THIS WEB SITE

This site is intended to serve as both a case study and a research tool. In its role as a case study the site provides general information on the social, cultural and economic situation in Chad, as well as thematic discussions on the effects of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline. As a research tool the site offers links to information on the various actors involved in the pipeline project. Additionally, links to a variety of organizational reports, news publications and bibliographical references are also provided.

The human rights perspective integrated into this site is based on international human rights principles created and sustained by the United Nations and its various agencies, the regional organization: the Organization of African Unity (OAU), national governments and the various public and private actors, large and small.

In a nutshell the human rights perspective is based on the premise that states undertake legal obligations to protect the human rights of all those living within their borders. This perspective emphasizes the primacy of helping those whose rights are most seriously violated and who have the least access to redress and self-help. International human rights standards are conceived as an interrelated, complex web of universal rights, namely both civil and political and economic, social and cultural.

The site is designed to encourage a heuristic methodology in the sense that users must look at and evaluate critically a variety of sources and the views of the various actors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Overview Page

A. The Project

B. The Country

C. The Economy

D. Social Conditions Prior to the Pipeline Project

II. Case Study Page

III. Economic Development Page

A. General Definitions

B. Questions to Consider

C. The Projects Development Economics Aims

D. Alternative Perspectives

IV. Human Rights Page

A. Questions to Consider

B. Additional Background

C. Human Rights Reporting

D. Applicable International and Domestic (Human Rights) Laws and Obligations and Enforcement Institutions

E. Potential Future Human Right Violations

V. Likely Future Scenarios Page

A. Scenario I: Political Discontent with the Distribution of the Oil Revenues

B. Scenario II: The Absence of Significant Economic Betterment

VI. Actors Page

VII. Reports Page

VIII. Bibliography Page