Export Credits, Sovereign Debt, and Human Rights

Abstract

Export credit agencies (ECAs) have gained dominance in the financing of foreign corporate investments in developing and emerging economies, particularly large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects. However, reports have documented numerous allegations of severe adverse human rights impacts associated with ECA-funded projects, including violations of the rights of indigenous peoples, forced displacement, environmental damage, and state repression. This chapter begins with an overview of the different types of ECAs, including multilateral and regional ECAs, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) country-based ECAs, and emerging market ECAs. Next, the chapter considers the ways in which ECA-supported activities may violate human rights and the approaches taken by different ECAs, including OECD ECAs, to prevent and remedy such human rights harms. The chapter then turns to the problem of how ECAs financing can contribute to sovereign debt, and consider the application of the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Foreign Debt to ECAs. A focus on transparency and accountability of ECAs is the subject of the final section.