§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD), in considering whether to grant cover for contracts forming part of the Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan pipeline project, investigated whether the project complied with local law as defined by the host government agreements for the project; whether the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines on multinational enterprises formed part of the legal regime for the project; and whether the guidelines fell within the main criteria applied by the ECGD in making its assessment of the project. [HL541]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)ECGD carried out a full and thorough due diligence on all local law aspects in respect of the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines on multinational enterprises did not form part of the local legal regime for the project. However, BTC Co is contractually committed to complying with the guidelines.
The OECD guidelines on multinational enterprises were not amongst the main criteria applied by ECGD in making its assessment of the BTC project. However ECGD reached its decision to provide cover only after a very thorough appraisal of all aspects of the project, including the environmental, social and human rights impacts.