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Court finds fault with IFC-backed paper mill

17 June 2010

Controversy over the Botnia paper mill (see Update 51), which was part financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector arm, continues as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Uruguay breached regional treaty obligations by failing to properly inform neighbouring Argentina when authorising construction. Argentine NGO Centre for Human Rights and the Environment said that “the verdict comes much too late as the mill, largely thanks to the IFC, began operations in 2007.” Despite widely reported negative environmental impacts, the ICJ did not order the relocation of the mill, or call for restitution to affected communities.