Staff Reporter :
A report in the US-based The Huffington Post recently said four World Bank projects have led to the displacement of 84,408 people in Bangladesh alone.
Moreover, The World Bank has caused the displacement of 3.4 million people despite its vociferous campaign against harming humans and nature, a study by 50 journalists from 21 countries.
The report, titled ‘How the World Bank breaks its promise to protect the poor. The implementation of projects funded by WB has led to the displacement of 3.4 million people and the destruction of their livelihood in various countries over the past ten years.
The Huffington Post report said the bank’s 221 projects in Asia have displaced 2,897,872 people; 417,363 people in Africa (136 projects);
26,262 in South America (31 projects); 5,524 in Europe (11 projects); 2,483 in the Oceania region (two projects); and 90 in island nations (one project). Among them, 2,721,858 have been displaced in China, India, and Vietnam alone due to the WB’s callousness, says the report.
The report has also revealed the bank’s repeated ‘failure’ to abide by its own guidelines created to protect ordinary people likely to be affected by the projects it funds.
The Huffington Post carried the report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Thursday, before the bank’s spring meet gets underway in Washington DC.
The report, which has taken about a year to prepare, is said to be based on WB data and on interviews with those directly affected in countries such as Albania, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Honduras, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Kosovo, Nigeria, Peru, Serbia, South Sudan and Uganda.
The investigation shows that, because of the World Bank, slum dwellers, marginal farmers, poor fishermen and indigenous people have lost their homes and land, have been alienated from their natural way of life, and, at times, all this has happened because of the use of force and violence, says the report.
The report said the WB has often mot cared to find out whether anyone is being affected by its projects. As a matter of fact, it has not bothered to see what has lain in store for displaced people.
The report says the WB has persisted with giving loans to oppressive regimes, making them believe that flouting of the guidelines would invite penalty.
Navin Rai was in charge of protecting the rights of indigenous people from 2000 to 2012.
He is reported to have said that, in many cases, a government taking a WB loan it not quite eager to follow the bank’s guidelines and the bank, in turn, is not very interested in making it fall in line.
The report said the WB and its associate, the International Finance Corporation, have continued giving loans to regimes and institutions accused of killings, torture and even rape. On some cases, the loans have been given even after such charges being proved.
Quoting WB officials, the report says that the Ethiopian government had siphoned off millions of dollars from a bank-aided project and used the money to carry out a massive eviction drive.
A report in the US-based The Huffington Post recently said four World Bank projects have led to the displacement of 84,408 people in Bangladesh alone.
Moreover, The World Bank has caused the displacement of 3.4 million people despite its vociferous campaign against harming humans and nature, a study by 50 journalists from 21 countries.
The report, titled ‘How the World Bank breaks its promise to protect the poor. The implementation of projects funded by WB has led to the displacement of 3.4 million people and the destruction of their livelihood in various countries over the past ten years.
The Huffington Post report said the bank’s 221 projects in Asia have displaced 2,897,872 people; 417,363 people in Africa (136 projects);
26,262 in South America (31 projects); 5,524 in Europe (11 projects); 2,483 in the Oceania region (two projects); and 90 in island nations (one project). Among them, 2,721,858 have been displaced in China, India, and Vietnam alone due to the WB’s callousness, says the report.
The report has also revealed the bank’s repeated ‘failure’ to abide by its own guidelines created to protect ordinary people likely to be affected by the projects it funds.
The Huffington Post carried the report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Thursday, before the bank’s spring meet gets underway in Washington DC.
The report, which has taken about a year to prepare, is said to be based on WB data and on interviews with those directly affected in countries such as Albania, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Honduras, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Kosovo, Nigeria, Peru, Serbia, South Sudan and Uganda.
The investigation shows that, because of the World Bank, slum dwellers, marginal farmers, poor fishermen and indigenous people have lost their homes and land, have been alienated from their natural way of life, and, at times, all this has happened because of the use of force and violence, says the report.
The report said the WB has often mot cared to find out whether anyone is being affected by its projects. As a matter of fact, it has not bothered to see what has lain in store for displaced people.
The report says the WB has persisted with giving loans to oppressive regimes, making them believe that flouting of the guidelines would invite penalty.
Navin Rai was in charge of protecting the rights of indigenous people from 2000 to 2012.
He is reported to have said that, in many cases, a government taking a WB loan it not quite eager to follow the bank’s guidelines and the bank, in turn, is not very interested in making it fall in line.
The report said the WB and its associate, the International Finance Corporation, have continued giving loans to regimes and institutions accused of killings, torture and even rape. On some cases, the loans have been given even after such charges being proved.
Quoting WB officials, the report says that the Ethiopian government had siphoned off millions of dollars from a bank-aided project and used the money to carry out a massive eviction drive.
