Human Rights at Risk in Kaiduan Dam Project

The communities are concerned that human rights are at risk in the preparation and implementation of the Kaiduan dam or any dam in Sabah for that matter. In particular, the lack of full, accurate, accessible and impartial information, the lack of opportunities for genuine participation in developing plans for the dam and for mitigating the social impact of the dam; and the risk that impending displacements may amount to mass forced evictions. All this raises numerous concerns which the government should address without delay. Based on the Babagon dam experience indigenous women were one of the group most negatively impacted by the dam due to exclusion from the decision making process. Participation of women in the decision making is therefore crucial. No work or acquisition or gazetting of ancestral land should be carried out in relation to the dam and related supporting infrastructure until the above concerns are addressed. It is the communities' sincere hope that the government address the many possible human rights concern associated with the project. These manifestly include the need to improve the processes of consultation on development projects, take steps including through legislation to ensure effective safeguard against forced evictions and adopt effective protection measures against other human rights abuses in this and similar projects.

The communities' concerns are that the government respect, protect and fulfill human rights, including during the realisation of major development projects.