New report: Assessing the Gender, Environmental, and Human Rights Implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

GFC’s latest briefing paper, Debt, Displacement, and Biodiversity Loss: Assessing the Gender, Environmental, and Human Rights Implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, has found that the controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an ambitious global development strategy led by China which claims to change trade and infrastructure for the better across participating countries, has significant and severe negative impacts on women, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, human rights, and the environment.

The paper, which analysed BRI projects in Kenya, Indonesia, and Argentina, found that the initiative has led to human rights violations, environmental destruction, and has been initiated without any gendered impact analyses or consultations with affected communities.

GFC calls for comprehensive impact assessments, gender-responsive policies, and inclusive decision-making processes to address these disparities, and advocates for decisions that prioritise the well-being of affected communities and the environment.