The State Government may heave a sigh of relief after declaring that the land acquisition drive for the Posco project in Jagatsinghpur district has ended, but the protests to the biggest FDI for the country have not been limited to the native district. A few human rights groups in the US have protested the forcible land acquisition by the Government machinery and breach of human rights.
‘The Price of Steel’, a report produced by the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) at NYU School of law and the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) based on a year-long investigation, called for a suspension of the Posco project and a halt to abuses before they become even more catastrophic in scale.
The Government of India must end human rights abuses tied to its project with South Korean steel giant Posco and must immediately cease illegal seizures of land which threaten to forcibly displace as many as 22,000 people in Odisha, said rights groups, IHRC and ESCR-Net, in their report, which was released recently. These groups also shot off a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to immediately suspend the project over human rights abuse.
The rights groups expressed concern over India’s attempts to forcibly evict traditional communities, which stand in violation of international and domestic law.
The rights groups urged the Indian Government to suspend the project until and unless it complies with international human rights standards and domestic law; cease all attempts at forced evictions and land acquisition; end the excessive use of force and of arbitrary arrests and detentions; and ensure project-affected communities’ unencumbered access to health care, education, work, and adequate food.
They also urged the Republic of Korea to take all necessary steps to ensure that Posco respects human rights throughout the course of its activities, including by establishing a legislative framework to regulate the overseas activities of the Korean companies. They also urged Posco to fully implement its commitment to uphold human rights; comply with all relevant domestic laws; and provide for or cooperate in the remediation of any adverse impacts to date. Posco’s international investors—including ABP, Blackrock, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, NBIM, and Bank of NY Mellon were also asked to persuade
Posco to respect the rights of all communities.