International hands off! why international financial institutions must stop drilling, piping and mining Yanacocha gold mine in Peru

The document examines the role of International Financial Institutions (IFIs), including multilateral development banks and export credit agencies, in financing large-scale extractive projects. It argues that these investments frequently lead to environmental disasters, human rights abuses, and the marginalization of indigenous peoples while failing to alleviate poverty. Through case studies in Peru, Colombia, the Philippines, Laos, Romania, Chad, Cameroon, Papua New Guinea, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Lithuania, the report illustrates the 'resource curse' and the failure of the export-led development model. It concludes by recommending a gradual phase-out of IFI lending for extractive industries and a shift toward renewable energy and community-led sustainable initiatives.

• International Financial Institutions (IFIs) use taxpayer money to support the exploitation of oil, gas, and mineral resources, often pressuring poor countries to open up to foreign investment through structural adjustment measures that prioritize privatization and deregulation.
• The report identifies a 'resource curse' where countries with abundant natural resources often perform worse economically than those without, experiencing slower growth and higher vulnerability to price fluctuations.
• Extractive projects frequently cause severe environmental degradation, including toxic spills and water contamination. Examples include the 151kg liquid mercury spill at the Yanacocha mine in Peru and the 1993 Marcopper copper mine dam burst on Marinduque Island in the Philippines.
• Mining and oil operations often lead to grave human rights violations and militarization. In Colombia, 90% of human rights violations are reported to take place in mining and petroleum districts.
• Indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to these projects, which disrupt their cultures and can introduce deadly diseases. The Camisea gas project in Peru is cited as having wiped out 42% of the Nahua population through the introduction of diseases like the flu.
• The report argues that IFI funding for fossil fuels is contradictory to international climate agreements like the Kyoto Protocol. For instance, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is estimated to contribute 185 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
• The claim that extractive industries create significant employment is challenged; the report states these operations are highly capital intensive and mechanized, often providing only short-term, low-paying jobs during construction.
• IFIs are urged to establish 'no-go areas' in protected zones, indigenous territories, and conflict regions, and to ban dangerous technologies such as cyanide heap leaching and the dumping of mine tailings into oceans.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2003). International hands off! why international financial institutions must stop drilling, piping and mining Yanacocha gold mine in Peru. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/handsoff.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. International hands off! why international financial institutions must stop drilling, piping and mining Yanacocha gold mine in Peru. 2003. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/handsoff.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=International hands off! why international financial institutions must stop drilling, piping and mining Yanacocha gold mine in Peru |date=December 2003 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/handsoff.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2003international, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{International hands off! why international financial institutions must stop drilling, piping and mining Yanacocha gold mine in Peru}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2003}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/handsoff.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }