A coalition of Latin American NGOs has raised concerns over violations of environmental and social standards by Chinese investors in the region, in a report submitted as part of a UN review into the rights record of Chinese overseas activities.

Presented to the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in February by more than 50 civil society organisations, the report analysed 14 projects led by Chinese companies or with Chinese bank financing, carried out in nine Latin American countries in the infrastructure, energy and extractive sectors. It argued that Chinese investors have not made sufficient efforts to avoid negative environmental impacts in the region.

[...T]he organisations called for greater commitments to environmental and social standards in projects developed in Latin America.

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China’s human rights obligations for its overseas investments have been the subject of several reviews by UN bodies since 2016. These include the Universal Periodic Review – the Human Rights Council process under which China acknowledged Latin American NGO claims in 2019 – and that of the CESCR, charged with assessing whether states are guaranteeing economic, social and cultural rights.

Civil society organisations were invited by CESCR to submit their observations on Chinese companies in Latin America. These were then incorporated into a final report with recommendations to China, released on 3 March, to which the Chinese government has issued an initial response.

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In the CESCR’s report on the review process, which covered China’s overall performance on a range of rights issues, it specifically called on the Chinese state to ensure its companies and banks operating abroad – whether in Latin America or elsewhere – are “held accountable for economic, social and cultural rights violations”, with special attention given to the effects on Indigenous communities.

The CESCR also called on the Chinese government to ensure that victims of abuses have access to effective complaint mechanisms and adequate redress. In addition, it urged the government to take steps to “ensure the legal liability of business entities and their subsidiaries” for rights violations in their activities abroad.

[...T]he Chinese government issued a response in which it said it would study its observations through a working group. “The Chinese government attaches great importance to fulfilling its obligations under international human rights instruments,” the document reads. “China will continue to engage in constructive dialogue and cooperation with all parties.”

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Despite progress on [the latest guidelines], the main challenge remains their implementation by financial institutions and companies, as well as supervision by the government, according to the Latin American organisations behind the recent report. To this end, they call for more dialogue with Chinese actors.

“Chinese embassies could be established as a formal channel of contact and communication to which communities and civil society organisations can turn to provide early warning of environmental and social problems” [...]