Development forced evictions involving egregious violations of fundamental human rights continue to be carried out with relative impunity.
However, diverse grassroots movements worldwide are taking up a rights-based approach to challenge projects that threaten to forcibly evict them and destroy their homes and livelihoods in the name of development.
In northwest Bangladesh one such movement has successfully stalled the excavation of an immense open pit coal mine, known as the Phulbari Coal Project, for over six years. A UK-based company, Global Coal Management Resources (GCM), claims that the proposed project will “deliver substantial benefits” to the country, the people of Bangladesh and the local community. Project opponents cite contract terms that will allow the company to export 100% of the coal extracted, impose no export duties, and afford the company a nine-year tax holiday and a fixed royalty rate of just 6%.