Bali, Indonesia- Ten witnesses took the stand today to testify how Asian Development Bank (ADB) has violated their rights and the rights of the Asia Pacific people, in an international opinion tribunal.
The multilateral lender has been charged with gross violations of economic, social, and cultural rights of the Asia- Pacific region; civil and political rights; and peoples’ national sovereignty and right to self-determination in the two-day Asia Pacific Peoples’ Tribunal on ADB, being held at the Udayana University in Denpasar.
Expert witnesses presented their studies on the impact of ADB loans, policies and projects on the communities in the Asia Pacific. Sonny Africa of IBON, showed that despite the financial crunch, ADB’s profit has consistently increased, with its capital stock of US$54.9 billion in 2008 even larger than the GDP of its poorest 33 underdeveloped member countries. And while its profit grow by billions, poverty in the region also worsens, and the number of rights violations increase.
Succeeding witnesses, that included a village chief, peasant and a former female domestic helper, narrated how their lives and their communities suffered from debt and ADB’s anti-poor projects and policies.
Tribunal proceedings resume on May 2, with the verdict rendered at 3pm. This was followed by a protest action.
Members of the jury included a former Indonesian Human Rights Commissioner , a Gwangju Human Rights Prize recipient, a faculty member and woman activist in Pakistan, two Indonesian indigenous peoples’ leaders and a member of Congress in the Philippines.
The organizers say they will definitely send a copy of the verdict to the respondents.
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The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) is one of the many organizations that co-sponsored the "Peoples' Week of Action against ADB" hosted by Alliansi Gerakan Reforma Agraria (AGRA) with other Indonesian network.