Amnesty Internationl Against BTC Agreement

(Tbilisi, May 21, 2003. Civil Georgia) – Amnesty International calls on the UK government to reject requests from the British Petroleum to provide export credit guarantees for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline project.  

According to The Guardian Amnesty International claims BP-led and US-backed BTC project endangers human rights and says Britain’s largest company encourages Turkey to disregard European conventions.

At the centre of the row is a host government agreement (HGA) negotiated between BP, the pipeline consortium leader, and the Turkish government. 

“The HGA negotiated with Turkey for the BTC project sets disturbing political and legal precedents,” said Professor Sheldon Leader, a legal adviser to Amnesty.

Amnesty International is asking the UK government to make no public funding available in the form of aid, loans or export credit guarantees unless the HGA is changed.

BTC pipeline is to carry Azerbaijani oil from Baku to Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan via Georgia.