World Bank Under Pressure from Tutu

Feb 16

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/world_bank_under_pressure_1...

World Bank President James Wolfensohn, in London today to give a
keynote speech on the challenges of globalisation [1], is facing
pressure from Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu to
clean up the World Bank's policy and practice on funding oil and
mining industries.

Archbishop Tutu joins four other Nobel winners and more than 300
organisations who have written to Wolfensohn calling on him to
radically reform the way the World Bank supports oil and mining
industries [2]. A recent review of World Bank funding for
extractive industries, commissioned by Wolfensohn found that
funding extractive industry projects was not a suitable use of
public money in the vast majority of cases and does not promote
sustainable development. It recommended the Bank reallocate funds
towards renewable energy [3],

But a draft copy of World Bank's response to the Extractive
Industries Review, leaked last week, revealed that the Bank had
not committed to making changes to ensure its investments benefit
local communities and reduce poverty. The Bank's own data shows
that countries which rely on oil as their primary export are more
than 40 times more likely than other nations to be involved in
civil war [4].

In the letter to Wolfensohn, Tutu and the other Nobel Laureates
say:

"War, poverty, climate change, greed, corruption, and ongoing
violations of human rights - all of these scourges are all too
often linked to the oil and mining industries . Your efforts to
create a world without poverty need not exacerbate these
problems.

" The Review provides you an extraordinary opportunity to direct
the resources of the World Bank Group in a way that is truly
oriented towards a better future for all humanity."

The review says the World Bank Group should not support coal and
oil projects without taking up its recommendations.

Friends of the Earth, International Finance Institutions
Campaigner Hannah Ellis said:

"Th e report clearly states the World Bank 's support for
oil and mining do es not benefit local communities ,
protect basic human rights or the environment in the vast
majority of cases . The World Bank Group , with its stated
mission as poverty alleviation and sustainable development, must
keep its commitment to put into place the recommended necessary
changes of the review."

Notes for Editors:

[1] World Bank President James Wolfensohn will give a keynote
speech at Making Globalisation Work for All at 1000 at HM Treasury
on Monday 16th February Other speakers include: Rt. Hon. Gordon
Brown MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer; President Lula of Brazil;
Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International
Development

[2] Full details of the letter and signatories available from
Friends of the Earth media office

[3] The recommendations of the Extractive Industries Review
include:

Informed consent from local communities and indigenous peoples
affected by extractive projects as a pre-condition for financing;

Phasing out lending in support of oil and coal and to invest its
scarce development resources in renewable energy by setting
lending targets of increasing renewable energy lending by 20% a
year;

Ensuring the establishment of indigenous peoples' land rights as a
condition for project finance;

ensuring that revenues of Bank-financed projects benefit all
affected local groups;

requiring that freedom of association be present in Bank financed
projects as a basic human/labor rights requirement;

ensuring that good governance structures are in place before
project finance and implementation occurs;

protecting biodiversity through establishing "no go" areas for
internationally recognized critical habitats;

requiring that submarine tailings disposal not be used in World
Bank Group supported mining projects;

Increasing revenue transparency and improving public disclosure
about projects; and promoting overdue key institutional reforms to
deal with the long documented "pressure to lend" in the World Bank
that has resulted in weakening of implementation of key
environmental and social protection policies.

For more information on the EIR, view www.eireview.org">1]

[4] Collier, Paul, and Anke Hoeffler, Greed and Grievance in Civil
War . Policy Research Working Paper 2355, Development Research
Group, World Bank, May 2000.