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Take Action to help Eva Galabru
The United States needs to change its policy regarding the trade of timber. We must adopt a more balanced policy that
outlaws the importation of illegal timber and protects individuals living in exporting countries.
Below are sample letters and addresses for
individuals who are key players in affecting change regarding illegal timber practices in Cambodia. We encourage you to
personalize these communications, and help increase the awareness of this effort.
Write to the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen
Dear Prime Minister Hun Sen:
I am writing to express my concern that human rights abuses
and government corruption related to illegal logging continue
to plague Cambodia.
Mr. Prime Minister I urge you to:
- Cease the persecution — and guarantee protection for the
safety and human rights — of Cambodian NGOs and other
members of civil society who seek to monitor, report on and
prevent forest-related crime and corruption;
- Demonstrate significant tangible progress towards ending
illegal logging that is verifiable, by unbiased independent
monitors;
- Initiate a fully transparent and participatory process with
Cambodian NGOs,members of Parliament and local communities
to reform Cambodia’s laws to promote sustainable management
of Cambodia’s forests, and a fair allocation of forestry
revenues for the benefit of the Cambodian people; and
- Re-establish an ongoing program of independent forest-crimes
monitoring to replace the contract initiated in May 2003.
Write to the President of the World Bank,
Paul Wolfowitz:
Dear Mr. Wolfowitz:
I am writing to express my frustration with the failure of the
World Bank’s Forest Concession Management and Control
Project. The project’s limited conditions have not been
enforced and continue to lend a veneer of credibility to a failing
industrial concession model of tropical forestry.
Implementation of the Forest Concession Management and
Control Project has been neither transparent nor participatory.
It has not involved local communities,NGOs or Parliament
in any meaningful way. The project has not reduced illegal
logging or tangibly reformed Cambodian forestry practices.
I am stunned and dismayed that the World Bank’s forest concession
management program would recommend approving plans prepared by companies with proven involvement
in illegal logging. Due to these significant failings, I urge the
World Bank to either:
- terminate this project,
- thoroughly reassess forest-related activities, or
- radically revise its project contract so that further disbursements
occur only after specific benchmarks have been fully
and verifiably achieved.
Should the World Bank choose to revise this contract, it must:
- Insist that the Cambodian government ceases to persecute
and guarantees to protect the safety and human rights of
Cambodian NGOs and others seeking to promote the sustainable
management of Cambodia’s forests.
- Create a new, fully transparent and meaningful consultative
process involving NGOs, local communities and members of
Parliament to advise the Bank on the revision and management
of the project.
- Insist that the Cambodian government cancel its arrangement
with the project contractor it installed in May 2003,and
re-establish a truly independent forest monitor — empowered
to safely and effectively monitor and report on all
aspects of illegal logging and forest corruption, concession
management and other forest-related decision-making.
Addresses
Prime Minister Hun Sen
c/o Royal Embassy of Cambodia
4530 16th Street, NW
Washington,DC 20011
FAX: (202) 726-8381
Cambodia@embassy.org
Mr. Paul Wolfowitz, President
The World Bank
1818 H St. NW
Washington DC 20433
FAX: (202) 522-3031, (202) 522-7700
feedback@worldbank.org
For additional information on timber in
Cambodia:
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