NomoGaia was invited to participate in a panel at the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The topic was human rights at the World Bank.

The World Bank has “safeguard policies” to help identify and minimize project-related harms to people and the environment, but these policies have never addressed potential adverse impacts on human rights.

The U.S. Congress has repeatedly called for the World Bank to advance the cause of human rights, and one of the most direct mechanisms to press for change is through funding mechanisms. An upcoming IDA replenishment period provides Congress with a crucial opportunity to insist on strong safeguard policies that ensure respect for human rights.

The briefing featured experts in the field of human rights that presented evidence of abuses in and around World Bank projects. NomoGaia presented information on ways in which the Bank could better support and advance human rights protections in its activities, through human rights due diligence.

Our presentation is available here.