Oyu Tolgoi is an enormous copper and gold deposit in Mongolia. The project is jointly owned by Canadian company Turquoise Hill Resources and a state owned enterprise. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), estimated project cost is $12 billion. Project proponents seek financing from Export Development Canada, the IFC, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, among others. In this document, CSOs argue that the project does not comply with the IFC Performance Standards and provide a series of recommendations.

The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights held its first forum on December 4 and 5 in Geneva. The Halifax Initiative spoke at the forum on a panel concerning public financial institutions and human rights. ECA-Watch, CIEL and BankTrack disseminated the attached document at the forum containing analysis and recommendations regarding financial institutons and human rights.

This month we examine 'odious investment' - Mongolia Undermined; (Mis)Investment in Agriculture; More than Bricks and Mortar; and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

The debt edition featuring articles on the re-emerging debt crisis, odious debt, debt distress assessments, export credit agencies and soveriegn debt work-out procedures.

Climate finance: the World Bank, Export Development Canada and the Canadian government. Plus Rio+20 postmortem.

Article prepared for the 'Global Capital, Global Rights' workshop convened by SFU and UBC. The text discusses civil society efforts in support of Bill C-300, legislation that sought to create accountability mechanisms regarding the provision of government support to Canadian extractive companies that operate overseas.

Energy poverty, climate change and the World Bank; Durban postmortem.

Canadian mining interests in countries around the world are valued at tens of billions of dollars. Karyn Keenan looks at efforts by local communities to hold mining companies to account for human rights abuses. 'The issue of access to remedy for the victims of corporate abuse requires urgent attention,' she writes.
Keenan describes recent efforts by non-nationals who are affected by Canadian mining companies to seek redress through the Canadian justice system.

See full article in Pambazuka News. 

See Spanish version.

The candidates being considered for International Monetary Fund’s new boss do not inspire much hope for an institution in need of credibility. Much of the media’s focus has been on the nationality of the candidates rather than on which capabilities are needed to address the IMF’s major challenges: shifting to a more flexible policy orientation and adapting to a changed global economy.