NGOs in the Democratic Republic of Congo have allied to challenge industrial logging in their country's rainforests. In February they appealed to the World Bank and other agencies to halt a plan which would make up to 60 million hectares of rainforest available to logging companies in the coming years.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Rights
News
Iraq and Ethiopia treatment shows debt relief double standards
The differing treatment given to Ethiopia and Iraq in debt relief suggest that geopolitical considerations are again outweighing internationally agreed criteria for fair debt cancellation.
Rights
News
World Bank pushes Malawi agriculture privatisation
World Bank manoeuvres to ensure parliamentary approval of a controversial agriculture privatisation policy demonstrates the continued influence of the Bank and the problems with Poverty and Social Impact Analysis.
Conditionality
News
Parliaments: the missing link in democratising national policy making
Across sub-saharan Africa, good governance efforts depend on the strengthening of parliamentary democracy. In sharp contrast country relations with IFIs reveal weak parliamentary engagement.
Knowledge
News
IMF and poverty: strange bed fellows
The IMF's capacity and legitimacy to address poverty have been debated by many analysts within…
Accountability
News
In through the back door: capacity building or concession taking?
Some of the recommendations made in the diagnostic studies of the Integrated Framework touch upon sensitive areas in development policy such as privatisation, trade liberalisation and investment and competition policy.
Environment
News
UK MPs support Bushmen
A motion signed by 42 MPs urges the UK government to encourage Botswana to respect the rights of Botswana's Bushmen.
Conditionality
News
Debt and destruction in Senegal
A new report by Demba Moussa Demb
Accountability
News
Chadians "mourn" while World Bank and oil companies celebrate pipeline
The coalition of Human Rights Associations in Chad has called for a national day of mourning on October 10, the date of the official inauguration of the Chad Cameroon Oil Pipeline.
Land
News
Bank pushed policies likely to cause famine - book
A former Bank consultant has charged the Bank with pushing policies which would have led to the starvation of a third of a million people in Sierra Leone.
Conditionality
Commentary
The myths and dangers of PRSPs
The myths of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers - that they are nationally owned, pro-poor, and poverty-reducing - should be debunked.
Accountability
News
Bank silent on corporate corruption in Lesotho
Controversy over the call for debarment of a Canadian contractor is proving a litmus test of the Bank's commitment to apply the same standards to corrupt Northern companies as it does to Southern governments.
