Bretton Woods Update No.44 January/February 2005Charging interest on bullets: Calls mount for debt cancellationNews|1 February 2005 
High-profile debt cases in South Asia, Argentina and Iraq are leading to increased calls worldwide for independent tribunals to determine which debts are not legally enforceable. read article... Evaluation of Bank global programmes: “poorly-defined” and excluding the poorNews|2 February 2005 The World Bank’s evaluation department has released a scathing report on the Bank’s approach to global programmes, finding the approach “poorly defined” and the voices of developing countries “inadequately represented”. read article... Bank on agricultural trade: export strategy “impoverishing”News|2 February 2005 The latest World Bank publication on agricultural trade finds that a "development strategy based on agricultural commodity exports is likely to be impoverishing in the current policy environment". read article... The role of World Bank and IMF post-tsunami in IndonesiaComment|26 January 2005 The Paris Club communiqué released on 12 January stated that creditors would wait on the assessment from the World Bank and IMF on the reconstruction and financing needs in tsunami-affected countries before they deal with the repayment of the debts that these countries owe to creditors. This of course includes Indonesia, the worst-hit country. read article... Cautious dialogue as conflict over water continuesNews|2 February 2005 The deep freeze on communications between the World Bank’s water unit and civil society groups thawed a little at a recent dialogue. A revolt against private sector participation in Bolivia shows just how far there is to go. read article... Bank review of the use of loan conditions takes shapeNews|2 February 2005 The scope of a year-long review of the conditions that the Bank attaches to its lending is becoming clearer, but differences with the Fund remain. read article... IMF and World Bank emergency responseInside the inst|26 January 2005 The role of the IMF and World Bank in responding to emergencies and coordinating with relief efforts. read article... The end of the Wolfensohn eraNews|26 January 2005 Bank president James Wolfensohn has said he will retire on 31 May after 10 years in the post. read article... World Bank tsunami responseNews|3 February 2005 World Bank's response to the tsunami in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives read article... IFC funds Amazon deforestation, undermines safeguard policiesNews|26 January 2005 Brazilian and international NGOs charge that IFC-funded soy and cattle projects in the Amazon further deforestation, ignore social and environmental risks and contradict World Bank policy. read article... IFC-backed mine violates Guatemalan lawNews|2 February 2005 One person was killed and ten were injured when the Guatemalan police and military took action to disperse protesters blocking a convoy of mining equipment destined for an IFC-funded gold mine. read article... Draft indigenous peoples policy riddled with loopholesNews|2 February 2005 The previous draft policy on indigenous peoples failed to meet expectations of indigenous peoples and NGOs involved in the process. It was scrapped in 2002. The current revised draft has improved in terms of integrating some previous recommendations made by indigenous peoples but it remains riddled with legal loopholes and ambiguous definitions read article... Consultation extended for IFC safeguard review: doubts remainNews|2 January 2005 World Bank environmental and social safeguard policies have long been a subject of contention. The Bank has now begun to shift from "explicit, mandatory policies, to which it can be held accountable, to flexible principles or national standards, permitting the investor and/or the borrowing government to determine the project's social and environmental requirements". This is illustrated most clearly by the on-going reviews of the IFC's Safeguard Policies and World Bank's Country Systems. read article... Recommended resources 2004News|2 February 2005 selected resources published in 2004 read article... Other stories in this issue |
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