PHM-Exch> UN experts urge World Bank to adopt human rights standards on the eve of key gathering in Washington

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Bahram Ghazi <bghazi at ohchr.org>


**

*UN experts urge World Bank to adopt human rights standards on the eve of
key gathering in Washington*

GENEVA (18 April 2013) – A group of United Nations independent experts on
extreme poverty, indigenous peoples, right to food and foreign debt called
on the Word Bank to adopt human rights standards this weekend, during the
review of its environmental and social policies—also known as ‘safeguard
policies’—which apply to project finance.

“All activities supported by the World Bank, not only its investment
lending, should be included in the review to ensure consistency with
international human rights standards,” the rights experts urged. “Doing so
would improve development outcomes and strengthen the protection of the
world’s poorest from unintended adverse impacts of activities financed by
the Bank.”

The first consultation period of a two-year review of the Bank’s safeguard
policies for project finance concludes this weekend, 19-21 April. A first
draft of the revised policies, which will be open for public comment, is
expected in the next few months.

The review offers an important opportunity for broadening their scope in
key areas related to human rights such as disability, gender, labour, land
tenure, and the rights of indigenous peoples. The experts underscored,
however, that “amendments to the safeguard policies must not dilute their
force, but should build on the advances already made and strengthen
mechanisms for their effective implementation.”

“Unfortunately, economic development can have negative as well as positive
impacts,” said the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights,
Magdalena Sepúlveda. “Often, the poorest of the poor do not benefit from
development, or even worse, it is undertaken at their expense.”

“In order to avoid adverse impacts of development projects and maximize the
benefits to the poorest and most marginalized, the World Bank should adopt
a requirement to undertake human rights due diligence, including a human
rights impact assessment, on all activities proposed for World Bank
financing, particularly regarding the rights of the poorest and most
vulnerable persons,” she underlined.
For the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James
Anaya, “this review is an opportunity for the World Bank to heed the call
of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
which provides that States, intergovernmental organizations, and UN
specialized agencies, including the World Bank, shall promote respect for
full application and realization of, its provisions.”

“World Bank financed large-scale development projects often have an impact
on land used by small-scale farmers, negatively affecting their right to
food,” said the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De
Schutter.

In his view, “the updated safeguard policies must ensure that the voice of
affected communities is more effectively heard, through inclusive and
participatory impact assessments and through effective accountability
mechanisms that provide effective remedies for any harm caused.”* *

The Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Cephas Lumina,
noted that the excuse that the World Bank is precluded by its Articles of
Agreement from taking human rights into consideration in the design and
implementation of its policies and projects is no longer acceptable.

“A purposive interpretation of the Articles suggests, as the former General
Counsel of the World Bank opined in 2006, that the Articles allow, and in
some circumstances, enjoin the Bank to recognize the human rights
implications of its development policies and activities,” Mr. Lumina said.
“In addition, the Bank’s own past practice indicates that it has not
rigidly adhered to this injunction.”

“As a development institution and a member of the UN family, and in line
with the Declaration on the Right to Development, the Bank is obligated to
ensure that its policies and activities do not undermine national
development priorities or imperil the achievement of sustainable
development outcomes,” he said.

“This requires, among other things, that the Bank gives due weight to
international human rights standards and related obligations of its member
States,” stressed Mr Lumina. “We should not forget that States must also
adhere to their international law obligations when they act through
international organizations. The World Bank is no exception.”

*Learn more:*
*Extreme poverty: **
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/SRExtremePovertyIndex.aspx*<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/SRExtremePovertyIndex.aspx>
*Indigenous peoples: *
*
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/SRIndigenousPeoples/Pages/SRIPeoplesIndex.aspx
*<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/SRIndigenousPeoples/Pages/SRIPeoplesIndex.aspx>
* *
*Right to food:
**http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Food/Pages/FoodIndex.aspx*<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Food/Pages/FoodIndex.aspx>
* or **www.srfood.org* <http://www.srfood.org>* *
*Foreign debt: **
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/IEDebt/Pages/IEDebtIndex.aspx*<http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/IEDebt/Pages/IEDebtIndex.aspx>
* *

*Check the World Bank safeguard review process: **
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTSAFEPOL/0,,contentMDK:23275156~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:584435,00.html
*<http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTSAFEPOL/0,,contentMDK:23275156~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:584435,00.html>
* ** *
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