A call to defend the independence of accountability mechanisms
October 9, 2023
Bankwatch joins other community advocates around the world in sounding the alarm about growing threats to the independence of accountability mechanisms attached to international financial institutions and other development agencies.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development must do more to safeguard biodiversity in its new environmental policy
October 4, 2023
As the global biodiversity crisis grows ever more urgent, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) environmental policy and practice is proving insufficient to prevent harm to nature, let alone allow its restoration. The Bank’s review of its environmental and social policy in the coming months must provide a proportionate response to the scale of the problem.
Civil society groups urge the EBRD to rethink mining investments
September 20, 2023
Twenty civil society organisations from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Mongolia, Uganda, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, as well as seven international environmental and human rights organisations, are calling on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to reconsider its approach to mining investments.
Complaint filed against EBRD: labour rights violations, land grabs and exploitation at cotton producer Indorama Agro in Uzbekistan
September 5, 2023
On 3 August 2023, Uzbek Forum for Human Rights (Uzbek Forum), assisted by Bankwatch Network, filed a complaint with the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for human rights violations at Indorama Agro, one of Uzbekistan’s largest cotton producers.
Is this development? Public development banks must rethink their investments and put local communities first
September 4, 2023
On 4 to 6 September, the world’s public development banks will gather for the Finance in Common Summit in Cartagena, Colombia. They’ll be discussing key development issues – from climate change to infrastructure – issues that affect the lives of millions of people around the world. Bankwatch is on the ground to expose the adverse impacts of investments made by development banks and advocates for meaningful community participation in decision-making on development projects.
Civil society calls on public development banks to overhaul their approach to development
September 4, 2023
As a member of the Coalition for Human Rights in Development, Bankwatch has joined civil society organisations and human rights defenders from over 20 countries in calling for immediate and effective action from public development banks.
Tbilisi’s transport policy conundrums: between resolution and resistance
August 21, 2023
The efforts of Tbilisi City Hall, responsible for transport reform, are anything but commendable. Criticism is also apt for the international financial institutions that have invested significantly in Tbilisi’s transport planning overhaul, and that are therefore responsible for monitoring its progress and impact.
The forgotten annex in the EBRD Sustainability Report 2022: human rights
June 9, 2023
In 2022, Bankwatch and its partner civil society organisations provided the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with over twelve reports highlighting human rights concerns related to investment projects in the Bank’s countries of operation. However, none of these concerns are mentioned in the EBRD Sustainability Report 2022.
Seven years after joining the EBRD’s Green Cities programme, is Yerevan’s green future going up in flames?
June 2, 2023
In May 2023, a massive fire broke out at the Nubarashen landfill on the outskirts of Yerevan, enveloping the city in a cloud of toxic smoke generated by the burning waste. It took 10 days and 2,300 truckloads of soil to extinguish the flames. Coming seven years after Yerevan became a pioneer by joining the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Green Cities initiative, this incident is a stark reminder of the urgent need to adopt a safer and more sustainable approach to waste management and urban planning.
ЕБРР расширяет сферу своей деятельности на страны Африки к югу от Сахары, но Украина по-прежнему является «высшим приоритетом» –
May 27, 2023
Ежегодное собрание Европейского банка реконструкции и развития (ЕБРР) недавно вернулось в Узбекистан впервые с 2003 года, когда обычное …
