Export Credit Agencies and Human Rights

1
Export Credit Agencies and Human Rights

• How do they take human rights into account?
• For the most part, they dont
• Four general models
• Conflating social with human rights
• Social
• Political risk assessment
• Actual human rights screening

2
Model One Conflating Social with human rights

• Common Approaches environmental and social
  safeguards (WB and IFC)
• Human rights ?Few social add-ons
• involuntary resettlement, (OD 4.30)
• project-associated health impacts (IFC
  guidelines)
• cultural property (OPN 11.30)
• indigenous rights. (OD 4.20)
• Approach of most ECAs
• Remainder left to host country legislation

3
Model Two Social

• Reference in preambles (JBIC, EDC)
• Reference to OECD guidelines (Ducroire, Atradius)
• Social (ECGD)
• Compliance mechanism (JBIC, EDC, OPIC)
• Belgian Model (under discussion)
• Ex-Im Office of Human Rights Assessment (Failed)

4
Model Three Political Risk Assessment

• EDC assesses PRA at two levels
• Country level risk
• Socio-economic equality
• Government action on corruption, regime
  legitimacy and stability
• Existence of democratic institutions
• Risks of political violence (existing and
  potential)
• Risks of expropriation
• Project level risk
• Projects relationship with local population
• Costs and benefits to the country and local
  populatoni
• Total risk ? countryproject risk rating
  (financial)
• Reverse flow analysis (reputational)

5
Model Four Actual Human Rights Screening

• ECGD ?take account of social, environmental and
  HR
• Uses a case impact analysis
• Company questionnaire
• See whether a country has ratified various
  conventions
• Expects companies to comply with these
  conventions
• Categorical prohibition forced and child labour
• Very superficial other models are more advanced
• Human Rights Impact Assessment (Rights
  Democracy)
• Conflict Risk Impact Assessment (International
  Alert)
• Human Rights Compliance Assessment (Danish
  Institute)

6
Where to next?

• Conflation of the issues isnt working
• Social too ad hoc more formal advances
  (regional, international)
• PRA limited
• Improve screening - HRIA models
• International context who sets the pace
• More conditionalities?
• Better policies, better projects?