[ad_1]
Major Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives have signed on to a bill that would bar the US government from funding international conservation groups that fund or support human rights abuses.
The proposed law would require federal agencies to monitor internationally funded projects for abuse and, if any are found, to stop sending money. And every year, the agency must submit a report to Congress on human rights abuses that occur on US-funded projects.
The Natural Resources Committee has been looking into the issue in response to a 2019 BuzzFeed News investigation that found that the World Wide Fund for Nature, a beloved wildlife conservation charity and longtime partner of the US government, has supported anti-poaching. forces that torture and kill people in national parks in Asia and Africa.
Villagers living near the park have been whipped with belts, attacked with machetes, beaten unconscious with bamboo sticks, sexually assaulted, and shot, according to reports and documents obtained by BuzzFeed News. Rangers in WWF-supported parks commit several illegal killings.
In 2019, now-retired Republican Congressman Rob Bishop of Utah, who was then the committee’s ranking member, proposed legislation that included the same foundation. Bishop’s bill stalled, but since then lawmakers in both parties have taken up the issue again.
This year’s bill has bipartisan support. The sponsor is the chairman of the Rep committee. Raúl M. Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, and ranking member of Rep. Bruce Westerman, Republican of Arkansas. The rest of the committee will now debate the bill, and if they agree, it will be sent to the House floor for a full vote.
“With this bill, we are sending a signal to the world that the United States demands the highest standards of respect for every human life; we will not allow the violation of human rights in the name of conservation,” said Grijalva. “We hope the new focus on human rights, accountability, and oversight in this bill will serve as a model for conservation programs in the U.S. and abroad.”
Westerman said “common sense legislation” would increase government accountability. “This bill is the culmination of a bipartisan effort, including investigations and oversight hearings that have exposed misuse of grant money, human rights violations, and a lack of federal agency awareness.”
The bill would introduce sweeping changes to how US agencies handle human rights abuses in conservation projects. Conservation groups that receive government cash must provide a human rights policy detailing what procedures will be followed in the event of violations. They must also name anyone they partnered with overseas, such as local police forces or park rangers — who will then be investigated by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the State Department.
The legislation will also increase the level of protection of Indigenous peoples in conservation projects that affect them. Donor recipients must demonstrate that they have a process of “meaningful consultation” with Indigenous peoples before historic land is used for conservation, and that they provide a “grievance redress mechanism” for Indigenous peoples to raise concerns.
When violations are discovered, they must be reported to the federal government, and groups that receive taxpayer money have 60 days to come up with a plan to fix the problem. The US government will be able to stop funding for the project until the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Secretary of State confirm that those involved have “taken effective steps to bring perpetrators to justice and prevent human rights violations.”
Serious human rights violations will also be referred to the inspector general of the Department of the Interior, and the Fish and Wildlife Service will submit to Congress annually a report summarizing investigations conducted under the act, including remedial actions taken.
John Knox, former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, called the bill a “step forward in an area that really needs greater attention, and a potential model for other governments and international funds.” After the WWF scandal broke, it became clear that “many of the main sources of international conservation funding, including the United Nations and the United States, do not have effective standards to ensure that these funds will not be used for human rights violations,” Knox said.
In a statement, WWF said it supports the legislation. “Safeguarding the rights of communities is fundamental to the success of conservation. We support the purpose of this bill to strengthen programs that protect nature and wildlife by ensuring that they also protect and promote the rights, well-being, and security of local communities and Indigenous people in the area. landscape. where the program operates.”
The charity conducted its own internal review of the allegations, and in 2020 expressed its “deep and unbearable sadness for those who suffered,” saying the abuse by park rangers “horrifies us and goes against all the values we hold.”
[ad_2]
Source link