Coalition for Human Rights in Development

"If we are not going to question our systems of consumption and production, then the so-called energy transition is not going to be enough.(..) They keep talking about a "just" transition, but there's no "just" in the current approach". In this short interview, Loreto Vasquez Salvador (Asamblea Ciudadana Ultima Esperanza ACUE, Chile) - one of the actvists who joined us in Cape Town for the #FinanceInCommon Summit - shares her ecofeminist perspective on the just energy transition, speaking about the radical changes we need, and why the current approach to development is exacerbating structural problems instead of solving them.

Is ADB-funded Assam solar park ‘green-grabbing’ indigenous land? In #India, Karbi and other tribal communities have accused the Assam government of undermining the free, informed and prior consent of the people, to set up the 1000 MW solar park with Asian Development Bank (ADB) loans and private investment. ADB maintains that the project is "consistent with India’s long term climate mitigation policy", but it's failing to take into account that the project will displace local communities from fertile and ecologically sensitive lands, depriving them of their livelihoods. Read more in this article by Anupam Chakravartty ?? https://lnkd.in/e9BzSBFf

In Denyenye, a small village in coastal #Kenya, G4S security guards working for the multinational cement manufacturer Bamburi Cement PLC - along with a special Kenyan police unit - have been accused of #torture and #assault by dozens of locals. The villagers, who live near a 1,500-acre piece of contested land, rely on it for farming cattle, fetching firewood for cooking, and accessing the ocean for fishing. However, Bamburi, G4S security guards, and Kenyan law enforcement officials have violently kept them from their land for decades. In this multimedia platform, you can now read & watch the powerful testimonies of community members who are courageously speaking out against the violations they are facing, as well as a hard-hitting investigation on the financial flows behind the company and the G4S security firm. ?? https://lnkd.in/d-hQxPTM The investigation was led by investigative journalist, Ruth Hopkins, supported by the Pulitzer Center, and conducted by several investigative journalists & media houses: Edwin Okoth, Follow the Money Netherlands, WOZ Magazine?(Switzerland),?The Nation (Kenya),?ZAM Magazine?and?The Africa Report. The local organization supporting the affected community is one of the collaborators of the?Community Resource Exchange (CRE), a program hosted by the Coalition for Human Rights in Development. Through the CRE, we facilitated linkages with other allies and support to explore possible advocacy opportunities, visibilize the story, and security support. ?? Credit: Edwin Okoth

In case you missed it, you can now watch the #GRAMpartnership webinar where a set of amazing speakers (including our Asia Regional Coordinator Tala Batangan + our members Prabindra Shakya from Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ) and Rayyan Hassan from NGO Forum on ADB) shared their insights on the challenges and opportunities around issues such as #accountability, #reprisals and #remedy ?? https://lnkd.in/ey8XUeuy

?? Asia at the Center of the Critical Minerals Rush ?? Did you know? Indonesia, the #Philippines, #Myanmar, #Vietnam, and #China are among the world’s top producers of critical minerals. But with increased extraction comes increased risks—to Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and the environment. Join the ?? Virtual Roundtable Discussion | Dissecting MDBs’ Transition Minerals Agenda & Its Nexus to Energy Transition in Asia ?? 2 APRIL 2025 | WEDNESDAY ??? LIVE on Facebook ??? 5 PM Manila | 4 PM Jakarta | 3 PM Dhaka | 2:30 PM Kolkata | 10 AM Berlin | 9 AM London ?? This lead-up event to the 58th Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Meeting will tackle how MDBs’ mineral policies impact local communities. ?? Be part of the conversation!

Away from the noise in Washington, there is a quiet new opportunity at The World Bank Group to make trillions of dollars of financial flows more environmentally and socially responsible ?? The IFC - International Finance Corporation, is set to announce a review of its Sustainability Framework. This includes its environmental and social safeguards, which shape the tens of billions that IFC invests annually, plus the investments of over 120 financial institutions that align with them. Since the IFC last updated its standards in 2011, a lot has changed, not least how multilateral development banks invest in development. Today, nearly half the IFC’s portfolio is invested via financial intermediaries – such as private equity funds or commercial banks – a form of lending which has been linked to several cases of harm to local communities and the environment. In this Devex opinion piece, Recourse’s Kate Geary and Daniel Willis explain why it’s high time the IFC learned from past mistakes, and why a mandatory standard on financial intermediary lending is a crucial tool for protecting people and the planet: ??? https://lnkd.in/d3AE9b5g

?? #WeAreHiring - Applications are being accepted until Friday, March 28th. ESCR-Net is seeking a dynamic and strategic leader to step into the role of Executive Director—a position at the heart of a global movement for economic, social, and climate justice. As a network of over 300 members across 80 countries, including social movements, Indigenous Peoples, feminist and environmental organizations, and human rights advocates, ESCR-Net plays a crucial role in fostering solidarity, advancing collective advocacy, and amplifying grassroots demands and visions globally. ???This is not just an administrative role—it’s a call to leadership in a movement-driven organization. Review all the details at: https://lnkd.in/e3JDccXs

International Rivers is deeply alarmed by the recent collapse of the tailings dam at Sino Metals Leach Zambia Ltd. On February 18, 202550 million liters of highly acidic leach residue and heavy metals gushed into Zambia’s vital rivers. This disaster, impacting the Lusale Stream, Mwambashi River, and most devastatingly, the Kafue River, has triggered a chain reaction of destruction, spreading toxic sludge over 400 km downstream. The Kafue River, a lifeline for countless communities and ecosystems, has been severely affected. ?? Fish populations are decimated ?? Agricultural lands contaminated? ? Local economies were disrupted. This environmental catastrophe, unprecedented in scale, further threatens both Zambia’s water security and the resilience of its ecosystems amidst a climate crisis. #KafueRiver #Zambia #ProtectOurRivers #SavetheKafue Read more here: https://intlrv.rs/4kS9oDD

Our Coalition keeps growing: we're so thrilled to welcome Uzbek Forum for Human Rights as our newest member! ?? Uzbek Forum for Human Rights is based in Germany, but works to protect human rights and strenghten civil society in #Uzbekistan. It has special expertise on labor rights and regularly conducts monitoring of the impact of investments by multilateral development banks, particularly in the agriculture sector (such as #IndoramaAgro cotton plantations, that received funding from EBRD & IFC - International Finance Corporation). ? We look forward to keeping learning from them & joining forces to hold #development banks accountable for the impacts of their projects in #Uzbekistan.

Chile será sede de la sexagésima quinta edición de las?Reuniones Anuales de las Asambleas de Gobernadores del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID)?y de BID Invest, que incluye un Foro de Inversiones y Reunion de Autoridades del 20 al 25 de marzo en Punta Arenas (Magallanes) y Asamblea Anual del Grupo BID del 26 al 30 de marzo en Santiago. Este evento reunirá a ministros de Economía, Hacienda y Finanzas de los 48 países miembros del Banco, quienes definirán las principales políticas y estrategias de financiamiento para la región. En este escenario, comunidades afectadas por proyectos financiados por el BID y organizaciones de la sociedad civil se están organizando para llevar sus demandas y visibilizar las resistencias al modelo de desarrollo promovido por la institución.? Sus principales demandas incluyen: *Acceso completo y comprensible a la información?sobre los proyectos y sus impactos. *Participación efectiva?de las comunidades afectadas en la toma de decisiones *Protección de personas defensoras de derechos humanos y de la naturaleza?para la prevención de represalias. *Financiación alineada con la justicia climática y los derechos humanos. *Garantizar la?prevención, mitigación y reparación de da?os causados por sus inversiones, a través de políticas o marcos de remedio y salida responsable. AGENDA DE RESISTENCIA E INCIDENCIA EN CHILE Desde la Coalición para los DDHH en el Desarrollo, junto a organizaciones de la sociedad civil y comunidades impactadas hemos delineado un plan de acción que incluye: *Talleres y encuentros en Santiago y Punta Arenas?con organizaciones locales, comunidades afectadas y aliados estratégicos para analizar el impacto del BID en la transición energética y el financiamiento del desarrollo. *Un conversatorios público?sobre el papel de bancos de desarrollo en la transición energética justa,?así como el caso de Chile en la industria del hidrógeno verde y la minería *Actividades de incidencia en las Reuniones Anuales?con el objetivo de generar espacios de diálogo con representantes del BID y otros actores clave. *Vinculación con redes locales e internacionales?para fortalecer estrategias de resistencia y visibilización global de los impactos de los proyectos impulsados por el Banco. La lucha de las comunidades contra los proyectos extractivistas no es nueva, pero en un contexto de expansión del financiamiento a sectores como la energía y la minería, es más urgente que nunca amplificar sus voces y exigir una transición energética justa, que ponga en el centro los derechos de las comunidades y la protección de los territorios https://lnkd.in/dTt9hQrv