EPs Campaign- More Supports Are Needed: The Big Banks Must Protect Climate and Indigenous Rights!

[Chinwike Chijioke Chinwike]

****Sorry for Cross Posting****

Dear Friends & Colleagues,

This is to remind us that this coming October 23, the Equator Principles Association will meet in Brazil for their Annual Meeting.

The 91 banks that have adopted the Equator Principles (EPs) have formally committed to take into account the social and environmental impact of projects they consider financing, and to take steps to prevent or minimize these impacts. (See www.equator-principles.com for more info.)

While this sounds wonderful, in practice this does not stop them from financing large infrastructure projects that have a disastrous impact on climate change, on indigenous peoples rights, or both.   

The Equator Principles didn’t stop banks like Wells Fargo from financing DAPL. They didn’t stop banks like JPMorgan Chase from financing the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline. Despite enormous impacts on our shared climate, and unacceptable abuses of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, disaster projects like these have all been financed under the Equator Principles.  See some specific disaster projects (listed here: https://www.equatorbanksact.org/disaster_projects).The Lamu Coal Power Plant in Kenya is yet to be included.

Combating Climate Change and Respect Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Territories is very fundamental to our sustainable growth and development in Africa. In Nigeria, we have the EcoBank, Access Bank and Fidelity Bank as members of the Equator Principles Association. 

In this Equator Principles (EPs) Campaign, our first goal is that the EPA steering committee agrees to include three issues for discussion in the agenda for the EPA annual meeting:

• Strengthen climate commitments
• strengthen indigenous rights commitments
• start a revision process

Our second goal is that the annual meeting indeed then agrees to do what we ask them to do in our letter. This one: https://www.banktrack.org/download/letter_from_65_organizations_to_equator_principles_association_on_brazil_annual_meeting/170829_final_letter_to_epa_with_signatories_2.pdf

Join the  EPs Campaign now, and give your Support and Sign On and Let the Equator Banks Stop Financing Climate Disasters, and  Start Respecting Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Territories. For this Campaign, we need at a minimum 500 organisations, and 10,000 minimum of individual supports and sign on.

 Give Your Support Now By:

• Look around you and ask everyone you see and know to sign up to the petition. Every extra name helps at this moment

  

• Make a reference (a link or why not a full page) to the campaign on all your websites and Facebook pages.

  

• Follow the @EP_ActCampaign on Twitter, and please retweet messages over your own twitteraccount, or start tweeting away yourself, using the hashtag #equatorbanksact

  

• Use the memes that we have collected for you here: https://www.equatorbanksact.org/join_us. (more memes coming from next week onwards)

  

• Send out an item on newsletters or mailing lists that you run, stating that you run this campaign with us, and ask your constituency to sign

  

• Present this campaign on relevant email discussion groups that you are part of, asking fellow campaigners to sign

  

• Have a look at the list of organisations that have signed up, grouped per country, and think of who of your work partners is missing on that list. Then send them a note and ask them to sign. check here: https://www.equatorbanksact.org/supporters

  

• Add the old press release on the start of the campaign to your own list of stored news items, so that it gets picked up (so this one https://www.banktrack.org/news/equator_banks_called_upon_to_act_on_climate_change_and_indigenous_peoples_rights) and of course help spread forthcoming press releases

  

• Those who can organise big petitions aimed at individuals, through petitions swaps etc, please go ahead. We can help with technical support so contact us.

  

• If you are well placed to invoke the help of other organisations with a big outreach capacity please contact them, or ask them to get in touch with us so we can team up.

  

• Use your creativity and do whatever else works to get the numbers up

For further information or inquiry on EPs Campaign, please contact Banktrack: jo...@banktrack.org  or ka...@banktrack.org.

African Law Foundation (AFRILAW) Nigeria is a member of the EPs Campaign Core Group.

Thank you for your wonderful support and participation in the Campaign.

Yours in Solidarity.

Chinwike Okereke ESQ

Director, AFRILAW

Okereke Chinwike || Founder/CEO: African Law Foundation (AfriLaw) Ltd/Gte

Independent Consultant: DFID/UKaid Voices for Change (V4C) Programme, ENGAGE Project  

National Coordinator: Men United for Gender Justice Initiative (MenUnited)

Steering Committee Member: Nigeria CSOs Coalition on Business and Human Rights

Legal Adviser & National Working Group Member: Community Intervention  Network on Drugs (CIND Nigeria)  

Member: CSOs Observatory on Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria.

No. 55 Annang Street, By Nkpokiti Junction, New Layout, Enugu, Enugu State 40001, Nigeria | Email: afrilawfoundation@gmail,  chinwi...@gmail.com  | Facebook: African Law Foundation | Twitter: @AfriLaw ,  @CCHINWIKE | LinkedIn: Chinwike Okereke  | Skype: chinwike.chinwike | Cell: +234-07030769078 | 08095479809 | www.afrilaw.org.