Whether in Europe or beyond, public money must not become an auxiliary for human rights violations or the marginalisation of affected communities.
We expose cases where development banks fail to protect those impacted by their projects.
We advocate for participation and consultation processes that are not pro-forma exercises, but a tool to ensure people’s well-being.
Close to frontline communities
We’re in direct contact with affected communities and provide updates from their struggles.
Image (c) Rosa Vroom
Where rights are on the line
The Khada Valley, Georgia
The Khada Valley in Georgia brings together exceptional biodiversity, precious cultural and archeological heritage, and mountainous villages which have preserved rich traditions and historical lifestyles. But all of this might vanish if a 23-kilometer road from Georgia to Russia – the Kvesheti-Kobi project – is built.
Minerals mining and supply chains
Global demand for minerals and other critical raw materials is intensified by the just transition to renewable energy and the digital transformation agenda. Therefore sustainable supply chains of minerals are fundamental to addressing the climate crisis and the Covid-19 crisis that humanity is facing today. The European Union needs to innovate and find solutions to achieve its circular economy and resource use reduction objectives and to meet the demand of EU’s industry and consumers, while still protecting communities and nature threatened by mining.
Amulsar gold mine, Armenia
Since 2016 the controversial Amulsar gold mine project is being developed by Armenia’s largest foreign investor, an international mining company Lydian, near the touristic spa town of Jermuk.
Latest news
Business with Russia: multilateral banks must rethink their approach to Russian exposure
Blog entry | 1 April, 2022The EBRD, EIB, and most other multilateral banks have taken decisive steps to cut financing for Russia and Belarus. Still, they might end up supporting the countries indirectly through banking groups present in the countries.
Read moreIs there room for informal waste pickers in Serbia’s new waste management system?
Blog entry | 10 March, 2022As Serbia modernises its waste collection, the people who keep the country’s cities clean and green should not be left behind.
Read more18 CSOs to EIB Board: Recommendations to improve civil society engagement
Bankwatch in the media | 8 March, 2022Eighteen civil society organisations, including the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, have shared recommendations to improve CSO …
Read moreRelated publications
Balancing gender opportunities and risks: Gender impacts of the EBRD’s investments in Uzbekistan
Report | 2 March, 2022 | Download PDFThis report analyses the gender impact of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) portfolio in Uzbekistan.
Update to the Bern Convention on the Complaint No. 2016/09 – Possible threat by hydropower to “Svaneti 1” Candidate Emerald Site
Official document | 22 February, 2022 | Download PDFThe Svaneti 1 Candidate Emerald site in Georgia is threatened by the decision of the Georgian government to reduce its size for construction of the 280 MW Nenskra Hydro Power Plant (HPP) project. This is an update by the complainants on the Complaint No. 2016/9 – Possible threat to “Svaneti 1” Candidate Emerald Site who request an on-the-spot appraisal mission by the Bern Convention to Georgia, in order to investigate the threats to rivers that were recorded by Bankwatch during its fact-finding mission in July 2021.
Open letter to the EBRD and JP Autoceste about the legality of the project-level Spatial Plan of 2017 for the Corridor Vc in the Hercegovina-Neretva Canton
Open letter | 21 February, 2022 | Download PDFThe letter requests that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development not sign the loan agreement for the Corridor Vc motorway subsections Mostar North – Mostar South until additional biodiversity baseline studies for the subsection tunnel Kvanj – Buna and alternative route assessments are completed. The letter also presents the conclusions of the discrimination complaint filed by war returnees, as well as the ramifications for the Bank’s rules on vulnerable groups. It asserts that signing the loan for the subsection Mostar North and South should be delayed until additional biodiversity studies and careful consideration of route alternatives are completed, particularly since the Bank’s independent accountability mechanism is about to finalize its recommendations to management in the first half of 2022.
