordinator
Community Peace-building Network – Cambodia
Sia Phearum
Coordinator
Housing Rights Task Force – Cambodia
Collette O’Regan
Coordinator
People’s Action for Change – Cambodia
Ee Sarom
Executive Director
Sahmakum Teang Tnaut - Cambodia
Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek
President
League for the Promotion & Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) – Cambodia
Thida Khus
Executive Director
SILAKA - Cambodia