Friends of the Earth International

PRESS RELEASE
Advance for Thursday 22nd July, 2004

WAKE UP CALL ON WORLD BANK'S 60TH ANNIVERSARY

WASHINGTON (USA) /JAKARTA (INDONESIA) July 22, 2004 -- Campaigners around
the world, from Washington to Jakarta, mark the 60th Anniversary of the
World Bank on Thursday 22nd July with an international
non-violent 'day of action', protesting at six decades of the Bank's
failed policies, misguided loans, increasing debt, and investment in
dubious development projects [1].

The anniversary falls in the run up to a crucial August 3 decision by the
World Bank on the implementation of the Extractive Industries Review [2].
The review, carried out at the request of World Bank President James
Wolfensohn, demands an end to the Bank's support for unsustainable
investments in oil exploitation and coal mining.

The final decision rests with the Bank's Board, but indications from the
Bank's management suggest they do not want to see the review
implemented, and will continue to invest billions of dollars in the oil,
gas and mining industries. The World Bank is accountable to its
shareholders, which are almost all of the world's governments.

Longgena Ginting, director of WALHI/ Friends of the Earth Indonesia, said:
"It's time to shake up the World Bank and implementing the Extractive
Industries Review is a crucial first step. The World Bank is a public
institution, intended to alleviate poverty, but instead it is supporting
damaging industries and putting corporate profit before people and the
environment. Oil, mining and gas projects have a clear irreversible
damage and contribute too little to fight poverty. In many oil producing
regions, poverty remains a structural poverty. There is no reason for the
bank to continue supporting this."

Established in 1944, the World Bank was set up to make loans and
guarantee credit to its 184 member countries. Its mission is the
alleviation of poverty. But the Bank's interpretation of poverty
alleviation has been questioned, with major investments made in
projects which have had a detrimental effect on local communities, and
damaged the local and global environment. Protests are planned for July
22 in cities around the world including Jakarta, London, Rome, Potosí,
(Bolivia) and Washington.

For more information contact Friends of the Earth:

In Asia call in Jakarta: Longgena Ginting, +62 811 92 70 38

In the Americas call in Washington: Jon Sohn +1-2024122467

In Europe call in Amsterdam (NL) Janneke Bruil: +31-652118998 or

in London (UK) Hannah Ellis +44-2075661601 +44-7952876929

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

[1] Environmental, development and human rights campaigners will all join
in a global day of action 'j-22' which takes place around the world
including Jakarta, London, Rome, Potosí, (Bolivia) and Washington. For
more information see http://www.foei.org/ifi/j22.html

[2] 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;
* Respect for human rights in Bank lending;
* Requiring that freedom of association be present in Bank financed
projects as a basic human/labour rights requirement;
* Ensuring that good governance structures are in place before project
finance and implementation occurs;
* No financing in areas of armed conflict;
* 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 and www.eireview.info

For more information on why "International Financial Institutions Must
stop drilling, piping and mining", download the Friends of the
Earth International report at
http://www.foei.org/publications/financial/index.html