World Bank Board approves investigation into allegations of bankrolling
human rights abuses in Ethiopia
(July 18, 2013) The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a
full investigation into whether the Bank has breached its policies in
Ethiopia and contributed to a government program of forced population
transfers known as 'villagization.' The Bank's move follows the resolution
of a five-month standoff with the Ethiopian government, which had publicly
threatened in May not to cooperate with the investigation. A preliminary
report issued by the Bank's internal watchdog, the Inspection Panel,
recommended the investigation in February after receiving a complaint
submitted by indigenous people from Ethiopia's Gambella region.
The complaint alleges that the Anuak people have suffered grave harm as a
result of the World Bank-financed Promoting Basic Services Project (PBS),
which has provided 1.4 billion USD in budget support for the provision of
basic services to the Ethiopian Government since 2006. The Bank approved an
additional $600 million for the next phase of the project on September 25th
- one day after the complaint was filed. A legal submission accompanying the
complaint, prepared by Inclusive Development International (IDI), presents
evidence that the PBS project is directly and substantially contributing to
the Ethiopian Government's Villagization Program, which has been taking
place in Gambella and other regions of Ethiopia since 2010 and involves the
relocation of approximately 1.5 million people.
According to the Villagization Action Plan of the Gambella regional
government, villagization is a voluntary process, which aims to increase
access to basic services, improve food security, and "bring socioeconomic
and cultural transformation of the people." The services and facilities
supported through PBS are precisely the services and facilities that are
supposed to be provided at new settlement sites under the Villagization
Program.
The complainants, on the other hand, describe a process of intimidation,
beatings, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture in military custody, rape
and killing. Dispossessed of their fertile, ancestral lands and displaced
from their livelihoods, Gambellans have been forced into new villages with
few of the promised basic services and little access to food or land
suitable for farming, which has in some cases led to starvation. They
believe that many of the areas where people have been forcibly removed have
been awarded to domestic and foreign investors.
In its official response to the complaint, the Bank's management denies any
connection between PBS and villagization. The Inspection Panel, however,
found that this not a "tenable position." The Panel notes that, "the two
programs depend on each other, and may mutually influence the results of the
other." It found that there is a "plausible link" between the two programs
but needs to engage in further fact-finding to make definitive findings.
The report also noted that the Bank is required under its policies to ensure
that the proceeds of any loan are used for the purposes for which the loan
was granted, and that it must assess project risks and report to the Board
on actions taken to address those risks. The Panel reports that the case
"raises issues of potential serious non-compliance with Bank policy." It
recommends a full investigation in order to determine conclusively whether
or not the Bank complied with its policies and procedures, including those
intended to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and those subjected to
involuntary resettlement.
David Pred, IDI Managing Associate, welcomed the decision of the World Bank
Board of Directors. "The next step is to ensure that the Inspection Panel
has free and unfettered access to Gambella, without putting local people at
risk of reprisals," he stated. "I'm not sure if that is possible given the
level of repression that exists today in Ethiopia, but I am sure the Panel
will do its best under the circumstances to confirm the facts and keep
people safe."
The complaint, the Bank's response and the Inspection Panel's Eligibility
Report are available
<
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTINSPECTIONPANEL/0,,contentMDK:2
3290136%7EpagePK:64129751%7EpiPK:64128378%7EtheSitePK:380794,00.html> here.
Received on Thu Jul 18 2013 - 12:39:20 EDT