Human Rights | Accountability Counsel - Accountability Counsel

In nearly all of our cases, communities experience human rights violations. Some are violations of economic, social and cultural rights, some are violations of civil and political rights, and in many cases, there are both. We see impacts like forced displacement from land and livelihoods, project impacts leading to human trafficking, use of violence and intimidation, and wrongful imprisonment for speaking out. Other human rights abuses experienced by our clients include knowing poisoning of drinking water due to contamination, forced labor, severe health impacts and bodily injury, and sexual exploitation. Women, children, Indigenous Peoples, and other marginalized groups often bear the brunt of harm.

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India: Assam Tea Plantations

22 October 2019 – IFC fails to ensure proper work protection for tea workers in India By Amruta Byatnal, Devex
30 January 2019 – Shifting Risk from the Poor to the Powerful Through Accountability: 2019 World Bank Group Annual Meetings Read Out
28 January 2019 – Press Release: World Bank and Tata Group Must Take Urgent Action to Address Long-Standing Health and Safety Concerns on Their Tea Plantations in India
11 December 2018 – UK companies can help break the cycle of poverty wages on Assam’s tea plantations By Anirudha Nagar, Accountability Counsel, in CORE Coalition

Peru: Oil in the Amazon

15 April 2015 – Gold Rush: How the World Bank is Financing Environmental Destruction By Ben Hallman and Roxana Olivera, HuffPost & International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Nepal: Khimti-Dhalkebar Transmission Line

22 November 2019 – Investors in Nepal’s hydropower sector must address concerns of local communities and Indigenous Peoples
5 February 2019 – Gaining Access to Information: The Case of Nepali Communities & The World Bank By Siddharth Akali, Accountability Counsel, & Shankar Limbu, LAHURNIP
22 January 2018 – Disappointing dialogue in Sindhuli provides lessons for community participation in Nepal’s development By Siddharth Akali, Accountability Counsel, & Shankar Limbu, LAHURNIP, in The Record

Haiti: Caracol Industrial Park

14 January 2020 – Haiti farmers eager to receive compensation after ‘groundbreaking’ land deal By Jacob Kushner, Thomson Reuters Foundation
9 January 2020 – When HOPE is POWER: Haitian Farmers Defend Land Rights in Historic Dialogue Process By Lani Inverarity, Accountability Counsel
29 March 2019 – AAAS connects human rights groups with science experts By Andrea Korte, Science Magazine
29 January 2019 – Displaced farmers’ coalition reclaims their road to sustainable livelihoods 9 years after Haiti’s devastating earthquake By Janine Mendes-Franco, Global Voices
14 January 2019 – Haiti Farmers Demanded Justice After Losing Their Land – Their Victory Shows What Empowering Workers Can Achieve By Lani Inverarity, Accountability Counsel, in Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

Liberia: Biomass Project in Buchanan

26 March 2019 – What happens when a DFI project goes wrong? By Teresa Welsh, Devex
17 July 2018 – It Takes Consultation to Help a Village By Rachel Cernansky, New York Times
3 March 2017 – AC and Partners Successfully Press OPIC to Strengthen Its Environmental and Social Policy Statement
8 December 2016 – New FOIA Release Shows U.S. Agency Ignored Warnings While Investing Millions in Failed Project in Liberia By Kindra Mohr & Lani Inverarity, Accountability Counsel, in HuffPost

Myanmar: Ridge to Reef Project

20 August 2019 – Indigenous Communities in Myanmar Take Action Against Top-Down Conservation By Anirudha Nagar, Accountability Counsel, in The Diplomat
9 August 2019 – UN Team Meets Locals to Discuss Issues with Tanintharyi Conservation Project By Kyaw Soe Htet, Myanmar Times

India: Jharkhand Water Project

2 March 2020 – In Deep Water: Will the World Bank honor its commitments to the poor in an Indian water project?
4 April 2019 – No consent of communities? World Bank to investigate water supply project in Jharkhand By Development Channel
4 April 2019 – Nod for probe into World Bank-funded project in Jharkhand By Abhishek Angad, The Indian Express
16 July 2016 – Water War By Hindustan Times

A tea worker sprays pesticides without protective gear on an APPL plantation in Assam
Affected communities in Nepal meet with Inspection Panel representative
Charcoaler working in the natural forest next to the Firestone plantation in Liberia
Communities affected by Ridge to Reef are taking action to ensure that conservation efforts respect their rights
The Komite together with AC's Lani Inverarity in Haiti
Shipibo residents of Nuevo Sucre, Peru meet the CAO
Indigenous Adivasi communities in Jharkhand worry their water resources will be polluted or depleted as a result of the project