Other ECAs in action
As of today, only a few ECAs consider the human rights impacts of the projects they support 1 . Most export credit agencies such as COFACe in France 2 , Credendo in Belgium and euler Hermes Kreditversicherungs-AG in Germany, still do not have complaint mechanisms in place. Furthermore, the existing mechanisms have no legally binding powers. Victims can only hope that the recommendations in their favour are seriously taken into consideration by the agencies. Since the mechanisms are based on dialogue, they cannot offer any compensation or reparation to the victims. Yet export credit agencies can be used as a powerful tool to exercisepublic pressure. The withdrawal of the export credit agencies from the Ilisu Dam project demonstrates the positive impact that civil society may have.
The ECAs are facing increasing pressure from the international community. NGOs argue that by failing to protect human rights in the operations of ECAs, States fail to respect their duty to protect human rights. 3