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The World Bank’s own Inspection Panel released a statement yesterday questioning the role for accountability in light of the proposed changes to the World Bank’s safeguard policies.  As an example of a loophole the draft policy fails to close, the Panel offers Accountability Counsel’s case related to mining in Haiti, where because of the Bank’s use of a Bank Executed Trust Fund (BETF), the Bank claimed social and environmental rules did not apply.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released an article today highlighting the World Bank Inspection Panel’s findings of non-compliance in a high-powered transmission line project in Nepal. The findings were a vindication of the complaint filed by local communities living in the transmission line’s path, with support from Accountability Counsel and Nepalese organization LAHURNIP.

A new report analyzing the performance of the OECD’s system of state-based complaint offices found that the system is failing to bring accountability for corporate wrongdoing.

Last week an independent investigation revealed serious abuses in a World Bank-funded transmission line project in central Nepal. The Khimti-Dhalkebar transmission line runs through indigenous and rural communities, who have been raising concerns about the project for over five years. Though the findings validate community concerns, the World Bank has not committed to correcting the damage caused by its failures in this project.

Accountability Counsel, along with 106 other civil society organizations, sent President Kim a letter “to urge the World Bank to increase the transparency and accountability of World Bank-funded procurements.” AC and partners hope this letter is the first step towards the World Bank implementing reform and embracing transparency with regard to their procurement activities.

Accountability Counsel has received a three-year grant from the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation to support the organization’s pioneering work defending environmental and human rights of communities around the world.

Accountability Counsel, the Center for International Environmental Law, and Friends of the Earth (US) sent a letter today to Secretary of State John Kerry as part of the development of the U.S. National Action Plan (NAP) on Responsible Business Conduct.

Today, Indian fishing communities and farmers represented by EarthRights International filed a lawsuit alleging that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the private lending arm of the World Bank Group – harmed their health, property and livelihoods by investing in an ultra mega coal-fired power plant.

Today we received the World Bank’s response to a letter we submitted from over 90 civil society organizations demanding that the Bank take responsibility for its actions in Haiti.

Accountability Counsel is pleased to announce that Anirudha Nagar will be joining our team as a consultant, collaborating with us on our work in South Asia.

Last week, the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) published a plan to address widespread failures at the agency that contributed to a botched energy project in Liberia, which resulted in serious human rights, labor, and environmental abuses that our case identified.

Policy Director Kindra Mohr is attending the Urgewald 2015 conference this week on Human Rights and Accountability at Multilateral Financial Institutions in Berlin, Germany.

We are pleased to share our Winter Newsletter with updates on our policy advocacy and from our work in communities around the world.

Today more than 90 organizations from around the world joined with the Haiti Mining Justice Collective, the NYU Global Justice Clinic, and Accountability Counsel to demand that the World Bank take responsibility for its actions in Haiti.

Accountability Counsel’s press release covers the World Bank’s announcement on Wednesday that it failed to properly implement its own resettlement policy, leaving untold thousands without their homes, businesses, land or any compensation to show after they were displaced to make way for World Bank development projects.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently announced the creation of its new Stakeholder Response Mechanism (SRM) to serve as a forum for project affected people to voice their concerns about UNEP projects.

We are thrilled to announce that Faris Natour has joined Accountability Counsel’s Board of Directors.  Faris comes to us with a deep background in the business and human rights field.  He is currently the Managing Director for Advisory Services at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), where he leads their Global Human Rights Practice.

Last week, the World Bank Inspection Panel refused to consider a complaint from Haitian communities about the Bank’s support for development of the mining sector in Haiti. Communities affected by mining activity and the Justice in Mining Collective, a group of six Haitian civil society organizations, submitted the complaint in…

Accountability Counsel and partner civil society organizations sent a letter to the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expressing concerns about the hiring process for the EBRD’s Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) Officer position.

A series of media reports came out this week calling attention to the lack of accountability at the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).  The relatively unknown agency handles an $18 billion development portfolio and its operations have faced little scrutiny until recently.