Assam Tea Plantations: Advocates Deliver 67,000 Signatures to World Bank Group

On November 6, 2017, Accountability Counsel, together with Human Rights Watch, PAJHRA, PAD, and Nazdeek, delivered a Care2 petition with more than 67,000 signatures to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector arm.

The petition calls on the IFC to fulfill its commitment to protect workers through its investment in tea plantations in Assam, India. It comes one year after the release of the investigation report by the IFC’s accountability office, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman.

“The World Bank Group is not honoring its commitment to improve the lives of tea workers in Assam,” said Anirudha Nagar, South Asia director at Accountability Counsel. “The bank should urgently disclose the audits it is relying on, address the findings of its independent accountability office, and make good on its promise to ensure workers are consulted in a process moderated by an independent third party.”