Blog

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,…

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…

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…

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,…

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.

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…

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…

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…

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!

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

For nearly a decade now, local communities, including indigenous peoples, affected by the World Bank-funded Khimti-Dhalkebar Transmission Line (KDTL) have been protesting the KDTL project in Nepal’s Sindhuli district. While construction of the transmission line was suspended in Sindhuli for several years, in the past year, authorities have used violence against local people to resume construction by force.

On 10 August, 2016, the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) sent a collective letter to the Government of Nepal to express concern regarding the reported and threatened human rights violations in connection with the World Bank-funded Khimti-Dhalkebar 220 kV Transmission Line Project, in the Sindhuli District,…

Gabriela Acosta lives with her family in one of the areas worst-affected by noise from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia. She suffers grave hearing loss that negatively affects her speech and her academic development. This is her story, told to us by her father: “My name is Julio…

When we talk about airports, we don’t often talk about the harm to those living nearby. The families trying to sleep, to talk to one another, to concentrate on their work or study; those suffering severe physical and psychological stress, including hearing loss, cardiovascular disease, and insomnia; and those simply…