Nuclear power plant and human rights in Bangladesh
Nuclear power plant can positively, on the one hand, change the structural social system in terms of people's everyday life, and, on the other hand, can significantly violate the human rights. For example, the government of Bangladesh have had taken steps to construct Rooppur nuclear power plant to meet the growing demand of power in terms of countries' overall development. However, the steps for constructing nuclear power plant do not necessarily consider the people's right of free access to information in general. This paper will delineate how Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has had technically been ignored in questions of nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. Discussions on nuclear power plant and human rights provide us a treasure trove of knowledge about sustainable human development.
According to Nobel peace prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus, government can help to create the kind of country we all want to live in. Truly, his statement provides us three components: our dream, governmental development activities, and appreciation. These components are closely intertwined with the descriptions concerning state approaches about people's wellbeing in Bangladesh. For instant, it was our dream to enjoy universal electrification through the use of advance energy technology. This dream is coming true into our everyday individual life through the governmental steps toward set up nuclear power plants in Bangladesh! There is not doubted to say that this step has had highly been appreciated by all of us. This new energy technology certainly and surely provides us number of opportunities to find the right doors to achieve our countries' development goals. Hence, we would argue that the investment in nuclear power plant is significant not only in terms of legal norms, but from an economic point of view. Question remains: how are countries' development and peoples' wellbeing related? How will we use our land to produce energy? How about food security? Before we answer these questions directly, let us take up related question: what about the nuclear power plant?
According natural scientists, nuclear power plant is domestic sources of energy; it produces electricity through a heat-generating process known as fission. This advance energy technology requires routine activities to produce capacity level electrification. Existing literature tells us, for example, every 30 day's (so far) to run this advance power system we must have to reduce greenhouse gases into atmosphere! The natural science experts proved that the greenhouse gases are caused several kinds of skin diseases, i.e. several negative effects on the human health and acid rain and thus reduce the fertility of soil. At the same time prominent scholars in the field of forest sciences argued that the consequences of nuclear power plant that adversely affects the acquit life of the ecosystem. In addition to these, nuclear waste products cause cancer or genetic diseases! For example, world class think tanker Lingfelder (2009) provided empirical reports about childhood cancer (e.g. Leukemia) in the vicinity of German nuclear power plants. This report clearly indicates the distance of neighborhood is concern to set up a nuclear power plant in general. Further questions remain: how to deal with the nuclear waste management issue? Government stated that Russia would take back and deal with the nuclear waste! Additionally, the site safety-tornado, cyclone and tsunami, is also concern to set up nuclear power plant in Bangladesh? That is why Dr. Zakia Begum (Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission) gave heavy weight on meteorological study while she was presenting a paper entitled 'Present status of nuclear power plant in Bangladesh'. Although government made statement that Bangladesh Atomic Commission will take all responsibilities in this regard. Honestly, both we and human rights practitioners are not totally satisfied with the statements that were made by concern authorities for nuclear power plant project in Bangladesh? For example, social scientist Dr.Peter Custers, Netherlands, stated that 'being no natural scientist myself and aware of the certain risks of oversimplification, I would nevertheless argue that the country would do well to take notice of the huge international controversy surrounding nuclear energy today'.
In the book entitled 'Development of Freedom' (1999), Nobel Prize winner, economist Amartya Sen has said that there has never been a famine in a country with a free press and open government. In the present day, unfortunately, we do not know what kind of responsibilities and safety measures have had taken by the government in particular. Do we? This leads to the violation of human rights in many areas, especially the right to enjoy about freedom of information that is incompatible with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Additionally, the violation of this right also indicates to revise democratic participation in terms of one's best interest and beliefs in the execution process of nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. Hence, we argue that by ignoring public's perception, how government would be able to ensure sustainable nuclear power plant in terms of both (1) business benefits: increased profits and the potential for long-term growth, and (2) people benefits: new sources of income and the empowerment of individuals and communities in Bangladesh.
Recapitulating, government steps to build nuclear power plant brings for us a golden time to get the test of economic development in terms of our everyday wellbeing. In the nuclear power plant implementation process, government should re-consider wellbeing in the local context. More importantly, the basic question remains unanswered: (1) what about planning security and social acceptance regarding nuclear power plant in Bangladesh, and (2) why the atomic energy commission does not fully consider the approach of ecosystem in the process of utilizing the advance energy technology to ensure universal electrification in Bangladesh? To address these two questions, more importantly, first, government need to know, for most of the Bangladeshi people, wellbeing is about peace of mind, good health, food, safety, freedom of choice and action…and so on (see Kandachar and Halme 2008). If they do not take these into the account with their universal electrification programme then we must have to accept death of numerous people of Bangladesh? In this paper our main concern wellbeing in terms of human fundamental right to access information about nuclear power plant activities in general. More specifically, this paper highlights most fundamental issues: safety and security in the regular process of nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. Conversation from many Bangladeshi people around the world, I am not only the person who feels like this ways. This paper summarizes by emphasizing on further consideration about ecology of nuclear power that is not only important but also necessary to ensure sustainable human development in Bangladesh.
The writer is Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Energy Technology, Aalto University.
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