Clampdown on civil society leaves stain on this year’s Annual Meetings, as global civic space is increasingly under threat
Activism
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.
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.
Finance
Analysis
The IFIs in 2013: year in review
The Bretton Woods Project review of the most important developments at the World Bank and IMF in 2013.
Environment
Analysis
A mine of controversy: World Bank push for large scale extractives
New concerns have been raised on the World Bank’s involvement in the Simandou mine in Guinea, including on the use of biodiversity offsets, while civil society has repeated unaddressed concerns on the Mongolia Oyu Tolgoi mine. Further concerns have been raised on mines in Dominican Republic, Peru and South Africa.
Rights
News
Indian protests against IFIs
Indian civil society coalition the People's Front against International Financial Institutions held a People's Forum and demonstrations against the annual meetings of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Delhi in early May.
IFI governance
Commentary
An accountability mechanism without teeth?
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, is under internal scrutiny for two projects in Albania.
IFI governance
News
World Bank's 'green growth' approach denounced
At the United Nations Rio+20 conference on sustainable development held in Brazil in late June, the World Bank promoted its 'green growth' approach despite concerns from civil society groups.
Rights
News
Ukraine protests against IMF policies
In early July, thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Ukrainian capital Kiev to try to block pension reforms promised as part of the country's IMF loan.
Featured briefings
15 August 2019
The World Bank and gender equality: Development Policy Financing
New BWP briefing offers critical gender analysis of World Bank lending instrument to borrowing countries.
30 July 2019
The Bretton Woods Observer: Summer 2019
30 July 2019
The Bretton Woods Institutions and the second crisis of multilateralism
At 75, the World Bank and IMF face a crisis of multilateralism in no small part of their own making as failed economic policies have resulted in skepticism of the international order they helped to create.