The Third International Meeting of Dam-Affected People and Their Allies was held from October 1-7, 2010 in Temacapulín, Mexico, bringing together representatives from hundreds of organizations, dam-affected people, and experts from across the world. KHRP has worked over the past year with organisers International Rivers as part of its international Steering Committee to develop the meeting agenda. The five-day meeting included forums for dam affected people to share experiences, plenary sessions; and training workshops on a range of issues. KHRP contributed to the workshop on ‘Rights and Remedies’ with a presentation that dealt with legal strategies to confront development projects, using lessons learned in litigation against the Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline, a 1,768 km (1,099 mi) long crude oil pipeline stretching from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field to the Mediterranean Sea. The presentation explained how organisations and movements can use international mechanisms to combat development project which are detrimental to the local population and environment, and highlighted the importance of early action and careful documentation and evidence gathering.

Previous rivers for life meetings have been very influential and have provided the anti-dam movement with an opportunity to meet and discuss ongoing issues as well as often being a catalyst for action. The 1997 meeting in Brazil ultimately led to the creation of the World Commission on Dams and the adoption of the annual International Day of Action against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life.

KHRP Chief Executive, Kerim Yildiz, said “KHRP is proud to have contributed to this important meeting, which has built connections between dam-movements world-wide and allowed them to share experiences and tactics to protect rivers and human rights. These links are vital for groups lend each other much support when coming up against government and big-business.”