Press Release

PR – Brazilian Judicial Abuses Questioned on Anniversary of Military Coup

Darlisson Apiaká, a leader of dam-threatened indigenous peoples on the Teles Pires river
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Washington, D.C. – Marking the 50th anniversary of Brazil’s military coup, Brazilian community representatives and their legal advocates questioned President Dilma Rousseff’s administration today at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) over its flagrant use of a legal mechanism that dates to the country’s dictatorship (1964-1985).

PR - World Bank Votes to Support Inga 3 Dam

This community would be relocated to make way for the Inga 3 Dam
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Pretoria, South Africa: Today, the World Bank Group's Board of Directors approved a grant of US$73.1 million for the Inga 3 Dam on the Congo River – the biggest hydropower project the World Bank has ever funded. International Rivers denounces the decision as support for a risky mega-project that will not benefit the local population.

PR – Indigenous Leader Condemns Brazilian Government's Rights Abuses at UN

Sonia Guajajara (APIB) and Alexandre Sampaio (AIDA) denounce indigenous rights violations at UN event in Geneva
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Geneva, Switzerland: In a groundbreaking event at the 25th United Nations Human Rights Council, the national coordinator of Brazil's Association of Indigenous Peoples (APIB) Sônia Guajajara exposed an alarming disregard for indigenous peoples' rights by the Brazilian government as it rushes to promote an unprecedented wave of large dam construction across the Amazon Basin with devastating impacts on their territories and livelihoods.

PR – Belo Monte Construction Intensifies Conflicts with Indigenous Peoples

The meeting on Feb. 14 brought together 300 indigenous leaders, the federal government and Norte Energia
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Altamira, Brazil: As the hurried construction of the controversial Belo Monte Dam nears 50% completion on the Amazon's Xingu River, a new report revealed that more than 80% of legally required actions to mitigate project impacts on indigenous peoples and their territories are mired in noncompliance.

PR – World Bank Hands Inga 3 Dam Over to Private Sector

The Congo River
Monday, February 10, 2014
Berkeley, USA: International Rivers has learned that the World Bank has abruptly decided to develop the Inga 3 Dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a private investment through the International Finance Corporation, rather than as a public sector project.

PR – World Bank Indefinitely Postpones Inga 3 Project

Mwanza villagers would be affected by the Grand Inga scheme, of which Inga 3 is the first step.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Pretoria, South Africa: The World Bank has just made a surprise decision to indefinitely postpone the board discussion of its support for the huge Inga 3 Dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bank’s board of directors was scheduled to vote on February 11 on a US$73 million grant to prepare for the project. Opposition from local and international NGOs has been mounting, and civil society groups are now urging the Bank to fundamentally reconsider the Inga 3 project.

PR – Siemens Denounced for Damming Latin America's Future

Protestors outside Siemens Annual Shareholders Meeting in Munich
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Munich, Germany: Dozens of protestors from a coalition of Brazilian, German, French and American organizations staged a demonstration outside the shareholder meeting of Siemens, denouncing the company's controversial role in some of the world's most notorious hydroelectric projects including the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil and the Agua Zarca Dam in Honduras.

PR – Reparations Due For Chixoy Dam Atrocities

Descendants of survivors of the Chixoy Dam massacres.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Nearly 32 years after indigenous Maya Achi communities were massacred to clear the way for building the Chixoy Dam, affected communities and massacre survivors achieved a victory. The 2014 US Consolidated Appropriations Bill instructs the US directors of the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank to "report … on the steps being taken by such institutions to support implementation of the April 2010 Reparation Plan for Damages Suffered by the Communities Affected by the Construction of the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam in Guatemala."

PR - Mekong’s Future Remains Uncertain as MRC Reaches Stalemate Over Don Sahong Dam

Pla Earn, a fish that has disappeared in the Upper Mekong but can still be found in Southern Laos
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Regional cooperation was placed on hold yesterday, as Mekong River Commission (MRC) member countries reached a stalemate at a special session held over procedural deliberations regarding whether or not the Don Sahong Dam is required to undergo regional decision-making.

Two Years Forward, Three Steps Back: Mekong Dam Study Reaches Deadlock

Construction of the Xayaburi Dam continues despite the fact that the risks of the project have yet to be fully understood
Thursday, December 12, 2013
On Saturday, Japan will host the Fifth Mekong-Japan Summit. The meeting marks two years since the Mekong governments first agreed to work together to carry out a study on the impacts of dams on the Lower Mekong River’s mainstream, commonly known as the MRC Council Study. However since the summit, the study being led by the MRC has faced a series of setbacks, including a lack of consensus over the content, which has contributed to significant delays in its implementation.

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