The Council on Ethics recommends that Centráis Elétricas Brasileiras SA (Eletrobras) be excluded from investment by the Government Pension Fund Global due to an unacceptable risk that the company is contributing to serious or systematic human rights violations.
Eletrobras is a Brazilian energy company engaged in a number of hydroelectric power projects. The assessment is to a large extent based on Eletrobras’s role in the construction of the Belo Monte power plant. Many indigenous territories are severely affected by the project. The project has led to increased pressure on indigenous lands, the disintegration of indigenous peoples’ social structures and the deterioration of their livelihoods. The project has also resulted in the displacement of at least 20,000 individuals, including people with a traditional way of life who used to have their homes on islands and riverbanks that are now submerged.
The Council on Ethics also gives weight to the fact that Eletrobras has recently been involved in other hydroelectric projects which have been criticised for human rights violations, and that it intends to participate in new hydroelectric projects.
The Council on Ethics submitted its recommendation 27 May 2019. Norges Bank published its decision to exclude the company on 12 May 2020.