press release
November 30, 2004
african ngos boycott world bank
meeting
ACCRA, November 30- Today, organisations
from across the African continent are
boycotting a consultation meeting in Nairobi
organized by the International Finance
Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group.
The organisations claim that the consultation
is ill-prepared, rushed and untransparent,
and will not provide a meaningful venue for
input. Civil society demanded more
time, more outreach, more translation, more
information and more engagement, but did not
get an adequate response.
The IFC is meeting in Nairobi today to
discuss new social and environmental
standards. The institution is the private
sector arm of the World Bank Group, providing
financial support for large corporations,
including AngloGold Ashanti in Ghana. Many of
IFC's projects around the world have polluted
rivers, displaced people, increased
corruption, abused human rights and
contributed to climate change. Benefits are
rarely shared with the communities that are
affected. African NGOs including Friends of
the Earth groups, Third World Network and
CIVICUS claim in a statement that ‘the
framework for the Bank's involvement in
Africa's extractives has been inadequate and
unbalanced to meet the developmental
priorities and needs of the people and
communities.'
Under pressure of transnational
corporations, the IFC plans to weaken its
standards, thereby endangering people and the
environment even further.
Noble Wadzah of Friends of the Earth Ghana
said: “IFC's new standards for social and
environmental matters will not be binding
upon corporations. While the current policies
are weak already, and implementation is
problematic, voluntary codes are
unacceptable. It would imply that foreign
corporations can ruin our resources and
livelihoods as they please, while not being
accountable. What do we stand to gain? It is
time that the World Bank Group reconsiders
the way it is doing business and starts to
protect people instead of profit.”
The statement, signed by 29 African
non-governmental organisations, reads: ‘We
would welcome any review that seeks to
correct the fundamental imbalances inherent
in extractive sector activity in Africa by
adopting extractive sector policy frameworks
that protect the interests and rights of
communities, and promote environmental
diversity and national development. (…) The
IFC chose the contrary in its review process.
We feel strongly that by this choice IFC has
subordinated public interest to corporate
interest and we feel obliged to spend our
time, energy and resources in alternative
important endeavours.'
The African statement follows boycotts of
consultations of the IFC review in Rio de
Janeiro (Brazil), Manila (Philippines) and
London (United Kingdom). Later this week,
groups will be protesting outside the IFC
consultation meeting in Paris, France.
For more information, contact:
Noble Wadzah, Friends of the Earth
Ghana:
Tel. 0233 51 23 12 or email
kowadzah9@yahoo.com
Abdulai Darimani, Third World Network: Tel.
0233 50 36 69
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