Preventing Negative Human Rights Impacts at the World Bank

Manageable prognostic process Urgently needed World Bank standards fail to meet US expectations Contents for Review: Recognizing & mitigating human rights risks at World Bank Projects

Mon State Fast Facts (Government of Myanmar Household Survey 2011) 50% of poor households are landless 77% of households have no access to credit 38% of residents live in slum dwellings (lack of sanitation, water, space, durability) 24% of children suffer from wasting (malnutrition) 61% of household heads have not completed primary school

Intense Militarization (TBC 2012) Tatmadaw Regional Command Tatmadaw Light Infantry Division Tatmadaw Military Operation Command Tatmadaw Battalion Headquarters BFG / Militia Headquarters Tatmadaw Outpost WB Thaton Power Project

Villages Cultivation Dense Forest Rubber Plantation Sparse Forest (with some rubber) Swamp Water body Populations and Farmland

Unsafe Chemical Handling

Environmental Dangers & Degradation Legacy problems for future construction Risk to agriculture Risk to workers Risk to communities

“Safety First” No occupational health and safety programming No accident or spill logs No workforce training No management changes planned

Kayin Livelihoods in and around Thaton Plant No employment Lost lands Dwindling opportunities Poverty & Discrimination

Elements of Analysis Problematic Context Potential for problems in project Unknown company Project (Gas-fired Electricity Plant) Company (Unknown, but funded by the world bank) Context (Mon State, Myanmar: Poor, ethnic minority population with low skill levels)

Assessing Impacts Catego ry Sub-CategoriesRights Topics Labor Wages 21 Context Topics, 13 Project Topics Unions Exploitive Practices Discrimination Labor Laws Project employment profile Health Health Regulations 31 Context Topics, 18 Project Topics Underlying Determinants Access and Infrastructure Food Infectious Diseases HIA Risks to Safety & Health Environ- ment Surface and Groundwater 33 Context Topics, 30 Project Topics Geology/Ecosystem Air Political / Legal Form of Government 28 Context Topics, 9 Project Topics Strength of Civil Society Law Systems Strength of Governance Nondiscrimination Regulations Civil War/Conflict/Security Economi c/ Cultural / Social Demographics/ Psychology 30 Context Topics, 21 Project Topics Economics Indigenous Peoples Education National Culture Local Cultures Land Project Occupies CatalogsRights Context Rights are shown to be positively protected or negatively enforced at baseline, including Freedom from Child Labor, Freedom of Religion, Indigenous Rights, Unionization Rights Project Rights are shown to be positively or negatively impacted by the Project, including child labor, nondiscrimination, unionization rights and free expression Company Scores Baseline 28% of children ages 5 to 17 are economically active. The Government keeps no statistics on child labor, seeing it as a complex issue involving family needs. Families rent out children for labor at a rate of $7/month. -15 In the Project area around 7,500 minors between the ages of 10 and 14 work at least half-days in some sort of informal job. Local children generally enter the labor market between the ages of 10 and Bolivian law sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years. Children ages 6-14 may legally work as apprentices for a maximum of two years and must simultaneously attend school at normal school hours. There is minimal enforcement of these laws, as the Bolivian government sees child labor as a complex challenge and a symptom of other economic woes in the country. 3 Impact Child labor is mentioned in GRI reporting, but no due diligence has been conducted to ensure that children are excluded from Project supply chain, particularly in unregulated jewelry factories and tailors that provide products to the Project. -3 The company has no history employing child labor or using child labor in its supply chain 5 BaselineRightImpact -9Freedom from Child Labor to to to 1212 to 25

Important Process, Small Cost Cost of the Project: Cost of an HRIA: $140,000,000 $40,000-65, % of project budget

Summary: A Letter to Treasury The WB should respect human rights across projects, programs and activities It should conduct due diligence to foresee and prevent negative human rights impacts associated with World Bank projects It should enhance safeguards, including monitoring

Thank you.