29 September 2009
Egyptian NGO, Land Center for Human Rights, has filed an appeal on behalf of farmers in the Egyptian Delta, citing that the joint World Bank and Egyptian government 'West Delta project' violates the Egyptian constitution that should protect the rights of farmers, and not just the interests of wealthy investors.
Press Release summary
Land Center for Human Rights
Cairo, 9/15/2009
The Land Center for Human Rights has filed an appeal in the Egyptian courts, on behalf of a number of peasants, against the Egyptian Prime Minister, the Minister of Irrigation and the President of the Board of Directors of the World Bank, to commit them to changing the course of irrigation water for the West Delta project, from the currently designated Nile, to the Al-rhaoy bank, as well as desalinating the water to make it suitable for agricultural purposes.
Should the West Delta project continue as planned, water will be diverted from the Nile to the wealthy, high-investment farms leaving small farmers in the Delta area with less access to water. Even though this violates the Egyptian constitution, according to the NGO who filed the appeal, nor is it in the greater public's interest, the Egyptian government has signed an agreement with the World Bank to move forward with the implemention of this project.
Read the full version of this press release in Arabic by clicking on the عربية tab in the upper right hand corner of this page.
further resources
BIC's West Delta problem project page