DNB will probably reconsider loans for oil pipeline

Bigfoot RidersHorse riders from the Bigfoot Riders, Dakota 38 Riders, Spirit Riders and the Bigfoot Youth Riders arrive at the Oceti Sakowin camp during a protest of the Dakota Access pipeline on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation near Cannon Ball, North Dakota November 5, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

DNB will reconsider its contribution to the financing of the construction of a controversial oil pipeline in North Dakota in the United States if the project does not safeguard indigenous rights.
The bank wrote in a press release that they will only fund projects that meet DNB’s requirements for environmental and social issues, according to E24.

– We have intensified our dialogue with customers and stressed that respect for indigenous rights is a basic prerequisite for the bank, the Bank wrote on the message.

DNB has, according to NRK, granted a loan of 2.8 billion to the project.

Amnesty International USA stated that it had sent observers to the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota to monitor the authorities’ reactions to the indigenous population.

Since April, several thousand activists and indigenous peoples demonstrated against the development. US authorities have arrested and deported several activists from the area, according to Canadian CBC News.

The oil pipeline is planned to be built under the Missouri River near the border area between North and South Dakota.

The river is a source of fresh water for the residents of the Sioux reserve, including fears that any leaks will ruin their water, according to NRK.

Earlier this week, SV begged both DNB and the oil fund to withdraw from the project.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today