[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17587]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               IMPACT OF THE BAKU-TIBLISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boozman). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor today to express 
my concern over the Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which is designed to 
transport oil from the Caspian Sea. This pipeline has been in the 
planning stages for years, but this year ground was actually broken for 
the pipeline in Azerbaijan. The proponents of this pipeline have touted 
its numerous benefits in recent years, but last month an Amnesty 
International report identified major problems that I would like to 
address this evening.
  Amnesty International's report, Human Rights on the Line, is a 
thorough and convincing look at how large oil companies put the 
business of oil over the lives of those that stand in the way of its 
delivery. The executive director of Amnesty International, Dr. William 
Shultz, recently blasted the consortium, led by British Petroleum, that 
is financing the pipeline.
  He said, ``While BP claims to be socially responsible as the leader 
of the BCT consortium, it has essentially encouraged the Turkish 
Government to sign away its ability to fully uphold human rights.''
  Mr. Speaker, in contractual agreements between companies and 
governments, human rights should not be negotiable.
  In their report, Amnesty International cited five main areas of 
concern with the pipeline project. They argue that the contract signed 
between British Petroleum and the Turkish Government, known as the Host 
Government Agreement, places the business agreement above human rights, 
and this agreement will violate the principles of human rights in five 
ways.
  First, a land grab by the Governments of Turkey, Georgia and 
Azerbaijan along the route of the pipeline. Over 30,000 people who live 
in villages and farmland along the path will be permanently displaced 
without their having any input into the decision or receiving any 
compensation.
  Second, little to no enforcement of health and safety legislation in 
each of the three host countries for the workers and locals that work 
on and live near the pipeline.
  Third, the serious risk to the human rights of any individuals that 
protest the pipeline's construction. If the local residents protest the 
construction, they are likely to be brutally suppressed.
  Fourth, Mr. Speaker, all the water resources in the vicinity of the 
pipeline will be used for its construction. Local residents and their 
farms and livestock will face a severe water shortage as a result, and 
their water supply is also likely to be seriously polluted from the 
construction.
  Fifth, the agreement that Turkey and British Petroleum signed 
actually creates an economic disincentive to uphold human rights. The 
text of the agreement states that Turkey has to pay compensation to 
British Petroleum for not meeting construction deadlines. The Turkish 
Government would almost be forced to ignore the basic concerns of its 
population in order to meet deadlines set by the oil companies.
  Mr. Speaker, I plan to bring the Amnesty International report on the 
Baku-Ceyhan pipeline to the attention of our Congress and our Caucus on 
Armenian Issues. We will ask the authors of the report to present their 
findings to the Armenian Caucus in the coming weeks.
  This practice of sacrificing the things we hold dear for 10 to 20 
years of oil cannot continue. How much of the environment are we 
willing to destroy? How many of our basic human rights will we continue 
to hand over to the oil companies?
  Mr. Speaker, lastly, the U.S. Government, in my opinion, should 
certainly not provide any economic incentive for this pipeline until a 
thorough review of the human rights and ecological problems is 
completed.

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