Requiem for a Pipedream: Oil, The World Bank, and the Need for Human Rights Assessments

The revenues associated with oil and other extractive industries projects in sub-Saharan Africa'particularly as they are contrasted with the living conditions of those for whom these revenues could provide the greatest benefit'raise the hope of using natural resources to achieve significant poverty alleviation. From the impoverished villages of the Niger Delta to south Sudan, however, oil wealth has rarely led to widespread poverty alleviation. More often than not, the revenues that should in theory be a great boon to development are in practice associated with disastrous human rights fallout as living standards actually decrease and governance indicators worsen, a phenomenon known as the 'resource curse.' This Article analyzes the various 'lessons learned' that have been articulated in the wake of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project's collapse, and argues that many of them miss the mark.