A top Senate Republican called for a State Department investigation today of the impact of the United Nations' climate change policies on poor farmers in Africa and Latin America.

Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change has endorsed the removal of indigenous farmers for tree planting projects aimed at soaking up the greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries.

In his letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Inhofe cites two reports -- one by the international poverty group Oxfam and another commissioned by the European Parliament -- that he said showed U.N. policy had contributed directly or indirectly to evictions of farmers in Uganda and Honduras.

Inhofe, one of the leading critics of government efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, released the letter two weeks before the next round of U.N. climate talks is set to begin in Durban, South Africa.

The Oxfam report, "Land and Power," focuses on transfer of land rights, not climate policy. It found that more than 20,000 Ugandan farmers claimed they were forced off their land by the U.K.-based New Forests Co.'s (NFC) plantations. The company said the farmers left voluntarily and that it has no power to evict them.

David Waskow, international climate change policy director at Oxfam, took issue with Inhofe's characterization of the report. NFC's actions were in no way sanctioned by the international community, he said. The company has applied for carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism but has not been awarded any, he said.

"If Senator Inhofe were truly concerned about the issues facing poor farmers, he would be standing up strongly for action to address climate change," Waskow said. He noted that poor farmers are uniquely affected by global warming's impacts on water supply and on the health of their crops.

Inhofe urged Clinton to investigate NFC's efforts, as well as China's push to gain credit for its population control policies, which he said led to forced abortions and female infanticide.

Inhofe noted that there is little prospect that the Senate will ratify any international climate change treaty in the near future, "particularly one that directly or indirectly sanctions human rights violations."

He added that he would call for the United States to withdraw from the U.N. climate convention if these issues are not addressed.

Inhofe spokesman Matt Dempsey said that while his boss had never exactly supported U.S. involvement in the UNFCCC, his call to withdraw from the convention would represent a change in his position.

Click here to read Inhofe's letter.