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media advisory
friends of the earth
international
inter-american development bank
celebrates the destruction of latin america´s
riches;
civil society hindered in activities at
bank´s annual meeting in peru
lima,peru, march 31, 2004 -- This week, at
the opening of the Inter-American Development
Bank annual meeting in Lima, IDB President
Iglesias expressed optimism about the
region´s development, while only briefly
touching upon increasing poverty,
unemployment and inequity.
“President Iglesias seems to be on another
planet”, said Janneke Bruil, Financial
Institutions Campaign Coordinator of Friends
of the Earth International in response. Just
after Iglesias´ speech, an NGO press
conference room was blocked by security for
30 minutes.
Mr. Iglesias reiterated his commitment to
the initiative for the Regional
Infrastructure Integration of South America
IIRSA, an infrastructure scheme of
unprecedented magnitude. ´IIRSA is
accompanied by a package of archaic
mega-projects through which we will witness
the final destruction of all the tremendous
riches of the region including its
biodiversity, its waters, its cultures´, said
Oscar Rivas, Director of Sobrevivencia,
Friends of the Earth Paraguay.
Civil society in Lima released a new
comparative study, giving the IDB an ´F´ for
its new draft environmental policy. Social
and environmental standards of the
Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) are
lagging far behind those used at its sister
institution the World Bank. `Even the major
private banks have now signed on to World
Bank standards, which should be regarded an
absolute minimum. If the IDB is serious about
its mission of poverty alleviation, it must
dramatically transform its policies and
practices´, commented Ms Bruil.
The IDB has come under fierce criticism
for its lending to major infrastructure and
extractive industry projects. The Bank is
currently considering whether to continue a
2.6 billion dollar loan for the controversial
Camisea gas project in Peru, put on hold as a
result of major problems, including illness
and death among indigenous peoples.
While Peruvian president Toledo advocated
increasing participation and strengthening
democracy, NGO press advisories were removed
and the entrance to the NGO room temporarily
blocked by Peruvian security guards. NGO
representatives attempting to distribute the
advisories were searched, followed and
harassed. IDB accredited NGOs were not
allowed to use any regular press facilities
and were therefore forced to schedule a press
conference in a small NGO room in a
basement.
For more information contact in Lima
Janneke Bruil or Oscar Rivas: +31-6-301 65
093 or email
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