Chapter 1 – Report of the Policy, Law and Complaints Group (ii) That the communities’ right to information regarding the DSHP project and its likely consequences was not respected. As a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), the Commission’s power and mandate are limited within the boundaries of Malaysia. Therefore, the Commission is restricted from conducting an on-site visit to verify the allegations. However, the Commission met with MFCB on 5 February to obtain further information with regard to the said project and verify the allegations made against it. During the meeting, the Commission was told the following: (i) MFCB was appointed as the owner and the project manager of the concession for 25 years. Upon expiry of the term, MFBC will hand over the dam to the Government of Laos at no cost. As part of the agreement package, MFCB will build access roads, bridges to the mainland, schools, supermarkets and other facilities for the communities to improve their living conditions. In addition, MFCB had also made a pledge to contribute USD1 million annually (throughout the period of the concession) in the form of a trust fund as part of their CSR initiative to enhance the livelihood (in terms of education, economic development, and welfare) of the affected communities. (ii) Before the project started, MFCB had conducted briefing and consultation sessions at the district and provisional levels involving heads of villages and communities. MFCB claimed that most villagers were in favour of the project, which is expected to improve their livelihood and increase their income. Based on the consultation carried out by MFCB, DSHP will affect 15 families whose relocation will be done by MFCB. In addition, MFCB will compensate those families and payment will be made through the Laotian Government. The relocation and compensation packages had been mutually agreed upon and properly documented. (iii) On consultation with the neighbouring affected countries, MFCB informed the Commission that the Laotian Government had officially notified the Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRC) regarding the proposed building of DSHP on 30 September 2013. The proposal was further deliberated by members of the MRC, including ministerial representatives from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, in January 2014. Following the ministerial meeting, the Laotian Government submitted, on 30 June 2014, an official notice to the MRC to initiate regional consultations with the communities living along Mekong River. The six-month period of consultations, beginning 25 July 2014, involved a series of national consultations in Vietnam and Cambodia and concluded with a regional consultation on 12 December 2014 in Laos to which all stakeholders were invited. 95 BOOK-ANR2016-01-latest.indb 95 08/04/2016 3:32 PM