Dear Editor,

Being the largest infrastructural project in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Chad/Cameroon Oil and Pipeline Project has received fairly little attention in the press. Your story in the September issue is a noted exception.

As was elaborated in the article, the people of Chad have received little benefit from the pipeline or its revenues. For this to change, accountability of all investors – the World Bank, the oil companies and the Chadian government- is imperative.

The article would have been strengthened by discussing how Chad’s civil society could act as a monitor to ensure that all parties involved are fulfilling their obligations, but this is not possible with the inadequate resources available to them now.

The Robert F. Kennedy 2004 Human Rights Award laureate, Delphine Djiraibe, has voiced the Chadian people’s concerns about the pipeline project since its inception and is now attempting to garner support for those organizations in Chad that are trying to ensure the oil revenues actually improve the lives of the Chadian people. As was expressed in the article, Chad may eventually be a "model of fairness," but this will not be accomplished without awareness of and able support for the work of civil society organizations in Chad.

Please visit www.rfkmemorial.org for more information on Delphine and her work.

Sincerely,

Sarah Pray
Program Officer
Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights