Since Davos 2017 at the latest, we have witnessed a changing world order in which China, as a counterpart to the United States, is defending the system of "free trade" and wants to establish its own international rule regimes (keyword: new trade arbitration tribunals, new human rights narratives etc.). However, the changing world order is also characterized by increasing restrictions on democratic leeway (keyword shrinking spaces), a strengthening of authoritarian regimes, threats to religious freedom, as well as ecological destruction, poverty and human rights violations. Annual Chinese investments overseas are estimated at $ 140 billion. This is in sharp contrast with the lack of accountability of the economic actors involved for the human rights of the communities affected by their operations.
This is where the critical voices of civil society are needed to preserve hard-won standards anchored in international institutions.
For this purpose, the China Infrastructure Monitoring Network (ChIM) is to be established. With the kind support of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and in cooperation with the NGO Forum on ADB, an umbrella organization of regionally organized civil society groups, as well as the Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt (BWGED), the Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action (CLEAN) and numerous individual supporters, civil society actors regularly meet here to exchange experiences. The experts, who have been working for many years to ensure compliance with safeguards to mitigate social and environmental damage caused by large-scale infrastructure projects, organize
- Mapping of all case studies/hotspot analyses collected so far from Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Mongolia and others.
- Create a database accessible to the network on case studies of energy/transportation infrastructure projects.
- Long-term network for the empowerment of local groups
- Joint development of advocacy strategies to protect livelihoods, climate and biodiversity.
