Sponsor: World Bank Group Panelists: Merza Hassan (Executive Director for Kuwait, and Dean of the…
Rights
Rights
Background
Multilateral Development Banks & human rights: Issues, challenges, opportunities
Samuel Dash Conference on Human Rights, Georgetown University Law Center The substance of lending safeguards…
Gender
News
World Bank admits gender equality not just about growth
World Bank's new companion report to its 2012 World Development Report reveals a shift in thinking, acknowledging that for gender equality, the type of eonomic growth is hugely relevant
Rights
News
World Bank blamed over 1965 Indonesia massacres
Images from an Oscar-nominated documentary exploring the history of Indonesia’s Suharto government and the killing of an estimated 1 million Indonesians during the 1960s has been screened on the walls of the World Bank to pressure it to acknowledge its support for Suharto.
Rights
News
World Bank accused of resettlement “cultural genocide”
A series of high-profile eviction cases in Kenya, Nigeria and Cambodia has exposed the World Bank’s failure to protect the human rights of communities supposed to benefit from its projects, prompting widespread international condemnation.
IFI governance
News
“Declining performance” at World Bank as strategy moves forward
A leaked draft IEG report reveals declining performance trends at the World Bank, including the IFC’s financial sector lending, while the implementation of the Bank’s strategy continues with the launch of a public consultation on the new country engagement model.
Infrastructure
Commentary
Disempowered development
World Bank support for a Nepal power line has been criticised for violating indigenous peoples’ rights and the use of armed forces, yet an Inspection Panel investigation has been delayed.
Accountability
Commentary
World Bank accountability mechanisms: Any lessons learned yet?
The effectiveness of the Bank's accountability mechanisms relies on the extent their findings are accepted by Bank management. In three recent cases the Bank president has not responded seriously to their findings. The mechanisms must be made powerful and independent enough to hold the Bank to account.
Infrastructure
Analysis
World Bank’s thirst for hydropower
The World Bank and IFC continue push for controversial hydropower, with projects in Guatemala, Democratic Republic of Congo, East Africa, Niger, Pakistan and Macedonia. The Bank warned on long term viability of hydropower, as Uruguay’s state hydro company agreed insurance with the Bank.
Land
News
World Bank and agriculture: Cultivating controversy?
The World Bank’s push for ‘climate-smart agriculture’, including a new joint initiative, was criticised by CSOs. An Inspection Panel case on forced labour in Uzbekistan cotton fields was postponed for up to 12 months.
