Human Rights our Collective Responsibility potential for the Gibe III dam and the Kuraz to fundamentally change the traditional way of life of the Omo people, the Complainants contended that the indigenous peoples of the Lower Omo were entitled to effectively participate in the consultation processes. That the latter did not participate in the decisions to proceed with Gibe III and Kuraz because they: (a) were not involved in each decision on the two projects before the legal obligation to proceed with the dam was concluded; (b) did not participate in sufficient numbers to ensure that they were representative of their communities as a whole; (c) knew little or nothing about the project and so did not have sufficient knowledge of the likely impact of the two projects on their communities to enable them-to come to an informed view whether to support them; thought they could choose not to support the Projects without suffering any adverse consequences, and (e) had done so according to their customs and traditions and in form appropriate to the circumstances. a 192. The Complainants submitted that only about 93 members of the community, representing 0.1% of the community and excluding the Hamar, Bodi and Kwegu, were consulted on the Gibe III dam project over the course of six meetings held between May and December 2007; and that even the Respondent State's own Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan shows that people downstream of the dam were not consulted until at least 10 months after contracts had been exchanged. The Complainants submitted that, by that time, work had already commenced on the dam. 193. The Complainants further submitted that, with respect to the Kuraz project, the peoples' first knowledge of the project came about from the speech by then Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, delivered in Jinka in January 2011.To the Complainants, the speech made it clear that the decision to convert the peoples' lands to sugar cane farms and to proceed with the development that year had already been made.w 194. Conversely, the Respondent State submitted that Ethiopia is one of the only states in the world with constitutional guarantees of the right to self-determination including secession, and one that has cherished the values of independence and self-determination throughout its history. In disputing that the Omo peoples were not adequately consulted before the decision to proceed with the Gibe III dam and the Kuraz, the Respondent State submitted that both projects were vital to the economic growth and prosperity of Ethiopia. The Respondent State