(January 1, 2008) The relationship between the sovereign debt of developing countries and the protection of social rights in those countries has received a lot of attention from an economic, political and moral perspective, but relatively little has been written about the legal side of this relationship.
A Convenient Untruth: Fact and Fantasy in the Doctrine of Odious Debts
(January 1, 2008) The previous regime [in Iraq] accumulated a heavy burden of foreign debts to states which financed the tyrant’s wars against his people first, and then against our neighbors. The foreign loans helped him build a huge military apparatus and manufacture weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons which he used against the Iraqi people in Halabja. The loans supported his system of oppression and paid for his palaces and prisons during the war against Iran when Iraq’s oil revenue was extremely low.
Canada’s aid seeded China dam
(December 31, 2007) “The problems at the Three Gorges aren’t just a Chinese problem, as it’s often portrayed,” says Pat Adams of Probe International. “It’s a world-wide issue, with responsibility in other countries, too”
China’s massive dam project causes worry
(December 29, 2007) Residents in the Three Gorges area are concerned by an increase in landslides as the water level rises in the 410 mile-long reservoir. “Almost all my fears have come true,” says Dai Qing. “The landslides and cracks have made people migrants once again."
REVIEW Iraq’s debt relief: Procedure and potential implications for international debt relief
(December 28, 2007) Martin Weiss, an analyst with the Congressional Research Service, the public policy research arm of the U.S. Congress, has published an updated paper about the treatment of Iraq’s debts by creditor nations following the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Global Transparency Initiative calling for IFI policy overhaul
(December 28, 2007) Visit the civil society monitor Global Transparency Initiative’s (GTI) Transparency Charter to International Financial Institutions: Claiming Our Right to Know. The Charter is the GTI’s flagship statement of standards the GTI believes the information disclosure policies held by International Financial Institutions should conform to.
German Jubilee movement slams World Bank odious debts paper as “biased” and “misleading”
(December 28, 2007) The popular German grassroots Jubilee movement Erlassjahr has dismissed the World Bank paper on odious debts as biased and flawed.
China: New dam builder for the world
(December 28, 2007) China has embarked on a push to export its dam-building know-how to developing countries—even as it contends with environmental damage and social upheaval at home from the massive Three Gorges Dam.
Support grows for landmark debt cancellation bill
(December 28, 2007) The Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation currently under consideration by the U.S. Congress, has gained support both in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The debt-relief legislation seeks to dissolve the debts of 67 of the world’s poorest countries owed to the United States, other official creditors in the Paris Club, the IMF, World Bank and other international financial institutions.
Critic of Three Gorges remains steadfast
(December 24, 2007) As Beijing admits faults on hydroelectric project, a crusader presses her campaign, Shai Oster reports.
China’s environmental regulator may require listed firms to disclose environmental information
(December 24, 2007) The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) wants listed companies to disclose environmental information, the official China Daily reported. The newspaper cited Ge Chazhong, an official with SEPA, as saying that the agency is drafting rules for compulsory disclosure, which could be finalized in the next six months. The new reporting system could include key emission indexes for sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide and company targets to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions.
Chinese critic of dam remains steadfast crusader
(December 24, 2007) Beijing admits faults as activist pushes campaign, next target 2008 Olympics
Dissent slows China’s drive for massive dam projects
(December 19, 2007) Criticism by Chinese citizens of the government’s relentless dam-building drive has emerged as one of the few legitimate subjects of public debate, slowing projects and testing the limits of the public’s role in shaping policy.
First the mutiny, then the silver
(December 19, 2007) In the wake of a staff mutiny against former World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, the U.K. edition of The Economist notes that the lending giant’s new head, Robert Zoellick, has raised a windfall in support from rich countries.
Banks see green in carbon projects: Investing directly adds to potential for profits In emissions trading
(December 18, 2007) For financial firms such as Barclays PLC; Allianz SE’s Dresdner Kleinwort and its carbon expert, Ingo Ramming; and Morgan Stanley, the decision to get their hands dirty with carbon-reduction projects is adding a new dimension to the emerging carbon-trading business. By getting directly involved, the firms are no longer simply acting as middlemen executing trades but are sometimes flexing their own financing muscle as well.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
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