Development – World Bank standards weakens from – Frankfurter Rundschau

05 August 2016

If for a new framework for the financing of projects in developing and emerging countries in the review: World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. Photo: imago

associations and politicians criticize the new rules for the financing of development projects of the World Bank

New environmental and social standards of the world Bank to reduce any negative effects of the financed projects in developing and emerging countries. The Board of Directors of the multinational development institution adopted the so-called Safeguards on Thursday (local time) in Washington.

The new rules had been drawn up according to the most detailed discussions of the history of the World Bank, said Bank President Jim Yong Kim. It contains new protection clauses in favor “of the environment and the most vulnerable people in the world”.

Even the Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Development Ministry, Thomas Silberhorn, holds the new safeguards for a major advance. “Compared to the current standards, the rights were going to an important extension of the recording previously unrecognized areas,” Silberhorn said on request of the Frankfurter Rundschau.

For years the global influential Development Bank is criticized, to take in their projects the violation of people into buying. Last year, the World Bank had itself admitted, not knowing how many people together gear with it finances projects resettled and how many of them were adequately compensated.

members

189 member countries is one of the world Bank. Germany’s fourth-largest shareholder after the United States, Japan and China. Currently, the diplomat Ursula Müller from the Development Ministry, Germany is of the Executive Board of the World Bank. This monitors and controls the operations of the Bank Group.

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the fact that it is now better with the new rules, NGOs and human rights institutions doubt however massive. Korinna Horta from club Urgewald even speaks of a “dilution and hollowing out” of existing protection standards. The rules now adopted contains no mandatory testing for possible human rights violations more, criticized the expert for multilateral development banks

. Only intent

also Andrea combatants by the German Institute for human rights, the world Bank previously mandatory standards now replaced by declarations of intent. “Through the entire design to attract discretionary clauses and vague formulations.” For example, could borrowing countries in future conduct risk assessments for large infrastructure projects only after undertaking the World Bank funding, explained combatants. And with their own, national environmental and social management systems -. Without the World Bank reserved the right to check these for compatibility with its own standards

Negative consequences threaten the According critics especially for indigenous peoples. Thus, the new World Bank standards allow the future to finance also projects in areas that are important for conservation and for Indigenous of particular importance. be facilitated also forced relocations. The World Bank may grant money without the numbers involved and the plans for their resettlement and compensation are known.

World Bank President Kim defended the new rules yet as “best compromise” between the 189 countries who are shareholders of the institute. The bank had “need to find a middle way, which ensures that there is no abuse, the same time enables the recipient countries to borrow money”

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ILO standards undermined

in fact, the world Bank has also introduced new elements into the standards. For example, the topics are workers’ rights and citizen participation treated prominent. However, the institution and this also behind long existing agreements of the UN. The World Bank does not set based on the core labor standards of the International Labour Organisation, but is about the right of freedom of association of workers covered by the reservation of national law.

The development policy spokesperson for the Greens, Uwe Kekeritz, criticized the fact that the federal government may see it passively, as for decades fought “centralized standards are softened”. German Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) have once again proven “Grandmaster tollster announcement”. The pretentious promises of the federal government at the beginning of almost four years of negotiations were like bursting a bubble.

Urgewald expert Horta called on the federal government to take as an influential voice in the World Bank ensure ” that human rights trials are conducted independently of the new standards “

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