Forty international and Honduran CSOs have signed a statement condemning the response of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to the highly critical findings of the Compliance Adviser/Ombudsman (CAO) regarding the IFC’s investment in Corporación Dinant in Honduras, which has been associated with extensive human rights abuses, including the killing, kidnapping and forced eviction of farmers. …
On December 24, 2013 the World Bank Inspection Panel published its eligibility report for the RESP-II agriculture project in Uzbekistan. The Panel stated that there were potentially valid concerns raised by the requesters about the link between the World Bank project and harm caused by widespread and systematic forced child and adult labor. The Panel …
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 …
On December 17, the board of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a new set of environmental and social safeguard policies to update and replace its decade-old policies and procedures. While civil society and indigenous groups have highlighted the glaring deficiencies in protections for Indigenous Peoples within the new safeguards framework, the new Integrated Safeguards System …
An article published this week in The Hindu as well as one published November 7 in The Times of India featured BIC researcher Simpreet Singh and his recent study on the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). While the Bank touts achievements of the MUTP project—including reducing congestion on city streets and improving travel time for …
On December 2-6 2013, the Facility Management Team (FMT) of the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) held a workshop in Bogota, Colombia to facilitate capacity building and exchange of experiences among South American FCPF country participants. The workshop, entitled “Social Inclusion in the Processes of Preparation of National REDD+ Strategies,” was intended to …
On December 4-6, 2013, the Center for International Resources for Civil Organizations (CERI, El Centro de Recursos Internacionales para Organizaciones Civiles), held its third international congress in Pachuca, Mexico. The congress, entitled “Resources from North America for Social Causes in Mexico,” sought to provide Mexican civil society attendees with information regarding the available financial, human, …
Press Statement December 6, 2013 ‘Stand by the truth and lead from the front’: Religious leaders tell World Bank President Calling World Bank President Jim Kim’s inaction on a scathing report on Tata Mundra power project a “disappointment”, religious leaders wrote to him an open letter (full text appended), urging him to take “bold …
This new issue shines the spotlight on the World Bank Group’s new Corporate Strategy and what it will mean for how the Bank sets plans in borrowing countries. It also spotlights BIC-MENA and partner CSO engagements with the World Bank during the 2013 Annual Meetings. The issue also provides brief summary and analysis of two …
Community Controlled Impact Assessment and Impact and Benefit Agreements: Relevance for upward harmonization of World Bank Group Safeguard Policies Dr. Ciaran O’Faircheallaigh, Professor of Politics and Public Policy in the School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University, Australia met with the World Bank during the week of November 18 to advocate for the inclusion …