18 February 2021
MR. MASATSUGU ASAKAWA
President
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Dear President Asakawa;
Good day.
Sustainable development can only be ensured in a country if it is supported by (1) the rule of law, (2) functioning democratic institutions, (3) protected rights of people, and (4) free media. But the status of Myanmar is neither democratic nor legal anymore. The armed forces (Tatmadaw) led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has taken power from the elected government through a coup-d'etat on 1 February 2021[1]. The illegitimacy of the military junta is affirmed by the widespread citizen’s resistance to and rejection of the regime. This letter and our calls are in solidarity with the people of Myanmar.
According to the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar formed by the UN Human Rights Council, General Min Aung Hlaing and his military force members are responsible for the mass-killing of Rohingya communities in Rakhine State[2]. The investigation led by the International Criminal Court (ICC) also identified the military personnel as liable for mass-destruction, deportation, and persecution of the Rohingya Communities. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has already given a provisional verdict against the military forces and ordered the Myanmar Government to take necessary action for the peaceful repatriation of the Rohingya Communities from Bangladesh[3].
In Myanmar, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has invested USD 3.57 billion in 151 projects as of 31 December 2019[4]. Currently, 35 development projects amounting to USD 4306.30 million are active in which ADB has provided USD 3698.89 million (USD 3638.01 million loan and USD 50.78 million as Technical Assistance or Grant) in the sectors of energy, transport, water & other urban infrastructure, and agriculture, natural resources, and rural development. According to the Project Data Sheets (PDS) total of USD 527.27 million has been disbursed to date, while USD 3,171.62 million is yet to disburse.
Among the project finances, ADB approved USD 250.00 million as budget support under the COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) Program, and USD 125.00 million has been disbursed[5]. Consequently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has provided USD 350.00 million as budget support on the coup’s very day. Now the armed forces are potentially using the same funds to quell democracy in Myanmar[6]. As with other COVID19 ADB recovery loans, the Myanmar loan has a C risk categorization. The lower risk for COVID19 loans stems from the fact that loan components include direct budget support and loans towards MSMEs and the private sector. Civil society groups are concerned that without adequate information disclosure and comprehensive risk assessment preceding loan approval for a military-ruled Myanmar may potentially appropriate funds towards companies and agencies aligned with the current military occupation.
To this end, Earth Rights International, a leading civil society organization, had previously stated- “ADB mobilization of the private sector to finance GMS projects in Burma is problematic because the private sector does not have to follow essential safeguard policies- such as the ADB safeguard policies which seek to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse environmental and social impacts of projects.”[7]
We demand that the ADB stop financing all of its projects in military-occupied Myanmar. We also urge the Bank to assess its lending relationship with Myanmar and immediately freeze all lending obligations, pre-committed loans, and outstanding transactions until the ADB can ensure that all of its dealings with the state do not legitimize military rule and authoritarianism.
In solidarity with the people of Myanmar,
Mr. Rayyan Hassan
Executive Director
NGO Forum on ADB
Endorsed by:
350 Pilipinas, Philippines
350.org Asia, Philippines
Action paysanne contre la faim, Democratic Republic of the Congo
AFL-CIO, United States
Aid/Watch, Australia
Aksi for Gender, Social And Ecological Justice, Indonesia
ALTSEAN-Burma, Burna
Arab Watch Coalition, Mena
Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Regional
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio & Communication, Bangladesh
Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt (BWGED), Bangladesh
Bank Information Center, USA
Both ENDS, the Netherlands.
Building and Wood Workers International, Philippines
Buliisa Initiative for Rural Development Organisation (BIRUDO), Uganda
Burma Campaign UK, United Kingdom
Burma-Initiative, Stiftung Asienhaus, Germany
Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, Philippines
Center for Environment and Participatory Research - CEPR, Bangladesh
Centre for Human Rights and Development, Mongolia
Chhattisgarh Tribal People's Forum, India
CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network), Bangladesh
Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ), Nepal
Community Resource Centre Foundation, Thailand
Conseil Régional des Organisations Non Gouvernementales de Développement, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Defenders Protection Initiative - DPI, Uganda
Derecho Ambiente y Recursos Naturales DAR, Perú
Environmental Public Society, Armenia
Equitable Cambodia, Cambodia
Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF), France
Fair Finance Philippines, Philippines
Finnish Asiatic Society, Finland
Foundation for Environmental Management and Campaign Against Poverty, Tanzania
Freedom from Debt Coalition, Philippines
Fresh Eyes, United Kingdom
Friends of the Earth Japan, Japan
Gender Action, United States
GrowthWatch, India
Human rights activist and freelance Journalist, York, UK, UK
IDEALS, Philippines
Independent Advisor and Researcher, Tajikistan
Indian Social Action Forum, India
IndustrALL Global Union, Philippines
Initiative for Right View, Bangladesh
International Accountability Project, USA
International Rivers, United States
Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya
JNU retired, India
Karen Environmental and , Myanmar
Mekong Watch, Japan
MiningWatch Canada, Canada
Mongla Nagori Somaj, Bangladesh
Nash Vek Public Foundation, Kyrgyzstan
National Development Programme(NDP), Bangladesh
National Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, Nepal
Oil Change International, United States
Oyu Tolgoi Watch, Mongolia
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan
Paribartan, Bangladesh
Participatory Research and Action Network (PRAN), Bangladesh
Project on Organizing, Development, Education, and Research (PODER), Mexico/Latin America
Rivers Without Boundaries -Mongolia, Mongolia
Social Action Network (KESAN - Myanmar), Myanmar
Songshoptaque, Bangladesh
Stiftung Asienhaus, Germany
The Oakland Institute, United States
The PLAN: Public Legal Aid Network, Myanmar
U.S Campaign for Burma, USA
Universal Peace Federation(UPF), Myanmar
Urgewald, Germany
Witness Radio - Uganda, Uganda
WomanHealth Philippines, Philippines
Youth For Environment Education And Development Foundation (YFEED Foundation), Nepal
Cc:
Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development
Vice-President for Private Sector and Public-Private Partnerships
Vice-President for Administration and Corporate Management
Vice-President for Finance and Risk Management
Vice-President Operations 1
Vice-President Operations 2
Director General, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department
Director, Safeguards Division
Director-General of Independent Evaluation at ADB
Director, Thematic and Country Division
Director Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Division Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department
Compliance Review Panel (CRP)
Chief of Energy Sector Group, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department
Deputy Director General Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department Concurrently Chief Compliance Officer
ADB Executive Directors
ADB Alternate Executive Directors
ADB's NGO and Civil Society Center (NGOC)
[1] https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-announces-state-emergency.html [2] https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFM-Myanmar/20190916/A_HRC_42_CRP.5.pdf [3] https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/178/178-20200123-ORD-01-00-EN.pdf [4] https://www.adb.org/countries/myanmar/main [5] https://www.adb.org/projects/54255-001/main#project-pds [6] https://www.reuters.com/article/myanmar-politics-imf/days-before-coup-imf-sent-myanmar-350-mln-in-emergen c y-aid-it-cannot-get-back-idUSL1N2K835G [7] https://earthrights.org/wp-content/uploads/adb-legitimization.pdf