Tag Archive for: IFIs

Through a statement addressed to the Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank, civil society organizations, peasant communities, indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants and people with disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean, we express our concern regarding the presidential elections of the Institution. In particular, we express our rejection of the decision of the United States government to present a North American candidate to preside over the Bank, and of the election process itself, which does not give rise to the participation of social organizations and communities.

On Tuesday, August 5, we sent the IDB a new document with observations and comments on the second draft of the Environmental and Social Policy Framework from a gender perspective.

Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.

In December 2019, the Inter-American Development Bank -BID- published the draft Environmental and Social Policy Framework -MPAS- to modernize its environmental and social policies. In January of this year, the face-to-face and virtual public consultations began, where Fundeps was present. In April, we sent a document with comments and observations on the draft MPAS from a gender perspective, which had the input of other civil society organizations. In this document we point out, above all, the lack of mainstreaming of the gender perspective in all the performance standards of the draft MPAS.

At the beginning of July, the Bank published the second draft of the MPAS in which it incorporated some of the recommendations sent by stakeholders (civil society, indigenous communities, Afro-descendant community) and began the second phase of the process for sending comments that It ended on Tuesday, August 5. From Fundeps, we analyzed this second draft of the MPAS and sent a new document with observations and comments from a gender perspective, with the aim of incorporating issues that we consider fundamental when considering the human rights of girls, adolescents, women and LGTTTBIQ + people. in the new social and environmental framework of the IDB.

Among the main points identified, we find positive aspects that have been incorporated as the reference to the Performance Standard -ND- 9 on gender equality in PS 1 (Evaluation and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts), PS 2 ( Labor and Working Conditions), PS 5 (Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement) and PS 10 (Stakeholder Engagement and Disclosure of Information). Another aspect to highlight is the incorporation of ILO Convention 190 against violence and harassment in the workplace and Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration.

However, there are still many aspects to be incorporated that we believe are essential to guarantee gender equality and the mainstreaming of the gender perspective in the projects financed by the Bank. Among the necessary issues to be added to the new MPAS is the Bank’s duty to explicitly and transversally incorporate current and future international Treaties, Agreements and Conventions that contemplate the rights of girls, adolescents, women and LGTTTBIQ + people. In addition, the Bank as the main person in charge must mainstream the gender perspective throughout the Framework to avoid gender blindness.

A worrying issue is the replacement of the Policy on Gender Equality in Development by PS 9. Here the Bank should maintain the validity of the Policy as a complement to PS 9 on Gender Equality. Finally, we emphasize the need for the IDB to incorporate the great diversity of gender-gender identities, since the MPAS does not mention LGTTTBIQ + people, but rather identifies them as sexual and gender minorities. Therefore, we insist that LGTTTBIQ + people are specifically enunciated to ensure visibility and recognition of their existence and rights.

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In early July, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) published the second draft of the Environmental and Social Policy Framework -MPAS- and began the second phase of the 30-day consultation process. This document was produced within this framework and contains observations and comments on the second draft of the MPAS from a gender perspective.

In June, the United States nominated, for the first time since the institution’s creation in 1959, a North American candidate for the presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank (IVD).

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

In mid-June, the President of the United States, Donald Trump ,  As candidate for the presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank -IDB-, Mauricio Claver-Carone, current advisor for Latin America of the National Security Council, was nominated.

The nomination jeopardizes the old IDB tradition that the agency’s presidency always rests with Latin Americans, while the vice presidency is held by an American. Thus, since its creation in 1959, only four presidents have held the presidency of the Bank, all of them from Latin America: the Chilean Felipe Herrera (1960-1970), the Mexican Antonio Ortiz Mena (1970-1988), the Uruguayan Enrique Iglesias (1988 -2005) and the Colombian Luis Alberto Moreno (2005-2020). Although the IDB’s Articles of Agreement do not establish any determining factor in relation to the nationality of the person who must hold the presidency, there is an unwritten norm from its very creation by which the body must be directed by a person from the region. It was even one of the conditions for which it ended up accepting that the Bank’s headquarters be in Washington DC. This type of unwritten norms regarding the nationality of its presidents can also be found in other multilateral institutions. For example, the presidency of the World Bank has always been held by a person from the United States, the International Monetary Fund – IMF – has historically been chaired by a representative of Europe and, as mentioned, the IDB by a person from Latin America.

The new IDB president, who will be elected by the IDB Group Board of Governors on September 15 in Barranquilla, Colombia, will replace Luis Alberto Moreno, who has been in the Bank’s presidency since 2005. In addition, with the nomination of The US reduces the chances for the Argentine Gustavo Béliz, since Latin American countries such as Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, Colombia and Uruguay support the Claver-Carone candidacy.tional Security Council.

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Authors

  • Gonzalo Roza 
  • Sofía Brocanelli 

Contact

Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org

In a special meeting, the Board of Governors of the New BRICS Development Bank elected Brazilian Marco Prado Troyjo as the new president of the multilateral institution.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The Board of Governors of the New Development Bank -NDB- of the BRICS met in a special way through videoconference to elect the new president of the bank: the Brazilian Marcos Prado Troyjo, who will take office on July 7. Its vice president will be Anil Kishora from India and he will serve as the bank’s chief risk officer. The presidential term is 5 years and the presidents are elected on a rotating basis between the member countries of the BRICS, that is, between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Troyjo was vice-minister of economy in Brazil, served as special secretary for Foreign Trade and International Affairs, and represented the Brazilian Government on the boards of multilateral development institutions. In addition, he chaired the Brazilian External Financing Commission and the National Investment Committee. He was also co-founder and Director of BRICLab at Columbia University, United States, and is a member of the World Future Council on International Trade and Investment of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Marcos Troyjo will replace the previous president of the KV Kamath Bank of India, who has held the presidency since 2015 and is responsible for the NDB’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, through the launch of the Emergency Program Loan Product COVID-19. The new president of the NDB will have the challenge of facing the post-pandemic economic consequences, reactivating the infrastructure projects and with it the activity of the multilateral bank. It remains to be seen also what direction the New Development Bank will take, but also the same space of the BRICS after the pandemic, given the loss of influence that the forum has experienced in recent years and the criticism it received, including from from the president of Brazil himself, Jair Bolsonaro.

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Contact

Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org

Before the departure of the current Director of the MICI, Victoria Márquez Mees, at the end of June, a group of civil society organizations requested, through a letter sent to the IDB Executive Board, the inclusion of interested parties and the transparency in the selection process of the new Director of the Mechanism.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On June 30, the current Director of the MICI, Victoria Márquez Mees, ends her term as head of the IDB accountability mechanism, a post she has held since 2015. In this way, the IDB is beginning the selection process from the new Director, therefore, together with a group of civil society organizations, we sent a letter to the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors requesting the inclusion of civil society and interested parties in said selection process. It should be noted that the last selection process carried out by the Bank was not very transparent and did not include civil society or other external stakeholders.

In line with the above, we recommend that the Bank create opportunities and encourage the participation of civil society and external stakeholders in the selection process. Especially considering that the MICI policy establishes that the Board will convene a selection panel to identify candidates. Furthermore, the inclusion of external stakeholders in the process of selecting the Director of accountability mechanisms is a good practice carried out by various international financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, for example.

In line with the process of changing the mechanism’s direction, on June 12, together with a group of civil society organizations, we sent a second letter to the IDB requesting that the External Consultative Group -GCE- of the MICI be part of the process of selection. The participation of the CME will bring greater transparency to the process since the members of the Group are interested parties in the Bank who have knowledge about the region, the operation of the MICI and on issues related to transparency, sustainability and accountability. In addition, the inclusion of CGE members in the selection process means reporting your experience and qualified perspectives on the legitimate topic and the selection process and identifying the best possible candidate.

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Contact

Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org 

The following document describes and analyzes the Second Joint Action Plan agreed between Argentina and China (2019-2023) at the G20 summit in 2018. This Plan reinforces the comprehensive strategic partnership between both States and details the actions that will be carried out carried out in different areas such as politics, trade, culture, finance, communications, among others.

China’s growing interest in financing infrastructure projects in the region has led Argentina to sign a multiplicity of cooperation agreements with this country. For this reason, we have identified a series of projects with Chinese financing which we believe are relevant for their magnitude and for the economic, social and environmental impacts they can generate. Thus, in this document, the status of the situation, amounts committed and actors involved in the selected projects considered emblematic are detailed (only spanish).

In recent weeks, the World Bank approved a project for 35 million dollars and the IDB and CAF have committed amounts of 1,800 and 4,000 million dollars respectively for projects that allow Argentina to face the effects of COVID-19 . These are fast-disbursing loans that, while important to alleviate the economic, social and health consequences of the pandemic, raise a series of doubts regarding the effective fulfillment of the requirements and conditions necessary for their approval.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The effect of the pandemic on the world economy can be reflected in the paralysis of international trade and economic activities. Furthermore, the situation of uncertainty has led to the tightening of external financing for the States, which at this moment are essential to face the health emergency, which requires heavy investments in materials and specific medical equipment.

Faced with this scenario, various International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank Group, the Inter-American Development Bank -IDB-, the European Investment Bank -BEI- or the Development Bank of Latin America -CAF-, among others, have put Quick disbursement financing available to countries for projects to cope with the effects of the pandemic. On April 2, the World Bank -BM- approved an emergency loan of $ 35 million for Argentina, with the aim of strengthening the health system by purchasing equipment and medical supplies to minimize the impact of the coronavirus on the country. This financing is part of the $ 14 billion fund that the World Bank created to provide assistance to countries that must face the consequences on their health and economic systems due to the outbreak.

Fuente: Página 12

In addition, the World Bank promised to cooperate with the Argentine Republic in the implementation of the Emergency Project for the Prevention and Management of the Disease by COVID-19. The purpose of the same is to strengthen the preparation and response against the pandemic and the adaptation of the country’s national public health systems. The execution of the emergency project will be in two stages: the first consists of the emergency response efforts of COVID-19, which consists of two sub-stages: on the one hand, detection, confirmation, follow-up of contacts, registration and reporting of cases and on the other, the strengthening of health systems. The second stage is the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project.

Likewise, on May 7, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced a loan of 1.8 billion dollars for the country to alleviate the economic, social and health consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. It is the largest amount disbursed by the IDB to Argentina in the last 10 years. The support provided by the IDB is linked to care for the health system, transfer to the social protection network for the most vulnerable, and economic and employment recovery, mainly from micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Fuente: Infobae

The programs of the public area of ​​the IDB Group linked to Argentina with the objective of responding to the emergency of COVID-19 and that will be approved this 2020 is 1,000 million dollars, while the other 600 million dollars correspond to current projects.

In an official statement, the Presidency explained that the first of the projects will allocate $ 470 million for a public health program to support the response to the coronavirus, of which 300 million were disbursed this year. The objective is to ensure access to the health system for 17 million people. Similarly, with the intention of supporting the productive sector and promoting job creation, 500 million dollars will be allocated, for which 300 million were disbursed this year. It is estimated that the amount will go to the aid of 30 thousand micros, small and medium-sized companies.

In addition, 600 million will be allocated with the goal of serving the most vulnerable population through a social protection program created in conjunction with the IDB. Of this total, 400 million will be disbursed this year with the purpose of transferring resources and subsidies to vulnerable sectors. It will support around 3 million companies.

For its part, the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) has stated that in the current context, each State must adopt economic measures that respond to the situation of each country, without neglecting the productive sector and the most vulnerable social sectors. To contribute to these spaces, CAF has deployed an emergency loan package for each country of up to $ 50 billion to serve public health systems; We also allocate emergency disbursements of 2.5 billion dollars per country to SMEs that involve different aspects of the financial portfolio. In addition, non-reimbursable cooperation resources have been made available to donate essential supplies to the health sector.

The Argentine president held talks with the CAF executive (Luis Carranza Ugarte) exchanging concerns and initiatives to respond to the crisis. The institution committed to the Argentine Government to carry out the execution of technical cooperation projects for more than 4,000 million dollars within the next four years aimed at economic reactivation and social aid at different government levels. For the current year, specific financing will be allocated to strengthen the emergency in the provinces ($ 40 million), promote social policies ($ 30 million), develop investments in infrastructure, including educational establishments, repair and construction of routes. , and sanitation (USD 900 million dollars).

In this way, it can be seen that the Financial Institutions have made fast-disbursing funds available to the national government to be able to deal with the effects of the pandemic in an executive manner. And Argentina is not the only case, since more than 130 projects have been approved in countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa for a total amount greater than 25 billion dollars, according to a mapping of projects carried out by the Early Warning System.

While recognizing the need for countries to quickly have resources to face the economic and social effects of the pandemic, it should be noted that most of these projects are being prepared, discussed and approved in an accelerated manner, in a few weeks, when they are generally processes that take several months since they must go through a series of instances and meet a series of requirements for their approval and start-up. Requirements that not only contemplate economic-financial issues, but also in terms of transparency, public participation, accountability, due diligence and social and environmental sustainability of projects. Therefore, it is questionable whether such requirements are effectively being contemplated and applied in these fast disbursement projects by the Financial Institutions and governments involved.

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Authors

  • Ailín Toso
  • Mariano Camoletto

Contact

On the occasion of the process of modernizing the environmental and social policies of the Inter-American Development Bank, more than 50 civil society organizations in the region made a document with recommendations and comments on the draft of the new IDB Environmental and Social Policy Framework to avoid corrosion of social and environmental standards. The following document sent to the IDB is in Spanish and English.

In the framework of the public consultation process on the review of IDB environmental and social safeguards policies, together with a group of more than 50 civil society organizations in the region, we made comments and observations on the draft of the new Policy Framework. Environmental and Social, through a document that was sent to the Bank on Monday, April 20.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On December 18, 2019, the Executive Board of the Inter-American Development Bank -IDB- approved and published the draft of the new Environmental and Social Policy Framework -MPAS- on the occasion of the modernization of its environmental and social policies that govern the operations that lead to out the bank.

The proposal of this policy differs from the previous ones, since this draft Framework seeks to integrate environmental and social policies into a single policy. Thus, the draft of the MPAS is structured in two parts. In the first, it presents the Policy Statement that addresses the IDB’s responsibilities and roles and relevant issues such as human rights, gender equality, non-discrimination and inclusion, rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants and other traditional peoples, participation of interested parties. , reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and protection of Biodiversity, and natural resources and ecosystem.

In the second part of the draft, the ten environmental and social performance standards that must be met by the borrowers throughout the project life cycle are detailed. In addition, for the Bank, the Standards will serve as guides for risk assessment, classification, due diligence, monitoring and management.

The 10 Performance Standards are as follows:

  1. Assessment and management of environmental and social risks and impacts.
  2. Work and working conditions.
  3. Efficiency in the use of resources and prevention of contamination.
  4. Community health and safety.
  5. Land acquisition and resettlement.
  6. Conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of natural resources.
  7. Indigenous villages.
  8. Cultural heritage.
  9. Gender equality.
  10. Stakeholder Participation and Disclosure of Information.

Following the Bank’s Public Consultation Plan, the public consultation process on the MPAS began in January through face-to-face consultations scheduled by the IDB in different parts of the world. It was not only possible to participate through face-to-face consultations, virtual consultations were also enabled through the sending of comments through the Bank’s website or through an e-mail address. This first phase of virtual consultations ended on April 20.

It was in this framework that more than 50 civil society organizations that we have been working collaboratively and jointly since last year, prepared and sent to the IDB a document with a large number of comments and observations on the draft of the new MPAS.

The document, with more than 80 pages, is structured in general comments and specific comments on each performance standard found in the framework, and not only identifies in detail each of the problematic aspects that we identified in the draft, but also provides particular recommendations to correct them. In this way, it seeks to avoid the evident dilution of environmental, social and human rights standards that would entail the approval of the draft of the new MPAS as it stands. The document was sent on Monday, April 20, the date on which the first phase of virtual public consultations on the draft of the new MPAS ended.

At the same time, from Fundeps, and with the support and collaboration of a group of civil society organizations specialized in gender issues, we sent particular comments regarding the draft MPAS from a gender perspective. In this document, we raise the need for the IDB not only to avoid weakening its current Gender Policy, considered one of the most advanced in the matter in relation to the rest of the IDB-related Financial Institutions, but also to decide to put itself decisively at the forefront In this matter, for which it must necessarily carry out a process of mainstreaming the gender perspective in all its financed policies and projects (See document).

Which are the next steps? The IDB will prepare a second draft of the MPAS in which it must incorporate the recommendations and observations received from civil society during the consultation process. However, previous experience in recent consultation processes carried out by the IDB shows that the Bank is unlikely to incorporate and take into account the most important recommendations provided by civil society. We hope that in this case this trend will be reversed.

When the Executive Board approves the second draft, the IDB will publish it on its website and begin the second stage of the consultation process, which will be virtual and for a period of 30 days. Once this period has ended, it will produce the final version of the Framework and a document with the response to the comments received. The approved MPAS would take effect in January 2021.

From civil society, we hope that the IDB will take into consideration the comments and observations that have been made not only to avoid dilution of the institution’s social and environmental standards, which have been built together with civil society in recent decades. , but also to take advantage of the opportunity to advance and strengthen them. Something that becomes even more necessary in a regional context marked by the weakening of the national socio-environmental framework in most countries.

From Fundeps, together with the participation of some international civil society organizations, we sent the IDB a document with comments and observations on the Environmental and Social Policy Framework from a gender perspective.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

In December 2019, the Inter-American Development Bank -IDB- published the draft of the Environmental and Social Policy Framework (MPAS) in order to modernize its environmental and social policies. What does this MPAS mean? These are the requirements in environmental and social policy that the Bank or the Bank’s borrowers must meet when carrying out a project. In this statement, the Bank maintains a commitment to environmental and social sustainability, translated into a series of requirements and recommendations ordered in ten Performance Standards to be met in each project.

In January 2020, on-site and virtual public consultations began, in which Fundeps participated by presenting a review of what was proposed in social and environmental safeguards policies. This month, we led a document with specific comments and observations to Rule 9, on Gender Equality, and its lack of mainstreaming towards the rest of the MPAS Rules. This document was formulated together with another group of NGOs that adhered to the recommendations and together it was presented to the IDB. This work involved analyzing the entire draft of the Framework from a gender perspective and also contrasting it with previous gender policies published by the Bank.

As mentioned, the first shortcoming identified is the loss of mainstreaming of gender policy in project financing requirements. Taking into account that such projects directly and indirectly affect local communities, we demand that the Gender Equality Standard dialogue with other approaches such as race, ethnicity, class, age, religion, profession / activities, geographic location, among others. In other words, we demand that the problems be addressed from an intersectional vision, recognizing the coexistence of different vulnerabilities.

Regarding its conceptualization of gender equality, some inequalities of women with respect to men are mentioned, along with possible violence against trans people, so its approach in relation to LGBTTTIQ + people is scarce and superficial. Although it refers to ‘gender empowerment’ instead of ‘women empowerment’, there is no specific mention of gender, which manifests the reproduction of a binary, exclusive and regressive approach in terms of human rights. Furthermore, this means -not specifically mentioning the genres- the lack of incorporation of LGBTTTIQ people in the requirements to be met by the projects.

In its implementation measures, we note that the approaches proposed by the international human rights treaties for girls, adolescents, women, and LGBTTTIQ + people are not incorporated. On the other hand, the implementation measures required of borrowers do not include a proactive policy to advance on gender equality, as it was included in previous Bank gender policies. We continue with a preventive policy, although we identified an absence of a gender perspective in the design of strategies to mitigate and prevent violence, discrimination and inequalities.

In order to materialize progress regarding human rights in IDB-financed projects, we raise the need to strengthen the Bank’s commitment to the gender perspective, such as incorporating it at the internal level of its organizational structure. Taking into account the Bank’s ability to generate public policies through its choice of financing, we conclude that it must develop robust frameworks, operational policies, and accountability mechanisms that incorporate the gender perspective cross-sectionally and ensure the informed participation of affected people at all stages of all projects financed and undertaken by the Bank.