Inspection Panel receives Request to Investigate a Land Reform and Poverty Alleviation Pilot Project in Brazil ( Loan No. 4147-BR)
Contact: Eduardo Abbott (202) 458-2617
WASHINGTON, D.C. January 8, 1999---The independent Inspection Panel for the World Bank today registered a request for an investigation from 12 organizations* and 853 individuals in Brazil. The Requesters claim that rural workers and landless peasants signing the Request and/or represented by the Fórum Nacional Pela Reforma Agrária e Pela Justiça No Campo and/or its member organizations are being materially and adversely affected by the design and execution of this project and are likely to be similarly affected by follow-up loans that the Bank intends to make to support these kind of projects in Brazil.
Specifically, the Requesters claim that the project is not achieving its objectives, is not being implemented as a pilot project, will make it impossible for its alleged beneficiaries to repay the debts they enter into under the project, has increased the prices of agricultural land available to rural workers and is being implemented as an alternative instead of a complement to Brazil's constitutionally mandated agrarian reform program, and the Bank has failed to consult and adequately inform project affected people and their representatives. According to the Requesters, the foregoing would constitute violations of, inter alia, Bank Polices and Procedures set forth in OD 4.15 on Poverty Reduction, BP 17.50 on Disclosure of Operational Information and GP 14.70 on Involvement of NGOs in Bank Operations (which is not under the purview of the Panel).
This is the fourteenth investigation request the Panel has received.
Under Inspection Panel procedures Bank Management will respond to the claims made in the request in mid-March. After the Inspection Panel receives this response, it will make a recommendation to the Bank's Executive Directors on whether or not the request should be investigated. The Executive Directors will then decide whether or not to accept or reject the Panel's recommendation.
Copies of the Notice of Registration are available at the Bank's Info-shop (Tel: (202) 458-5454) and on INTERNET through Inspection Panel, address: http://www.worldbank.org.
*Signed by:
Fórum Nacional Pela Reforma Agrária e Pela Justiça No Campo (The National Forum for Agrarian Reform and Justice in Rural Areas),
And representatives of:
ABRA – Assoçiação Brasileira de Reforma Agrária (Brazilian Agrarian Reform Association)
ANMTR – Articulação Nacional de Mulheres Trabalhadoras Rurais (National Group of Rural Women Workers)
Cáritas Brasileira (Brazilian Branch of Caritas)
CIMI – Conselho Indigenista Missionário (Missionary Indigents Council)
CNASI – Confederação Nacional das Associações dos Servidores do INCRA (National Confederation of Associations of INCRA staff)
CONIC – Conselho Nacional de Igrejas Cristás do Brasil (National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil)
CONTAG – Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura (Nacional Confederation of Agricultural Workers)
CPT – Comissão Pastoral da Terra (Pastoral Land Commission)
INESC – Instituto de Estudos Sócio-Econômicos (Institute of Socioeconomic Studies)
MST – Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (Movement of Landless Rural Workers)
Rede Brasil sobre Instituições Financeiras Multilaterais (Brazilian Network on Multilateral Financial Institutions);
and 853 individuals.
For more information on the Inspection Panel, please visit our website:http://www.worldbank.org(search "Inspection Panel") or call the World Bank Public Information Center (202) 458-5454