To prevent repression and retaliation at their Annual Meetings in Marrakesh, World Bank and IMF must work proactively with MENA civil society and Moroccan authorities on safeguarding civic space and upholding free speech.
Activism
Accountability
Analysis
Ending “absolute immunity” for the International Finance Corporation: The legacy of Jam v. IFC
EarthRights International examines how the Jam v. IFC case has helped to shift the landscape of accountability for international financial institutions by successfully challenging their claim to “absolute” immunity in US courts, potentially opening IFC up to further legal challenges in future.
Finance
Analysis
Tip of the iceberg: How the call for SDRs reveals the urgency for deeper reforms of the global reserve system to address systemic inequalities
Renewed calls for a substantial SDR allocation raise urgency of reforming the inequitable global reserve ‘non-system’.
Conditionality
Commentary
Costa Rica resoundingly rejects IMF’s 'austericidal' recipe
Alternative progressive solutions reached by democratic and inclusive multi-sectoral dialogue.
Rights
Analysis
World Bank reparations demanded for murder of frontline South African anti-coal activist
Community demands reparations from World Bank for murder of South African environmental activist Fikile Ntshangase for opposing the Tendele coal mine initially financed by IFC.
Rights
Commentary
World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings marred by clampdown on People’s Global Conference
Clampdown on civil society leaves stain on this year’s Annual Meetings, as global civic space is increasingly under threat
Environment
News
World Bank cancels Bisri dam project in Lebanon after years of community resistance
Environmental groups and activists claim victory after years of campaigning.
Knowledge
Background
Call for critical resources on World Bank and IMF for 2017
Request for critical IMF and World Bank resources of 2017.
Land
News
NGOs denounce World Bank land conference
NGO coalition Our Land Our Business denounced the World Bank’s March conference on land and poverty, condemning the Bank’s role in land grabs.
Rights
News
World Bank fails to support project critics
Concerns have been raised about the safety of critics of World Bank projects and the adequacy of the Inspection Panel, as a new Bank grievance mechanism has been launched.
Featured briefings
3 July 2024
The Bretton Woods Observer: Summer 2024
3 July 2024
Is the World Bank rolling back commitments to citizen engagement, again?
Understanding the Bank’s chequered history with public, community and civil society participation is key for understanding what is at stake and what to do next.
3 June 2024
A way out for IMF reform
New paper analyses the IMF 16th Quota Review and identifies key governance reforms feasible in the current economic and geopolitical context.