Wolfowitz Swept “Climate Change” Under the Rug at Bank
Documents released by the Government Accountability Project (GAP) reveal that Paul Wolfowitz, then World Bank President, personally intervened to remove the emphasis on climate change from a 2006 Bank report requested by the G8. The original report, entitled “Climate Change, Energy and Sustainable Development: Towards an Investment Framework” and endorsed by Bank vice-presidents, was later changed to “Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework”.

Selecting a New IMF Director: Another One-Man Race?
Following the recent, controversial appointment of World Bank President Robert Zoellick - who was hand-picked by the US, despite calls for a more democratic selection process - all eyes are on the International Monetary Fund as it prepares to select a new Managing Director in September. At this early stage, US and EU support for the candidacy of former French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn reveals their intent to preserve a selection process that all but guarantees the appointment of a European to the top post.

SELECTED ISSUES on INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Click here for pdf

Wolfowitz out, Zoellick in; Bank credibility AWOL

Speculation around Paul Wolfowitz’s successor as World Bank President quickly faded, as the US nominated Robert Zoellick, former US Deputy Secretary of State under Condoleeza Rice.

Click here for pdf

Action contre l’impunité pour les droits humains (ACIDH)
Association Africaine de Défense des Droits de l’Homme/Katanga (ASADHO/Katanga)
Global Witness
Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID)

For immediate release:

Victims of Kilwa massacre denied justice by Congolese military court

London, UK/Lubumbashi, DRC (17 July 2007):

Four Congolese and international non¬governmental organisations (NGOs) today published a new report documenting serious flaws and irregularities in the trial of nine Congolese soldiers for war crimes, and three employees of Anvil Mining for complicity in war crimes, committed in Kilwa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The trial, held before a military court, ended on 28 June 2007 with the acquittal of all the defendants on war crimes charges in relation to events in Kilwa.(1)

July 16, 2007

Karyn Keenan
Program Officer
Halifax Initiative
153 Chapel Street
Ottawa ON KIN 1H5

Dear Ms. Keenan:

I am writing to comment on the recent report, Dirty Business, Dirty Practices: How the Federal Government Supports Canadian Mining, Oil and Gas Companies Abroad, to which you contributed. Firstly, let me acknowledge the efforts that the Halifax Initiative and others have made to participate in the discussion and debate around Canadian government support to Canadian mining and oil and gas companies operating abroad. This is a topic that concerns us all.

Embassy, July 11th, 2007
NEWS STORY
Chamber says PM Broke Promise at G8

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is frustrated Stephen Harper mentioned a corporate responsibility report during the G8, but mining groups are pleased their study is being taken seriously.

By Lee Berthiaume

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says Prime Minister Stephen Harper was premature in promoting a recent report on corporate social responsibility at the Group of Eight nations summit in June.

For PDF, click here.

 Plans by US, Canada and EU to finance massive copper mine in DRC disregard Congolese government review of mining deals

On July 12, the US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is set to give its backing to mining major Phelps Dodge/Freeport McMoRan for the company’s Tenke Fungurume copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Other public lenders such as Export Development Canada (EDC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are expected to follow suit. These financing plans are proceeding in spite of the fact that the Tenke deal is among 60 contracts currently under review by the Congolese government.

The Bank of the South: An Alternative to the IFIs?
In early June, the Bank of the South moved a step closer to becoming a reality as the Ministers of Finance of Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia met in Buenos Aires to discuss its founding constitution. In addition to functioning as a development bank and a source of stabilization funds, the Bank is seen as a precursor to a regional monetary system. Just as significant is the Bank of the South’s role as an alternative to the World Bank and IMF, whose policies in Latin America have faced substantial regional criticism. In this respect, the Bank is seen as a valuable mechanism for re-asserting Latin America’s economic independence and political sovereignty.

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/230187

Canada's Responsibility
by Gerry Barr, President-CEO Canadian Council for International Co-operation
June 28, 2007
PM sees payoff in adding Americas to foreign agenda

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has decided Canada should "re-engage" with the Americas, and in July he's visiting four states in the region to start up his new foreign policy direction. In a world where the majority of the population lives in underdevelopment, Harper rightly says of the Americas, "We also have countries that have development challenges." But will Canada lessen those challenges or add to them?