Blog

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.

Accountability Counsel was recently elected to join the OECD Watch Coordination Committee (CC).  OECD Watch, a global network of non-governmental organizations that advocates for the implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, voted for Accountability Counsel along with two other organizations to serve in the three-year CC positions.

Accountability Counsel submitted comments today to Secretary of State John Kerry as part of the development of the U.S. National Action Plan (NAP) on Responsible Business Conduct.

Haitian communities and organizations filed a complaint with the World Bank regarding Bank-supported activities to develop Haiti’s mining sector today. The complaint alleges that the Haitian populace has been left out of World Bank-funded efforts by the Haitian government to draft new mining legislation intended to attract foreign investors to…

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced the creation of a new dispute resolution mechanism on January 1, 2015.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has just released a revised policy (Español) governing its Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism.  Accountability Counsel played a lead role in advocating for policy changes and submitted comments as part of the review process.  Our analysis of will be coming soon here.

Late last night, President Obama signed the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, which includes provisions in an explanatory statement requiring the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to address serious accountability gaps revealed in an investigation report regarding a failed biomass project in Liberia.

WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. 22, 2014—On Tuesday, December 16, 2014, President Obama signed the FY2015 Omnibus Appropriations bill[1] into law, securing a victory for communities in Liberia and environmental and human rights advocates. The law includes provisions in an explanatory statement that hold the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) accountable…

Accountability Counsel’s South Asia Director Komala Ramachandra and Policy Director Kindra Mohr attended the third annual UN Global Forum for Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.

Last week, the accountability office of the Inter-American Development (IDB) found our Colombia case eligible for compliance review.  Accountability Counsel has been assisting Comunidades Unidas, a community-based organization located in the locality of Fontibón, Bogotá, in their complaint regarding serious noise pollution caused by the IDB-funded expansion of the El Dorado International Airport.

Last week, five Haitian organizations, with assistance from Accountability Counsel and the NYU School of Law Global Justice Clinic, submitted a letter to the World Bank expressing serious concerns with the Bank’s involvement in the Haitian mining sector.

Today, Accountability Counsel submitted comments on a new draft international standard of best practices for mining industry projects. The standard, which is being developed by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), includes requirements that all mining projects maintain a project-level grievance mechanism to review and address complaints from affected communities, and that each grievance mechanism meet certain criteria.

The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) recently released a revealing independent investigation report describing its role a failed biomass project that harmed hundreds of Liberian farmers, charcoal producers and workers.

Oct. 15, 2014—A U.S. federal agency, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (“OPIC”) recently released a revealing independent investigation report describing its role in a failed biomass project in Liberia. OPIC approved over US$200 million in financing for the project, operated by Buchanan Renewables. Read full press release here.