IF-EYE Newsletter

Issue #28

Monday, January 28, 2008

A publication of the Bank Information Center

Welcome to the January 28, 2008 issue of the IF-EYE – the Bank Information Center’s bi-weekly synthesis of key developments concerning international financial institutions. This issue spotlights a recent boycott by civil society groups of the Asian Development Bank's consultations as well as the World Bank's latest actions in the forest sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Please send suggestions, contributions and subscription requests to: info@bicusa.org. Thanks for reading!

In this issue:

1. IFI Updates

2. Civil Society Highlights

3. SPOTLIGHT: South Asian civil society organizations boycott Asian Development Bank consultations

4. SPOTLIGHT: Rebuked by internal investigation, World Bank plans to do more in DRC forest sector, but will it do better?

5. Announcements and Resources

6. New at BIC: Job openings at BIC!

1. IFI Updates

World Bank to implement Volcker panel recommendations

1/25/2008 World Bank

Following the resignation of Suzanne Rich-Folsom, the previous head of the World Bank’s anticorruption unit and the embarrassing revelations of extensive fraud in several of its health projects in India, the World Bank announced on January 23, 2008 that it would implement all the recommendations of the Volcker Panel Review. The panel found that the World Bank's Department of Institutional Integrity (INT) faces "serious operational issues and severe strains in relations with some Operations units," and this has at times contributed "to counterproductive relations between the Bank and borrowers and funding partners."

Suzanne Rich-Folsom resigned as head of the INT on January 16, 2008 amid growing criticism for her department's failure to address extensive fraud within World Bank funded health projects in India.

Read more (BIC website)

Independent Panel Review of the World Bank Group Department of Institutional Integrity, September 13, 2007. (Acrobat pdf, 122 KB) (World Bank website)

Donors demand overhaul at the Asian Development Bank

1/24/2008 Asian Development Bank

Top donors to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), including the Unites States and the United Kingdom, have cited "a lack of significant progress on the reform agenda" within the Bank. Leading donors have demanded an overhaul to the ADB's staffing and oversight procedures.

Donors seek ADB shake-up, by Raphael Minder, January 16, 2008. (Financial Times website)

Indian state seeks World Bank rupee loan

1/17/2008 World Bank

The Indian state of Maharashtra sought a $3.5 billion equivalent rupee loan from the World Bank. The loan would be the first time the World Bank agreed to such a loan in rupees. A weak dollar and an appreciating rupee are cited as the reasons the Maharashtra government requested the loan in rupees rather than dollars.

India seeks World Bank rupee loan, by Prachi Pinglay, BBC News, December 7, 2007 (BBC News website)

Read more (BIC website)

World Bank leak suggests support for Kibaki in disputed Kenyan elections

1/11/2008 World Bank

The Financial Times (FT) reported on January 9, 2008 that it obtained a leaked copy of an internal World Bank memo indicating that the Bank accepted the Electoral Commission of Kenya's (ECK) ruling that incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was the victor in the country's presidential elections held last month. The disputed elections have led to widespread unrest in the country and hundreds of deaths.

Read more (BIC website)

Leaked memo deepens Kenya crisis by William Wallis, Michael Holman and Krishna Guha, January 9, 2008 (FT website)

2. Civil Society Highlights

863 civil society organizations petition World Bank chief against investment tribunal

1/18/2008 Third World Network

863 citizens groups from 59 countries have sent a petition to World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick, expressing concerns about the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), whose Administrative Council Mr. Zoellick chairs. The non-governmental organizations are outraged that ICSID (which is part of the World Bank Group) is planning to hear an investor-state dispute case taken by the European company Telecom Italia’s subsidiary Euro Telecom International (ETI) against the Bolivian government, even though Bolivia formally withdrew its membership of ICSID in May 2007.

Civil Society calls on the Asian Development Bank to abandon controversial coal project in Bangladesh

1/14/2008 Multiple organizations

Over 60 non-governmental organizations have signed a letter sent to the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) calling for the institution to discontinue its pre-appraisal due diligence of the controversial Phulbari Coal Project. The letter, dated January 11, 2008, also requests that the project be removed from the ADB's funding pipeline.

Read more (BIC website)

Joint NGO letter to Asian Development Bank Board of Directors calling for ADB to pull out of Phulbari Coal Project, January 11, 2008 (Acrobat pdf, 87 KB)

Phulbari resistance documentary

1/17/2008 Global Coal Management plc

Phulbari resistance groups have produced their first documentary video entitled The Blood Soaked Banner of Phulbari: A Coal Mine Against the People.

The Blood Soaked Banner of Phulbari: A Coal Mine Against the People, Global Coal Management plc (GCM), (wmv, 18.99 KB)

3. SPOTLIGHT: South Asian civil society organizations boycott Asian Development Bank consultations

1/16/2008 Multiple organizations

Close to fifty people representing social movements in India and other parts of South Asia delivered a boycott statement to Asian Development Bank officials in New Delhi on January 16, 2008 at the start of the ADB's consultations on its Draft Safeguard Policy Statement. The organised protest consisted of slogans and placards, one of which read: "End to Lending."

In contrast with ADB’s high expectations of acceptance of its invitation to participate, representatives of diverse social action and civil society groups decided to boycott the consultation. A boycott call, issued by the Peoples Forum Against the ADB (PFAADB), has been endorsed extensively and it states that ADB’s Draft Safeguards Policy,

"Overlooks more than a decade of global campaigns to strengthen national and international social and environmental policies to prevent the disastrous impact of development projects on local communities – especially indigenous people".

The organisations, from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh include: Sri Lanka based Movement for Land and Agriculture Reforms (MONLAR), South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) and Collective Initiative for Research and Action (CIRA) from Nepal and Coastal Development Partnership (CDP) and Banglapraxis from Bangladesh. They had received invitations from the ADB to participate. They were backed by Indian groups such as the National Forum of Forest Peoples and Forest Workers, National Alliance of Peoples Movements and Indian Social Action Forum.

The ADB had circulated its Safeguard Policy Update Consultation Draft in October 2007 for public response. Groups have already raised serious concerns that the draft is opposed to indigenous peoples’ rights and subverts environmental considerations. The draft under review collapses, and thus dilutes, three earlier policies on Environment (2002), Involuntary resettlement (1995) and Indigenous peoples (1998) into one flaky ‘statement’ of principles, the groups stated.

The boycott letter specifically states:

"The ADB’s draft safeguard policy is not only a step backward from its own existing policies, but it also sabotages on-going efforts by peoples’ movements against their own governments’ inadequate policies on rehabilitation & resettlement, environment and indigenous and tribal communities."

Read the full text of the boycott letter:

A Call to Boycott the ADB’s South Asia Consultation on its Draft Safeguard Policy January 16, 2007. (Acrobat pdf, 22 KB)

Read the recent press release pertaining to the South Asian boycott:

ADB faces boycott as it subverts environment, resettlement, and indigenous safeguard policies Press Release, January 15, 2007. (BIC website)

For more information please visit BIC's web page on the ADB Safeguard Policy Update process (BIC website)

4. SPOTLIGHT: Rebuked by internal investigation, World Bank plans to do more in DRC forest sector, but will it do better?

1/16/2008 Nikki Reisch, Africa Program, Bank Information Center

On January 10, 2008, the World Bank’s Board of Directors discussed the findings of an Inspection Panel investigation into the Bank’s failure to comply with its own safeguard policies in its support for forest sector reforms in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Although the Board itself issued no formal statement following the meeting, reports indicate that the Executive Directors approved Bank Management’s action plan in response to the Panel’s conclusions, while noting the need for greater specificity regarding lessons learned and next steps, and expressed their support for three new projects worth $64 million currently under preparation. The Board also requested a progress report on implementation of Management’s action plan in one year.

The lesson Bank staff seem to have taken away from the Panel’s investigation is “do more,” but the question is, will they “do better”? Press releases issued by Bank Management following the Board's discussion highlight broad consensus on the need for the Bank to remain engaged in the country’s forest sector, but neglect to mention specifics about what the Bank learned from the oversights and failures documented in the Panel report. Such public relations efforts have been a central component in the Bank’s proactive communication strategy over the past several years, stepped up in response to mounting public concern about its role in the management of DRC’s forests. A closer look at recent press on the case reveals some continued massaging of the facts and suggests a need for a more inclusive dialogue about the Bank’s plans going forward.

Read more (BIC website)

5. Announcements and Resources

New Film: World vs Bank

"World vs Bank", the film of the Public Hearing on the World Bank of October 15, 2007 can now be ordered from Friends of the Earth International. Get your own free copy!

To order a free copy of the DVD email: foei@foei.org.

View the trailer (Youtube website)

Watch a 6 minute exclusive interview with the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation Mr Bert Koenders (Youtube website)

6. New at BIC: Job openings at BIC!

Executive Assistant: BIC is seeking an Assistant who will support the Executive Director (ED) in his daily tasks. The position will be based in Washington, DC, and is ideal for individuals seeking exposure in international affairs, especially on issues relating to development, international human rights, and the environment. BIC offers the possibility of interaction with environment and social justice activists throughout the world. The Assistant will also provide support to some administrative requirements of the organization.

Development Director: BIC is seeking a Development Director, who will serve as the chief fundraising officer for BIC. The Development Director will work closely with the Executive Director and Regional Program Managers in identifying and pursuing funding leads for BIC’s Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Policy, and Information Services programs. The Development Director will be expected to: Develop and execute both short and long-term fundraising efforts of BIC; take the lead in framing, preparing, and maintaining grant proposals and reports to donor foundations; and identify and pursue potential funding opportunities, and strengthen existing donor relationships.

Get full details of these positions on BIC's jobs and internships page (BIC website)

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