In mid April four independent advisers to the UN urged that all of the World Bank's activities should be included in the Bank's safeguards review to ensure consistency with international human rights standards.
Agriculture
Accountability
News
UN experts call for World Bank safeguards with human rights
In mid April four independent advisers to the UN urged that all of the World Bank's activities should be included in the Bank's safeguards review to ensure consistency with international human rights standards.
Accountability
News
World Bank-led Burundi coffee privatisation challenged on human rights grounds
In mid April two UN special rapporteurs raised the alarm about the World Bank-led privatisation of Burundi's coffee industry and called for suspension of the policy pending a full human rights-based impact assessment.
Private Sector
Analysis
IFC financed 'land grabs' in Cambodia, Laos and Honduras exposed
While the World Bank's leadership is further embracing private equity funds, the IFC's investment in financial intermediaries is again hitting the headlines over allegations of 'land grabs' in South East Asia and lack of respect for indigenous people's rights in Honduras.
Accountability
News
World Bank moves on 'land grabs'
In April World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said that the Bank shares the concerns "about the risks associated with large-scale land acquisitions" and that "additional efforts must be made to build capacity and safeguards related to land rights".
Environment
Analysis
Working paper: The private sector and climate change adaptation
This paper looks at PPCR projects implemented under the World Bank's private sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, highlighting important questions concerning the design, implementation and operation of projects financed from public climate funds using private sector actors. In summary, the analysis suggests that the integration of private sector projects into national planning processes and strategies is crucial.
Land
Background
An update and briefing on the global agriculture and food security program (GAFSP)
World Bank briefing on the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) with a particular focus on recent private sector window projects.
Land
News
India complains Doing Business "not robust"
As an independent panel begun its review of the World Bank’s controversial Doing Business rankings, India’s public criticism of the rankings added weight to global governmental and civil society opposition.
Land
News
Growing Africa?
The Bank's continued enthusiasm for agribusiness was evident in its March report, Growing Africa, which highlighted the potential of the African agriculture sector, currently valued at $313 billion a year, to triple if governments and business leaders engage in radical policy reform and generate public private partnerships.
Accountability
News
Call for freeze on World Bank 'land grabs'
As Oxfam called on the World Bank to freeze large scale land acquisitions, the Bank's new agriculture strategy remained under wrap. Concerns have also been raised about ongoing initiatives on 'climate-smart agriculture' and the development of Doing Business in Agriculture.
