Activist Medha Patkar speaking on resistance to the Sardar Sarovar dam during the 2014 World Bank Annual Meetings. On Tuesday, June 7th, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress held a hearing on the advancement of human rights in India. In his opening remarks, Congressman James P. McGovern, Human Rights Commission Co-Chairman, …
Lagos, Nigeria / Phase 3 Safeguards Review Submission On February 22-24th 2016, the World Bank held a consultation on its safeguard policies with representatives of the US government and civil society. The discussion covered important issues in the ongoing review of the Bank’s environmental and social safeguards, including concerns surrounding labor, biodiversity, climate change, vulnerable …
On February 22nd, a three-day consultation on the World Bank’s social and environmental safeguards policies began in Washington, DC. Safeguards policy consultations provide a space for civil society and government officials to discuss the proposed safeguards draft with World Bank representatives. The consultation in DC is one of over thirty such meetings taking place in …
On September 30th, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing at the United States Congress on international financial institutions (IFIs) and human rights, chaired by Congressman Jim McGovern. Witnesses included BIC’s Nezir Sinani from Kosovo, Milton Sanchez from Peru, and Obang Metho from Ethiopia, who testified on the human rights impacts of World …
On Thursday, July 16th, 2015, the U.S. Treasury Department posted to its website the U.S. government’s position at a recent World Bank Board discussion on the revised Environmental and Social Framework (ESF). The statement highlights four cross-cutting issues that the U.S. finds particularly problematic in the newest draft of the Bank’s safeguards policies, which has not yet been released to the public.
Fishing communities and farmers from India filed suit against the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in federal court in Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs allege that the IFC caused the loss of their livelihoods, destroyed their lands and water, and created threats to their health by funding the Tata Mundra coal-fired power plant in Gujarat, India.
The recently passed omnibus spending package clearly supports the broad poverty alleviation goals of the international financial institutions (IFIs)—fully funding most of them despite making difficult cuts elsewhere in the budget—but makes clear that their work must be subjected to effective safeguards against harms to people and the environment. This message should be heard loud …
Chixoy Struggle for Reparations. Photo by International Rivers (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). The Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam, a project financed by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the 1970s and ‘80s in Guatemala, led to the forcible displacement and deaths of thousands of people across the region. Despite a 2010 agreement to provide …
Congressional Briefing: Human Rights at the World Bank On December 19, in conjunction with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. House of Representatives, BIC was pleased to co-host a Congressional briefing on human rights and the World Bank with Human Rights Watch and the Center for International Environmental Law. The purpose of the …
In abstaining, the U.S. representative cited concerns over the potential environmental consequences and an inadequate impact study of the mine plan.