Stop the World Bank’s efforts to help Shell drill for oil in the politically volatile and environmentally sensitive Niger Delta

Stop the International Finance Corporation’s Proposed Niger Delta Credit Facility Project May 2001 Last year, over 200 groups from around the world called on the World Bank Group and its International Finance Corporation component to stop financing oil, gas and mining projects because of the negative environmental and human rights impacts that these projects tend … Read More.

Attorney Glenn Wiser discusses the disconnect between the IPCC reports concerning the impacts of global warming on future generations, and proposed budget surplus fixes.

March 2001   Recently the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change a panel made up of hundreds of the world’s top climate scientists updated its assessment of the impacts global warming could have on future generations. The report predicts devastating droughts, floods and violent storms over the coming years caused by air pollution that is … Read More.

CIEL sues the United States Trade Representative for hiding documents, hampering protection of domestic environment and health laws

Withholding Could Hamper Protection of Domestic Environment & Health Laws March 7, 2001 WASHINGTON, DC—At the same moment the new U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Zoellick, was urging Congress to grant President Bush new international trade powers, a lawsuit was filed against him down the street in U.S. District Court. The suit challenges Zoellick’s decision to … Read More.

Read the open letter to the President of the World Bank Concerning the International Advisory Group

February 28, 2001 Dear President Wolfensohn, We, the undersigned, representatives of Human Rights Groups, Unions, Environmental Protection and Development NGOs and Peasant Organisations in Chad and Cameroon, have been actively following the Chad/Cameroon pipeline project since its initiation. Meeting in Mbalmayo for a planning workshop for the monitoring of the pipeline project, we  wish to … Read More.

Environmentalists Express Concern Regarding World Bank Resettlement Policy Draft

CIEL/International Rivers Network Letter to James Wolfensohn February 22, 2001 Mr. James Wolfensohn, President The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 Dear President Wolfensohn: We are writing to express serious reservations with the ongoing revisions to the World Bank’s resettlement policy. While World Bank staff have stated that this process will not … Read More.

Environmentalists Express Concern as World Bank Announces Watchdog for Chad-Cameroon Pipeline

February 22, 2001   The World Bank Group’s announcement that it has appointed a special committee to oversee the controversial Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline project was met today with a lukewarm response from international environment and human rights groups, who expressed concern over potentially harmful loopholes and omissions in the committee’s charter. The Bank-appointed International Advisory … Read More.

CIEL Helps Score Major Victory for Indigenous Rights in Philippine Supreme Court

For Immediate Release 29 January, 2001 Washington, D.C. —The Philippine Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997. Dr. Owen J. Lynch, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), helped lay the theoretical foundation for the case and attended the hearing before the Philippine Supreme … Read More.

CIEL and Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team (Tanzania), in coordination with WRI and IASCP hosted a workshop on African Public Interest Law and Community-Based Property Rights

April 2004   CIEL and the Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team (Tanzania), in coordination with the World Resources Institute and the International Association for the Study of Common Property, hosted a successful workshop on Public Interest Law and Community-Based Property Rights in Usa River (near Arusha), Tanzania from August 1 – 4, 2000. Financial support came … Read More.

World Bank Board Approves Controversial Proposal To Change Inspection Panel

April 21, 1999   After a protracted and highly contentious internal review, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved a proposal to revamp its independent Inspection Panel, a forum created to respond to citizen complaints about Bank-financed projects that harm people and the environment. The review was undertaken in an effort to resolve … Read More.

Environmentalists Welcome New Environmental Watchdog At IFC And MIGA

April 21, 1999   After several years of campaigning for more public accountability of the World Bank’s private sector side, US environmental groups today applauded the World Bank Group’s decision to appoint Meg Taylor of Papua New Guinea as the Ombudsperson for IFC and MIGA. This position was designed in part to address the concerns … Read More.

Yacyreta and Singrauli Update: Action Needed Now

May 13, 1998   The Board of Executive Directors is expected to discuss the Yacyreta and Singrauli claims during May, although no date has yet been set. Both claims are at the point where the Board must make a decision about the remedies it will implement to address the Bank’s policy violations and to act … Read More.

Claimants Address World Bank Board of Executive Directors

For Immediate Release February 3, 1998   Several claimants to the Inspection Panel from around the world gathered in Washington, DC to meet with the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. In an unprecedented meeting between the Board and people directly affected by World Bank projects, five claimants who filed a Request for Investigation to … Read More.

International Lawyers Worldwide Call For Strengthening of the Inspection Panel

January 9, 1998   Over one hundred and sixty lawyers from forty countries sent a strong message to World Bank President James Wolfensohn, calling for the Bank to protect the integrity and independence of the World Bank Inspection Panel. The letter highlighted the importance of the Inspection Panel from an international law and international development … Read More.

World Bank Board of Executive Directors Votes on Singrauli and Itaparica Claims

World Bank Board of Executive Directors Authorize Panel Inspection for Singrauli, Deny Inspection for Itaparica September 1997 The World Bank Board of Executive Directors recently considered the Inspection Panel’s recommendation for full investigations into Bank-financed projects in Itaparica, Brazil and Singrauli, India. In both cases, the independent Inspection Panel had conducted initial reviews and felt … Read More.