- When will the printed book die? Some think that its replacement by electronic media is imminent and promote this view using arguments that are both romantic and utopic: a new society where massive amounts of information can be accessed instantaneously and free, and with reduced environmental damage because of a decrease in the use of paper. Although neither argument can stand serious analysis,…
- July 21, 2015- The Inspection Panel is pleased to announce that Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata has been re-elected as the Chairperson of the Inspection Panel, effective November 1, 2015, for one additional year through October 31, 2016. Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata was appointed to the Inspection Panel in December 2013. A US and Peruvian national, he brings to the Panel more than twenty years of…
- On June 12, 2015, the Inspection Panel received a complaint from Kosovo with regard to resettlement problems related to several Bank-supportedoperations, including the proposedKosovo Power Project. The complaint was submitted by community members from Hade and Obiliq municipalities and several Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) based in Kosovo. After registering thiscomplaint on June 30, 2015, a…
- The Inspection Panel expresses its concern regarding the recent charges filed against Pastor Omot Agwa of Ethiopia, detained since March of this year. Pastor Agwa facilitated our field work during the recent investigation of the PBS-3 Program in that country. Since his arrest, we have been in close contact with Bank senior management who have made inquiries with the Government of Ethiopia…
- Inspection Panel Senior Operations Officer Mishka Zaman participated in a CSO Outreach Workshop in Zagreb, Croatia on July 2 – 3, 2015. The workshop titled “IFI Accountability in South-Eastern Europe” was organized by the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) Complaints Mechanism. Representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from various South and Eastern Europe countries participated, as…
- The World Bank Board of Directors approved on July 27, 2015 the Panel’s recommendation to defer a decision whether an investigation is warranted regarding the Complaint received on the Mongolia: Mining Investment Infrastructure Project (MINIS). See details and download the key documents – Complaint, Management Response, and Panel’s Report and Recommendation – from our Mongolia Case #102website…
- Inspection Panel Chairman Gonzalo Castro de la Mata participated in a workshop in Lima, Peru on May 19 - 20, 2015. The workshop “Safeguards and Complaint Mechanisms of International Financing Institutions” was organized by Peruvian CSODAR in conjunction with several regional civil society networks and held at the Catholic University of Lima. The purpose of the event was to present and discuss…
- The Panel is pleased to welcome again this year two student summer interns from theTruman Scholars Program. They areTaylerUlmer andJordanBurns. In addition to learning about the Panel’s compliance role and work, they are both undertaking important research projects. See their bios and research projects below: Tayler, a Chicago-native, graduated from Spelman College with degrees in Anthropology/…
- A group of children activists from India, Albania, and Uganda visited the Inspection Panel on July 7, 2015. They were brought by the Bank Information Center (BIC) and came to share information on their efforts to participate in the consultation process for the World Bank’s environmental and social safeguards review. They informed us that they represent hundreds of children from nine other…
- This note provides the comments of the Inspection Panel to the Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE) of the Board of Executive Directors on the second draft ofthe proposed World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF). This note builds on Information Notes 1 and 2 (2012 - 2013), and on the comments already presented by the Panel toCODE on the first draft of the ESF in July 2014.…