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.
The Paris Club communiqu
World Bank's response to the tsunami in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives
selected resources published in 2004
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”.
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".
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.
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
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.
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.
The role of the IMF and World Bank in responding to emergencies and coordinating with relief efforts.
Bank president James Wolfensohn has said he will retire on 31 May after 10 years in the post.
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.
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.
At the 80th anniversary of the World Bank and IMF, global civil society must maintain pressure on the Brazilian and South African G20 presidencies to ensure the forth Financing for Development Conference in 2025 results in urgently required international financial architecture reform.
Multilateral development banks can reduce their dependence on hard currency lending and make local currency financing a central element of their developmental mandate.
