Blog
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7 March 2017Supporting the Women of Caracol, Haiti this International Women’s Day 2017
On International Women’s Day 2017, Accountability Counsel is celebrating women around the world who are fighting to protect their human rights and their environment. Women like Marie Marthe Rocksaint, Ilna St Jean, and Vigénise Bien Aimé – smallholder farmers displaced from their land in Haiti to make way for the… -
3 March 2017AC and Partners Successfully Press OPIC to Strengthen Its Environmental and Social Policy Statement
In response to years of advocacy by Accountability Counsel and our partners, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has made significant improvements to its Environmental and Social Policy Statement (ESPS), its main human rights and environmental safeguard policy. OPIC has been the subject of two Accountability Counsel community-led complaints about… -
28 February 2017Collective Action for Justice at the International Advocates Working Group Retreat
Nearly 40 advocates from around the world gathered last week to share lessons learned, find ways to contribute to each other’s work, and to support each other in the difficult labor of defending environmental and human rights. This year’s International Advocates Working Group retreat, hosted by Accountability Counsel in the… -
3 February 2017Accountability Counsel’s Role in the Resistance
By Natalie Bridgeman Fields, Founder & Executive Director The Trump administration has taken so many steps to undermine protections for human rights and the environment in the past week that it’s hard to keep up, let alone challenge these affronts to justice. We all have a job to do to… -
31 January 2017Where Are We Now?: The U.S. National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct
On December 16, 2016, the Obama Administration released a National Action Plan (NAP) to promote responsible business conduct abroad. The NAP was two years in the making and aims to be consistent with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,… -
24 January 2017Haiti Land Grab Complaint Is Registered: Displaced Farmers Reflect on Their Fight for Justice
On January 12, 2017, the Kolektif Peyizan Viktim Tè Chabè, a collective of Haitian farmers displaced from land some had farmed for decades, filed a complaint to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) about its role in this land grab. January 12 was the seventh anniversary of the 2010 earthquake that… -
12 January 2017On 7th Anniversary of Earthquake, Haitian Farmers File Land Grab Complaint Highlighting Harm Caused By Disaster “Recovery” Efforts
Today, the Kolektif Peyizan Viktim Tè Chabè, a collective representing hundreds of Haitian farmers, filed a complaint to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) about its role in a case of land grabbing. In 2011, approximately 3,500 people the lost their livelihoods when they were forced off their land to make… -
20 December 2016Training the Trainers: Comunidades Unidas Presents at Mechanism-CSO Workshop in Colombia
This month, we have experienced the immense satisfaction of seeing Gloria Molina, one of our community partners, present her experiences and “lessons learned” to three major international accountability mechanisms, as well as a diverse civil society audience, at a workshop in Bogotá, Colombia. Gloria is the spokesperson for Comunidades Unidas,… -
9 December 2016Fiscal Year 2015 – 2016 Impact Report
Accountability Counsel is pleased to share our Fiscal Year 2015 – 2016 Impact Report, highlighting our work with communities to defend their environmental and human rights. We invite you to learn more by clicking through the links in the report to find details on our cases and policy initiatives. -
9 December 2016Yale Law School Recognizes Our Work
While Lani Inverarity, our Strategic Support Associate, was busy writing about her work in Colombia, Mongolia and Liberia, Yale Law School was writing about it too! Lani is the recipient of a Robina Foundation International Human Rights Fellowship, administered by Yale Law School. She joins a host of other fellows doing amazing work on… -
6 December 2016Going Forward Together: Lessons from Mongolia and Colombia on the Importance of Fair Benefit-Sharing For Sustainable Development
By Lani Inverarity, Global Communities Associate While working with dramatically different communities in Mongolia and Colombia this past year, I was struck by what they have in common. Despite the serious harms they are each suffering as a result of internationally-financed development projects, both communities repeatedly expressed their desire to build… -
30 November 2016Accountability Counsel and Partners Submit Comments on OPIC’s Draft Environmental and Social Policy Statement
On November 23, 2016, Accountability Counsel and 17 partner organizations submitted comments to improve the practices of a U.S. federal agency, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). OPIC has been the subject of two Accountability Counsel community-led complaints about abusive projects supported by the agency. The comments, which are part… -
29 November 2016#GivingTuesday with Accountability Counsel
Accountability Counsel is very pleased to be participating in #GivingTuesday, now in its 5th year! In the spirit of this charitable season, we invite you to make an online contribution or mail your tax-deductible donation to: Accountability Counsel 244 Kearny Street, Floor 6 San Francisco, CA 94108 We greatly appreciate your continued support! -
7 November 2016Investigation Finds Serious Labour Violations on World Bank Group Owned Tea Plantations in Assam
Today, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the accountability office of the World Bank Group, released an investigation report on the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) investment in tea plantations in Assam, India, where Accountability Counsel is supporting the complainants: in this case, local NGOs that brought a complaint to the CAO… -
3 November 2016Accountability Counsel’s Partners Under Attack in Liberia: Stand in Solidarity
Accountability Counsel’s long-standing partners, Green Advocates, are under attack in Liberia. We are calling for international solidarity to protect and defend the rights of our colleagues and to ensure their safety. We have worked closely with the organization’s leader, Alfred Brownell, and a number of Green Advocates’ staff over the… -
3 October 2016World Bank Secretly Funding Coal Explosion in Asia Despite President Kim Warning, “We are finished”
The World Bank Group has secretly funded a coal boom in Asia despite announcing a moratorium on such projects in 2013, according to the results of a new investigation. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has spoken forcefully about the dangers of new coal projects. “If Asia implements the coal-based… -
28 September 2016Accountability Counsel Presents at Roundtable on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
On September 17, 2016, Kindra Mohr and Stephanie Amoako represented Accountability Counsel’s policy team at the “OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the Law” roundtable at the George Washington (GW) University Law School. The roundtable, hosted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), GW Law School, and the… -
8 September 2016New Video: Preventing Environmental & Human Rights Abuses in Oaxaca, Mexico
Accountability offices can be powerful tools for communities seeking justice in the face of abuse. In a new video produced with New Media Advocacy Project (N-MAP), Accountability Counsel shows the story of the Cerro de Oro case in Oaxaca, Mexico. This groundbreaking case resulted in communities successfully defending their rights… -
3 September 2016New Data Report: Mapping Accountability
Hard data can be an important starting point for conversations about what is working and what is not, in any field. In the growing field of accountability offices for international finance projects, field-wide data remains hard to come by. Accountability Counsel aims to help bridge this gap with our ongoing… -
1 September 2016Celebrating Seven Years!
Happy Birthday to us! Accountability Counsel’s Board and Staff celebrate 7 years in operation today. We are grateful for the support of so many people, from student law fellows, to CSO partners, to funders, who have enabled our success as we serve people to defend their human rights and environment around the world.…