#worldbank — Public Fediverse posts

Montenegro Leads Western Balkans in Labor Productivity – Albania Placed Last https://www.byteseu.com/2350118/ #InternationalLabourOrganizationILO #Montenegro #Podgorica #WesternBalkans #WorldBank

https://www.europesays.com/africa/417527/ SoDMA and FAO Discuss Super El Niño Preparedness and Humanitarian Response #Jubaland #Mogadishu #Security #Somalia #SouthWestState #WorldBank

https://www.europesays.com/africa/415840/ South Africa’s Land Partnerships Rewrite the Rules of Conservation #30x30Target #Africa #biodiversity #BiodiversityStewardship #ClimateResilience #CommunityConservation #conservation #DFFE #LandReform #OECMs #ProtectedAreas #RuralDevelopment #SANBI #SouthAfrica #WaterSecurity #WorldBank

https://www.europesays.com/africa/414719/ World ‌⁠‍‍⁠⁠‌‍‍⁠⁠‍‌‌Bank  invests N1.5 billion in Ondo malaria intervention #DirectorOfSpecialProjects #DrAdeorunkeAgbaje #DrCharlesMensah #IHVN #NationalMalariaEliminationProgramme #OndoStateMinistryOfHealth #Tanzania #TheChiefOperatingOfficerAndManagingDirectorOfIHVN #TheInstituteOfHumanVirologyNigeria(IHVN) #WorldBank

Ed Miliband indicates development and climate will be at heart of UK foreign policy
By Fiona Harvey Environment editor

Exclusive: Foreign secretary to take up World Bank seat and play active role in shaping changes to global lender

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/26/ed-miliband-development-climate-crisis-uk-foreign-policy-world-bank-seat

#WorldBank #Climatefinance #Climatecrisis #EdMiliband #Globaldevelopment #Foreignpolicy #Aid #Worldnews #Politics #Society #Environment #Globaleconomy #Debtrelief #TheGuardian #FionaHarveyEnvironmenteditor

#SEZs in #India: Balancing Economic Growth and #Environmental Concerns

July 27, 2024

"Picture this: vast stretches of industrial land buzzing with activity, modern factories producing goods for global markets, and thousands of job opportunities emerging overnight. This is the promise of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in India. But behind this gleaming facade lies a complex web of environmental challenges and social concerns that demand our attention. SEZs represent one of India’s most ambitious economic policies, designed to accelerate industrial growth and boost exports, yet they often come at a significant cost to the environment and local communities.

[...]

"[T]he rapid expansion of SEZs has raised significant environmental red flags. The most pressing concern is land acquisition, which often involves converting fertile agricultural land into industrial zones. This conversion not only reduces the country’s agricultural capacity but also disrupts local ecosystems and biodiversity.

"The establishment of SEZs typically requires large tracts of land – sometimes spanning thousands of acres. Much of this land is acquired from agricultural areas, leading to the displacement of farming communities who have depended on these lands for generations. For instance, the proposed #RaigadSEZ in #Maharashtra would have required over 14,000 hectares of #agricultural land, leading to massive #protests from local farmers.

"The conversion of agricultural land to #IndustrialUse has long-term implications for #FoodSecurity. As India’s population continues to grow, the loss of productive #farmland could exacerbate food shortage issues in the future. Moreover, agricultural land often has better soil quality and water retention capacity compared to industrial land, making this conversion environmentally costly.

"Industrial activities within SEZs generate various forms of #pollution. Air pollution from #manufacturing processes, water #contamination from industrial effluents, and #SoilDegradation from chemical usage are common problems. The concentration of industries in SEZs can create pollution hotspots that affect air and water quality in surrounding areas.

"#WaterScarcity is another critical issue. SEZs require substantial water resources for industrial processes, often competing with local communities for this precious resource. In water-stressed regions, this competition can lead to conflicts and further environmental degradation.
Human rights and social displacement

"The human cost of SEZ development cannot be overlooked. Land acquisition for SEZs often involves displacing local communities, particularly small farmers and agricultural workers. These communities frequently receive inadequate compensation and struggle to find alternative livelihoods.

"The displacement process can be traumatic for local communities who have strong cultural and emotional ties to their land. Traditional occupations like #farming, #fishing, and #SmallScaleTrading are disrupted, forcing people to adapt to entirely new economic realities. The promised employment opportunities in SEZs often don’t materialize for displaced communities, as they may lack the required skills for industrial jobs.

"Women in these communities face particular challenges, as they often have limited access to alternative employment opportunities and may lose traditional income sources like kitchen gardening or small-scale agricultural activities. The social fabric of rural communities can be severely disrupted, leading to increased poverty and social inequality."

https://csr.education/urban-planning-development/sezs-india-economic-growth-environment/#environmental-concerns-the-hidden-costs

#HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #CorporateColonialism
#IMFLoanSharks #Exploitation #WorldBank #RaceToTheBottom
#HumanRightsViolations
#Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation
#EconomicSacrificZones
#ForcedRelocation #ForcedDisplacement #TraditionalLifestyles #EnvironmentalRacism #Exploitation
#CorporateColonialism

The #environmental burdens of #SpecialEconomicZones on the coastal and marine #environment: A remote sensing assessment in #Myanmar

Thiri Shwesin Aung, Indra Overland, Roman Vakulchuk, Yanhua Xie
November 2022

"Special economic zones (#SEZs) are unusual parts of the world economy in terms of law, institutions, and economic functions (Chaisse and Dimitropoulos 2021). SEZs are geographically delimited areas created to facilitate industrial activities through fiscal and regulatory incentives and infrastructure support (UNCTAD 2019). Such zones carve out jurisdiction as a subset of the overall state jurisdiction for the purposes of enacting different laws and regulations that are more trade and investment friendly (Zeng 2021). Since the year 2000, SEZs have mushroomed in developing countries to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), accelerate industrialization and create jobs (Aiyer 2017). There are 5400 SEZs in 147 economies around the world. Asia is home to three quarters of them (UNIDO 2015). They have been a core element of the economic development strategy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and currently all ASEAN member states have SEZs (Aggarwal 2022).

"As part of an export-oriented development strategy, the zones commonly include industrial mega-areas that accommodate large-scale infrastructure, deep-sea ports, logistical infrastructure for oil and gas, hotels and tourism, and industrial complexes (Aggarwal 2022). They are primarily defined by a specific regulatory regime and a dedicated governance mechanism designed to relieve customs and tariffs and reduce the burden on businesses from permits, licenses, employment laws, and land access. In return, host governments expect investors to create positive spillover effects, such as facilitating innovation, boosting employment, raising exports, and diversifying the economy. The global experience of SEZs have been mixed, with some countries achieving successful economic outcomes, while others struggle to overcome market failures, institutional constraints, and social and environmental costs (Aggarwal 2022; Zeng 2021).

"The lax regulatory regimes of SEZs often raise concerns about environmental, social, and #HumanRights standards, as well as possible conflicts over #LandRights (Brussevich 2020). Several SEZs have failed to yield the expected economic benefits while having severe adverse impacts on the environment and local communities (Adunbi 2019; Aritenang and Chandramidi 2020; Chaisse and Ji 2020). On the other hand, while SEZs can be hotspots for environmental #mismanagement, they can also provide opportunities for implementing environmental policies specifically designed to regulate industries within the zones. Also, certain environmental advantages may ensue from the introduction of foreign financial resources and environmental technologies that are otherwise not readily available (Richardson 2004).

"However, according to the 'race to the bottom' literature, most SEZs have a net negative impact on the environment and local communities (Richardson 2004; UNIDO 2015; ZENG and DOUGLAS, 2012).

"Despite this contradiction, existing studies focusing on the direct and indirect impacts of SEZs have been rare (#WorldBank, 2017). Particularly, the magnitude and intensity of SEZ impacts on the environment remain understudied.
SEZs tend to be located in remote regions. As such, SEZ-related information and data are generally scarce, making it difficult to assess the environmental consequences of such zones. Many SEZs are also located in countries where there is limited scope for independent environmental assessment due to #authoritarian rule, #corruption, and/or #secrecy surrounding deals with foreign investors. Recent improvements in access to satellite data and computing platforms for machine learning have greatly improved the ability to comprehensively assess SEZs in any location in the world in near real time (Ali et al., 2020; Jensen et al., 2019). This article demonstrates how these technologies can be applied to provide evidence related to the environmental impacts of SEZs. The method is tried out on the Kyaukpyu SEZ in Myanmar. Myanmar is an authoritarian country and the #KyaukpyuSEZ is a flagship project of China's Belt and Road Initiative (#BRI) located in an inaccessible part of #Myanmar. This is precisely the type of case where independent access can be limited and a remote sensing approach can be useful.

"From 2010 onwards, Myanmar was navigating its economic transformation and a partial loosening of military rule. SEZ development was prioritized as a critical element of the country's industrialization (Oxfam 2017). The three most notable ongoing SEZ projects are the Kyaukpyu SEZ in the rural but strategically important Rakhine State, which is also the largest SEZ in Myanmar, the Thilawa SEZ on the outskirts of Myanmar's former capital Yangon, and the Dawei SEZ in the Tanintharyi Region. Tanintharyi is a long narrow southern territory of Myanmar bordering the Andaman Sea to the west and Thailand to the east.

"Although they are expected to encourage economic growth and reduce poverty, all three SEZ projects continue to face local opposition, particularly the Kyaukpyu and Dawei SEZs. The International Commission of Jurists (2017) has reported that SEZs in Myanmar are linked to human rights violations and environmental abuses (Donateo 2017). Although Myanmar's SEZ law adopted in 2014 reaffirms the applicability of environmental regulations to SEZ development, it does not clearly delineate responsibilities between developers and the state (DICA 2014). The law also does not conform with international human rights standards (MCRB 2018)."

Read more:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352938522001173

#RaceToTheBottom #HumanRightsViolations #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EconomicSacrificZones #ForcedRelocation #ForcedDisplacement #HumanRightsViolations #EnvironmentalDegradation #IndigenousPeoples #ForestPeoples #SaveTheForests #Exploitation #CorporateColonialism

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/10/wednesday-october-8-2025/

Crypto is turning into a geopolitical weapon https://www.byteseu.com/1083755/ #Binance #BlockchainGeopolitics #ChangpengZhao #CryptoLobbying #CryptoTaxIndia #CryptoTerrorism #CryptocurrencyRegulation #DonaldTrump #eHawala #ExecutiveOrder14178 #FATF #FinancialActionTaskForce #Geopolitics #IMF #IndiaNationalSecurity #JustinSun #MonetarySovereignty #PakistanCrypto #ReserveBankOfIndia #WorldBank #WorldLibertyFinancial

From the Bretton Woods Project: #Forests

"Finally, the [#WorldBank] ’s #forest policy and #WeakSafeguards on #ForestProtection have also been observed to infringe the rights of local communities and have failed to protect one of the planet’s most important ‘#CarbonSinks’ (see Observer Spring 2017). CSOs have called for the Bank to open up its Forest Notes – which are meant to guide the interface between its lending and forests – to consultation (see Observer Winter 2017-2018). CSOs have also been highly critical of one of the forest initiatives the Bank manages, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), a climate investment fund that supports Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) projects. A March 2017 post in REDD Monitor called the FCPF, 'the most cost-inefficient tree-saving scheme ever,' owing to high administrative costs between fiscal years 2009-2015 absorbing 64 per cent of FCFP’s $55 million expenditure. More generally, the Bank’s overall approach to lending has undermined the protection of vital natural ecosystems in borrower countries. As noted by Bruce Rich in his influential 2013 book, Foreclosing the Future: The World Bank and the Politics of Environmental Destruction, 'When one examines the failures to conserve ecosystems, or to mitigate environmental impacts of development, one finds that failed governance at all levels is almost invariably at the root. …Many of [the Bank’s] problems are associated with a dysfunctional institutional culture in which the relentless pressure to move money out the door, even in violation of the Bank’s own policies and rules, often overrides all other considerations.'"

2017: World Bank policy lending undermines climate goals

"One of the main problems is the Bank’s refusal to adequately assess the social and environmental risks of their policy loans" - Harlem Mariño, Derechos, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales

6 April 2017

"A late January report by US-based NGO Bank Information Center (BIC), together with partners in Egypt, Indonesia, Mozambique and Peru, claimed that the Bank is undermining its climate commitments by supporting investment incentives for coal, gas and oil projects through its development policy financing (DPF) mechanism. DPF accounts for approximately a third of all Bank funding and provides resources for programmes of policy and institutional reforms that are agreed by the Bank and the borrowing government (see Update 82). The report argued that the Bank’s financing through DPF contradicts the internationally agreed and Bank-supported goal of limiting the global average temperature increase to 2°C, which according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change would require that at least two-thirds of existing fossil fuel reserves are left in the ground.

"BIC’s report looked at the Bank’s DPF measures in four countries: Egypt, Indonesia, Mozambique and Peru. It found that DPF introduced subsidies for coal in all countries, apart from Peru. For example, the report argued that Bank-supported subsidies for coal infrastructure have helped Indonesia become one of the world’s top coal exporters. It found some DPF support for renewable energy, but argued that the Bank could do more given that all countries examined have potential to develop renewable energy. For example, while Peru’s DPF provides subsidies to public-private partnerships to develop oil and gas infrastructure, it does not include plans for solar or wind power projects."

https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2017/04/world-bank-policy-lending-undermines-climate-goals/

#FCPF #REDD #Ecosystems #ProtectTheForests #EnvironmentalDestruction #ForestDegradation #Deforestation #EnvironmentalImpacts #Egypt #Indonesia #Mozambique #Peru #LeaveItInTheGround #Coal #BigOilAndGas #ExtractiveIndustries #Exploitation #EnvironmentalImpacts
#HumanRights #ParisAgreement
#ParisClimateAgreement #BigOilAndGas #CorporateColonialism #IMFLoanSharks #RenewablesNow

From the Bretton Woods Project: Focus on #MegaProjects

"The [#WorldBank] ’s shift towards leveraging private sector finance for development (see Governance above), which has gained momentum since 2015, includes a particular emphasis on promoting ‘infrastructure as an asset class’, in order to crowd in institutional #investors. This policy initiative is highly dependent on mega-infrastructure projects – and, as noted by a letter sent by concerned economists in October 2018, currently lacks a framework for aligning such mega-projects with the Paris Climate Agreement or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"This is of major concern, given that many planned ‘mega-corridors’ in developing regions are predicated on building a new generation of carbon-intensive infrastructure. In many cases, the Bank continues to support such projects that, while not ‘fossil fuel investments’ per se, are part of such carbon-intensive mega-corridors (see Observer Autumn 2018)."

Paper: Infrastructure Megaprojects as World Erasers: Cultural Survival in the Context of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

Author: Susanne Hofmann, November 8, 2024

"This article explores the meaning of infrastructural changes resulting from the Corredor Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec (CIIT) infrastructure project for the cultural survival
of Indigenous peoples resident in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region through the lens of ontological justice. The CIIT is being promoted as a multimodal road and rail transport corridor that will link the Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean, speed up global trade and benefit local residents. Based on interviews with affected residents in the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz, this research found that there is a strong desire for the continuity of existing, collective life
projects, Indigenous languages, cultural identities, beliefs, spirituality, established political and legal systems, and solidarity economy. De facto, the CIIT infrastructure project functions
as a technology of erasure of other lifeworlds, imposing integration into the One-World World (Escobar, 2016) and assimilation of Indigenous peoples and Afrodescendant communities.
Contemporary legal frameworks are not sufficient to guarantee alterlivability (Hamraie, 2020). Therefore, infrastructural megaprojects based on modern/colonial-extractivist-
developmentalist premises continue to threaten the futurity of Indigenous and
Afrodescendant life projects.

[...]

"An increasing number of infrastructure corridors, such as the Corredor Interoceánico, are currently being built across the globe (e.g. the Belt and Road Initiative/China, Corredor Bioceánico/Paraguay; Corredor Interoceánico/Chile-Bolivia-Brazil; The Northern Transport Corridor in East Africa/Kenya-Ethiopia-South Sudan – just to name a few). These projects are directed at reducing ‘economic distance’ –i.e. speeding up the transport of goods across
geographical distance whilst lowering the cost (Hildyard, 2016: 20). In the process, infrastructure megacorridors restructure whole regions into purpose-specific zones for export, logistics, transit, housing development, resource extraction, manufacturing etc.

"Thereby, they fragment geographic space, generating a distinctive reterritorialisation of the space to develop sites of capitalist growth. Megacorridors connect what Lerner (2010) called 'sacrifice zones' – geographic areas where processes of natural resource extraction cause permanent environmental damage – to global circuits of capital. Across Latin America the social and environmental impacts of extractive megaprojects and resistance against them has
been widely documented (Aguilar Rivero & Echavarría Cango, 2019; Domínguez, 2015, 2017;
Domínguez & Corona, 2016; Ibarra García & Talledos Sánchez, 2016; Pérez Negrete, 2017; Rodríguez Wallenius, 2015). This article explores the meaning of infrastructural changes resulting from the CIIT project for the cultural survival of Indigenous peoples resident in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region through the lens of ontological justice."

Original paper:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0094582X241294080?journalCode=lapa

PDF version:
https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/120254/1/SHofmann_infrastructure_megaprojects_as_world_erasers_LSE_eprint.pdf

#MegaInfrastructureProjects #CarbonIntensive #MegaCorridors #SDGs #CIIT #GulfOfMexico #SustainableDevelopmentGoals #DeGrowth #IMFLoanSharks #SacrificeZones #CulturalGenocide #CulturalErasism #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalDamage #Capitalism #CorporateColonialism #IndigenousPeoples #CulturalSurvival #IsthmusOfTehuantepec #OntologicalJustice #Tehuantepec #ExtractiveIndustries #Oaxaca #Veracruz #CorredorInteroceánico #BeltAndRoadInitiative #CorredorBioceánico #NorthernTransportCorridor #China, #Paraguay; Corredor #Chile #Bolivia #Brazil #EastAfrica #Kenya #Ethiopia #SouthSudan #IndigenousCulture #AfrodescendantCulture

From the Bretton Woods Project: Continued #FossilFuel investments

"In terms of its direct lending, the [#WorldBank] ’s investments in #FossilFuels have been criticised for undermining climate goals – with the Bank continuing to fund a considerable number of fossil fuel projects in the years after the Paris Climate Agreement was signed in 2015, which saw countries jointly commit to limit average global temperature rise to 'well below 2°C” relative to preindustrial levels. Despite the Bank’s recent climate commitments (see Observer Spring 2018), CSOs remain concerned that the Bank lacks a comprehensive approach to align its entire lending portfolio with the Paris Agreement. In addition to project finance for oil and gas infrastructure, there are other remaining types of Bank investments that are a cause for concern. The IFC now invests nearly 50 per cent of its portfolio in FI, and a lack of sub-project disclosure in these investments makes it difficult to assess the exposure of these investments to fossil fuels, including coal (see Governance above). However, CSO research has linked IFC FI investments to the construction of 19 new coal-fired power plants in the Philippines, while another report found IFC FI investments linked to 41 new coal plants between 2013 and 2016. While the IFC announced a new Green Equity Strategy in October 2018 that will require new FI clients to divest from coal over time, this policy will not affect past FI investments (see Observer Winter 2018).

"CSOs are also concerned that the World Bank has thus far not developed a framework to assess the climate impacts of its Development Policy Finance. CSO research has found that in some cases, these contain ‘prior actions’ that benefit the fossil fuel and extractive industries. Finally, the Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has in recent years provided a number of guarantees that have backed fossil-fuel projects. According to CSO research, in FY16, MIGA did not support a single renewable energy project: '[its] guarantees to energy were worth $1.9 billion … of which $0.9 billion went to fossil fuel projects', with the rest going to projects such as hydropower dams, often with detrimental environmental and human rights impacts."

Report from #OilChangeInternational

Cross Purposes: After Paris, Multilateral Development Banks Still Funding Billions in Fossil Fuels

October 12, 2017

"A new report shows how multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, gave over $9 billion in funding for fossil fuel projects in 2016, nearly all of it following the Paris Agreement being reached and despite claims that they were acting on climate and adjusting their investment strategies."

https://www.oilchange.org/publications/development-banks-still-funding-fossils/

#HydropowerDams #EnvironmentalImpacts #HumanRights #ParisAgreement #ParisClimateAgreement #BigOilAndGas #CorporateColonialism #CoalFiredPlants #Phillipines #IFC_FI #MIGA #IMFLoanSharks

From the Bretton Woods Project: #Growth-based model #unsustainable

"In general, the growth-based approach to poverty reduction that the World Bank and IMF both promote has immense environmental consequences, as is evidenced by the deepening climate crisis. As noted by former World Bank Chief Economist Sir Nicholas Stern in 2007, 'Climate change is a result of the greatest market failure the world has seen.' Since their inception, the BWIs have played a formative role in aiding and abetting the global forces that have caused this market failure, through promoting economic growth as the core component of their development model, despite – as noted in the aforementioned Deaton report – mixed evidence that economic growth and poverty reduction are linked. While the Bank, and to a lesser extent, the Fund, have both increasingly tried to account for environmental and climate factors in their work over recent decades, these efforts have largely been limited to attempting to integrate these concerns into a growth-based development model."

#DeGrowth #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #IMFLoanSharks #WorldBank #EnvironmentalDegradation #CorporateColonialism

Causing major harms through development projects

"World Bank-funded projects have also continually been found to be in direct, serious violation of international human rights standards. Major recurring issues include mass evictions and the forced displacement of peoples and communities for major infrastructure and agricultural projects (see Observer Spring 2015), violations of the rights of indigenous and forest peoples, targeting of human rights defenders, triggering local food insecurity, and serious labour rights violations, such as child and forced labour reportedly being used in Bank-funded projects (see Observer Winter 2016). The IFC has also been shown on several occasions to have invested in companies that avoid or evade taxes (see Observer Autumn 2016). More recently, the Bank has also acknowledged that its projects can create an environment that can foster gender-based violence, including sexual abuse and the spread of HIV/AIDS (see Observer Spring 2017).

"To safeguard against risks like these, the World Bank launched its revised Environmental and Social Framework in 2018, although it applies only to its project lending and not to its DPF.

"Many in civil society remain unconvinced that the safeguards are fit for purpose if the Bank is to deliver on its mandate to implement policies that benefit the poorest, especially as the Bank is set to focus on more complex and difficult environments from 2018."

#ForcedRelocation #ForcedDisplacement #HumanRightsViolations #EnvironmentalDegradation #IndigenousPeoples #ForestPeoples #SaveTheForests #Exploitation #CorporateColonialism
#IMFLoanSharks #WorldBank #GenderBasedViolence #ManCamps

From the Bretton Woods Project: #HumanRights (cont'd):

"Labour #unions, for instance, have long opposed the #BWIs’ systematic weakening of labour rights either directly through conditionality or indirectly through policy advice in flagship reports and surveillance, such as the IMF’s 2017 loan programme to Greece (see Observer Autumn 2017), or the World Bank’s 2018 World Development Report (see Observer Winter 2018), respectively. Other economic and social rights, such as the right to social security, health and education, as well as the broader right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, are all undermined by the BWIs’ promotion of excessively constrained fiscal policies and aggressive privatisation that preclude states from delivering core public services and meeting their international human rights obligations.

"A related and intersectional thread of human rights critiques focuses on how these policies supported, proposed or required by the BWIs are designed unevenly in favour of those already at the top of the economy and society, further exacerbating inequalities within and between countries and disproportionately harming the marginalised, who already are most vulnerable to human rights violations.

"Groups that are often disproportionately and cumulatively disadvantaged by the types of macroeconomic policies the BWIs promote include the poor, women, immigrants, the elderly, children and youth, ethnic and religious minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQI communities."

#ReligiousMinorities #EthnicMinorities #ChildLabor #LGBTQI #Exploitation #HumanRights #CorporateColonialism #IMFLoanSharks #WorldBank #LaborUnions

From the Bretton Woods Project: Human rights

"A second stream of longstanding critiques has focused on the content of the policies, programmes and projects that the #BWIs [#IMF and #WorldBank] promote and enforce and how they have undermined a broad spectrum of human rights, with the [#WorldBank] even being labelled a 'human rights-free zone' in 2015 by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights."

“The World Bank is a Human Rights-Free Zone” – UN expert on extreme poverty expresses deep concern

The World Bank and human rights

29 September 2015

GENEVA – "The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, has called on the World Bank and its member States to adopt a new and consistent approach to human rights.

"'For most purposes, the World Bank is currently a human rights-free zone. In its operational policies, in particular, it treats human rights more like an infectious disease than universal values and obligations,' Alston says in a new report published online on the approach to human rights by the World Bank, the most important international actor on poverty alleviation."

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2015/09/world-bank-human-rights-free-zone-un-expert-extreme-poverty-expresses-deep

#HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #CorporateColonialism
#IMFLoanSharks
#Exploitation #WorldBank

From the Bretton Woods Project:

"The [#WorldBank] and [#IMF] have also been heavily criticised for the role played by the political expediency of important shareholders in its decision-making and choice of interventions, including its support to dictatorships. The IMF’s decision to break its own rules and support the highly controversial Greek loan programme, agreed in 2010, prompted Brazil’s Executive Director to the IMF to protest that, '… the program … may be seen not as a rescue of Greece, which will have to undergo a wrenching adjustment, but as a bail-out of Greece’s private debt holders, mainly European financial institutions.'"

From 2018: The Greece Bailout’s Legacy of Immiseration

The cynicism and brutality of what happened there is for the whole world to see.

James K. Galbraith
August 20, 2018

"2010 to 2018 will go down in Greek history as an epic period of colonization; of asset stripping and privatization; of unfunded health and education; of bankruptcies, foreclosures, homelessness, and impoverishment; of unemployment, emigration, and suicide. These were the years of the three memoranda, or 'financial-assistance programs' accompanied by 'structural reforms,' enacted supposedly to promote Greek 'recovery' from the slump and credit crunch of 2010. They were, in fact, a fraud perpetrated on Greece and Europe, a jumble of bad policies based on crude morality tales that catered to right-wing politics to cover up unpayable debts.

"This was a bailout? The word reeks of indulgence and implied disapproval. As it was often said, 'The Greeks had their party and now they must pay.' Yes, there was a party—for oligarchs with ships and London homes and Swiss bank accounts, for the military, for engineering and construction and armaments companies from Germany and France and the United States. And yes, there was a bailout. It came from Europe’s taxpayers, and went to the troubled banks of France and Germany. Greece was merely the pass-through, and the Greeks who paid dearly with their livelihoods were just the patsies in the deal."

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/08/greece-bailout-imf-europe/567892/

Archive:
https://archive.ph/2IB0c#selection-499.0-515.15

#Oligarchs #OligarchParty #CorporateColonialism #IMFLoanSharks #GreekAusterity #Exploitation #GreeceBailout #IMFBailout

[Thread] What are the main criticisms of the #WorldBank and the #IMF?

Bretton Woods Project - Critical voices on the world bank and IMF

4 June 2019

"World Bank-funded projects have also continually been found to be in direct, serious violation of international human rights standards. Major recurring issues include mass evictions and the forced displacement of peoples and communities for major infrastructure and agricultural projects (see Observer Spring 2015), violations of the rights of indigenous and forest peoples, targeting of human rights defenders, triggering local food insecurity, and serious labour rights violations, such as child and forced labour reportedly being used in Bank-funded projects (see Observer Winter 2016). The IFC has also been shown on several occasions to have invested in companies that avoid or evade taxes (see Observer Autumn 2016). More recently, the Bank has also acknowledged that its projects can create an environment that can foster gender-based violence, including sexual abuse and the spread of HIV/AIDS (see Observer Spring 2017).

"To safeguard against risks like these, the World Bank launched its revised Environmental and Social Framework in 2018, although it applies only to its project lending and not to its DPF.

"Many in civil society remain unconvinced that the safeguards are fit for purpose if the Bank is to deliver on its mandate to implement policies that benefit the poorest, especially as the Bank is set to focus on more complex and difficult environments from 2018."

https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2019/06/what-are-the-main-criticisms-of-the-world-bank-and-the-imf/

#HumanRights #HumanRightsViolations #IndigenousPeoples #ForestPeoples #Exploitation #IMFLoanSharks #CorporateColonialism #CorruptGovernments #BigOilAndGas #BigMining #SaveTheForests

So, another evil thing in the world is how countries are given loans (which are often mismanaged) instead of just being helped out by other countries. The indebted countries are then forced to stoop to #environmental degradation (like selling forests to mining interests) and #HumanRights violations to pay back the debts.

Activists Disrupt Meeting to Demand '#LoanSharks' IMF and World Bank Cancel All Debt

by Brett Wilkins
Oct 11, 2022

"We need #localization and #ecological #sustainability for the people, planet, and peace," said #CodePink's Nancy Mancias. "We are calling on the IMF and #WorldBank to end its debt trap monetary practices which are causing countries to sink further down into economic crises."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/10/11/activists-disrupt-meeting-demand-loan-sharks-imf-and-world-bank-cancel-all-debt

Explainer: Who holds #Ghana's debt and what restructuring is planned?

By Rachel Savage and Marc Jones
December 9, 2022

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/who-holds-ghanas-debt-what-restructuring-is-planned-2022-12-09/

Critics Say IMF Loan Fees Are Hurting Nations in Desperate Need

Democratic lawmakers say the global fund’s surcharges for emergency relief siphon away money that countries need to fight the pandemic.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/business/economy/imf-surcharges.html

#IMFLoans #IMFLoanSharks #CancelAllDebt #TaxTheRichToHelpThePoor #WealthRedistribution #ChineseLoans #WorldBank

#Ghana hollows out #forests and green protections to advance #mining interests

Malavika Vyawahare
28 Aug 2024
via @mongabay

Key points:

- The Ghanaian government has significantly ramped up the approval of mining permits under legislation passed in late 2022, intensifying concerns about runaway environmental damage.

- The country is already the top #gold producer in #Africa, but much of the mining is done in #forest reserves and other #biodiverse #ecosystems.

- The government has long cracked down on artisanal illegal #GoldMiners, but activists say the real damage is being wrought by #industrial operations, both legal and illegal.

- A debt default in 2022 has seen #Ghana lean even more heavily on its gold to mitigate the crisis, prompting warnings that such a policy is neither #economically nor #environmentally #sustainable.

Read more: https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/ghana-hollows-out-forests-and-green-protections-to-advance-mining-interests/

#ApampramaReserve #HeritageImperial #WaterIsLife #SaveTheForests #NoMiningWithoutConsent #CorporateColonialism #C&GAleska #GoldMining #GSBA #LithiumMining #BodiForestReserve #IMFLoans #WorldBank #IMFLoanSharks

My colleague Edward Byers is organising a #capacitybuilding & #training workshop about #energyaccess and the WEF Nexus in #Africa!

📅Online - October 16-17, 2023
Joint effort by #IIASA, #WRIafrica, #LEAPRE_EU and the #WorldBank!
#ESMAP - #RE4AFAGRI

👉 https://iiasa.zoom.us/webinar/register/2916958437318/WN_5TXFl3ipRzmgnzW3AZo-WQ#/registration

@theintercept
It *is* the #WorldBank. Can anyone really trust the #IMF and WorldBank these days. We can only assume Blackrock is hoping to cash in on #Ukraine too, with recent news that they may get the lucrative contracts to rebuild (whatever is left of) the country.

Even the #BlackRock founder himself alleged at the start of the conflict that #Russia would be defeated in weeks. So either he was lying, or his mass of predictive, #AI supercomputers were wrong.

#failingUpwards #warProfiteering