Joint Civil Society Statement Ahead of IFC Remedy and Responsible Exit Framework Decision
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2024–Tomorrow, the Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE) of the World Bank Board of Executive Directors will discuss the IFC’s draft Remedy and Responsible Exit Framework, which is intended to outline how the institution will deliver remedy to communities harmed by projects it finances. This would be the first policy to focus specifically on […]
Ombudsman to investigate World Bank Group ties to toxic Indonesia coal project
(Banten Province, Indonesia – July 11, 2024) The International Finance Corporation’s internal watchdog, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), announced that it is launching an investigation into the institution’s investments in a commercial bank that is financing construction of two new coal-fired power plants at Indonesia’s Suralaya Power Station. The investigation comes in response to a […]
Policy gaps allow World Bank Group to indirectly finance captive coal
Laborers in the nickel industry in Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (PT. IMIP), by Esa Setiawan/ Trend Asia. A new analysis, published today by Recourse, Trend Asia and Inclusive Development International, demonstrates that publicly-funded Multilateral Development Banks are at risk of funding a wave of ‘captive’ coal expansion in climate-vulnerable countries, despite commitments to shift funds […]
Vietnamese rubber developer and Cambodian Indigenous communities reach understanding to settle protracted land dispute
(Banlung, June 15, 2024) – Twelve Indigenous villages in Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vietnamese agribusiness giant HAGL Agrico, following a breakthrough in a decade-long mediation process aimed at resolving a protracted land dispute. The communities have been embroiled in a conflict with HAGL Agrico since 2010, when the Cambodian […]
Statement of International Civil Society Organizations in response to the abduction of Stephen Kwikiriza, community environmental defender in Uganda
This is a joint statement by over 115 international civil society organizations to call upon the Ugandan authorities to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of Stephen Kwikiriza, who has been held incommunicado since his abduction by plain clothed officers in Kampala on June 4th 2024. On June 4th 2024, Stephen Kwikiriza, a member of […]
Joint Statement on World Bank Probe into Alleged Bridge Academies Child Sexual Abuse Cover-up
On May 16, 2024 the World Bank announced that it is hiring an outside firm to “explore the circumstances surrounding the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman’s (CAO) investigation of IFC’s investment in Bridge International Academies.” We commend the World Bank’s Board for taking the lead on this issue. Together with U.S. lawmakers and other stakeholders, civil society […]
The Asian Development Bank is backing new coal, despite climate pledges
A range of new coal power projects, including the 2,000-megawatt expansion of Southeast Asia’s largest and dirtiest coal plant, are getting backing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), according to a new report from the environmental and human rights groups Inclusive Development International, Recourse, Trend Asia and the NGO Forum on ADB. Inclusive Development International […]
Open letter to President Ajay Banga of the World Bank Group calling for extreme caution and due diligence for transition mineral mining
Ahead of the World Bank Spring meetings in Washington DC, a coalition of 40 civil society organizations, some of whom are in mineral-rich countries and work with mining affected communities, has written to Ajay Banga calling on the World Bank Group (WBG) to take extreme caution as it looks to extend its investments in transition […]
External Investigation Into Alleged IFC Cover-Up Must Be Robust and Transparent
On March 13, 2024, World Bank Group (WBG) President Ajay Banga announced an external investigation of allegations of interference in the IFC Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) process as relates to IFC’s investments in Bridge International Academies. We welcome President Banga’s announcement. It represents a positive, albeit belated, response to a call made by 35 international […]
Civic Groups Sound Alarm Over Tanzania’s Crackdown on EACOP Dissenters
On March 11th, 2024, nine project-affected people (PAPs) from Golimba and Diloda villages in Hanang District, Tanzania, were split up and interrogated by police for several hours. This included being asked why they are resisting and/or are opposed to the EACOP project, who is supporting them, and whether they know and/or are working with specific […]