UN demands urgent answers from Ethiopia
over Gibe III dam
17 October, 2011 | Survival International
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The UN’s growing concern over Ethiopia’s construction of the
controversial Gibe III dam has prompted it to demand urgent
information from the African state.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
has given Ethiopia until the end of January 2012 to provide reliable
evidence that independent assessments have been carried out, and that
tribal people in the region have been properly consulted.
The UN body has written to Ethiopia with its concerns under its ‘early
warning and urgent action procedure’. It has appealed for
‘constructive dialogue’ but noted how previous requests from the UN’
s Special Rapporteur on indigenous rights had been ignored.
The UN’s World Heritage Committee has also written to Ethiopia
calling for it to ‘immediately halt all construction’ and for ‘all financial
institutions supporting the Gibe III dam to put on hold their financial
support.’ Both the Omo Valley, and Kenya’s Lake Turkana, which is
fed by the Omo river, have been recognized by UNESCO as World
Heritage Sites.
Survival has been calling on the UN to take action over Ethiopia’s
construction of the Gibe III dam, and its decision to lease out large
areas of tribal land for commercial plantations in the South Omo
region. The dam will regulate the flow of the Omo and enable irrigation
of the plantations.
Survival recently revealed that around one hundred indigenous people
have been arrested and jailed for opposing the dam and plantations.
Courtesy
over Gibe III dam
17 October, 2011 | Survival International
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The UN’s growing concern over Ethiopia’s construction of the
controversial Gibe III dam has prompted it to demand urgent
information from the African state.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
has given Ethiopia until the end of January 2012 to provide reliable
evidence that independent assessments have been carried out, and that
tribal people in the region have been properly consulted.
The UN body has written to Ethiopia with its concerns under its ‘early
warning and urgent action procedure’. It has appealed for
‘constructive dialogue’ but noted how previous requests from the UN’
s Special Rapporteur on indigenous rights had been ignored.
The UN’s World Heritage Committee has also written to Ethiopia
calling for it to ‘immediately halt all construction’ and for ‘all financial
institutions supporting the Gibe III dam to put on hold their financial
support.’ Both the Omo Valley, and Kenya’s Lake Turkana, which is
fed by the Omo river, have been recognized by UNESCO as World
Heritage Sites.
Survival has been calling on the UN to take action over Ethiopia’s
construction of the Gibe III dam, and its decision to lease out large
areas of tribal land for commercial plantations in the South Omo
region. The dam will regulate the flow of the Omo and enable irrigation
of the plantations.
Survival recently revealed that around one hundred indigenous people
have been arrested and jailed for opposing the dam and plantations.
Courtesy
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