Joint Statement by Accountability Counsel, Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, CEE Bankwatch Network, Center for International Environmental Law, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), and Human Rights Watch

A joint statement by seven civil society organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, criticising the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) draft Environment and Social Policy for weakening human rights safeguards, reducing transparency, and failing to implement adequate human rights due diligence.

• The draft policy is accused of removing the EBRD's commitment to international human rights law by deleting language that the Bank would not "knowingly finance projects that would contravene country obligations" regarding human rights and environmental protection. Instead, the draft only commits the Bank to seek to structure projects to be guided by EU and international law "where appropriate," shifting the requirement to "good international practice" rather than binding legal standards.
• The statement claims there is no progress on transparency, noting that the draft Public Information Policy maintains an overly broad definition of confidentiality. Specifically, it allows exemptions for documents intended for internal purposes or those classified as confidential by the Bank, and permits non-disclosure if a client has a confidentiality agreement. The authors argue this prevents the advance publication of social and environmental appraisals, hindering the ability of affected people to raise concerns.
• The draft policy is criticised for lacking human rights due diligence, as it allows the EBRD to simply review impact assessments prepared by the clients themselves, which the authors describe as a conflict of interest. Furthermore, the draft allows environmental and social appraisals to be conducted after Board approval and the signing of financial agreements, which the statement argues excludes public participation from the decision-making stage.
• Regarding forced evictions, the draft policy is criticised for allowing resettlement sites to comply with only one or more of the seven requirements for the right to adequate housing, rather than all of them. The statement also notes that the draft removes a previous requirement to provide legal assistance for displaced persons.
• The statement argues that the draft policy uses a restrictive definition of indigenous peoples by making recognition dependent on "recognition by others" and requiring that forceful removal from lands must have occurred within the lifetime of the group members.
• The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) in the draft policy is described as having a window for complaints that is too narrow. Compliance reviews can only be filed after project approval and cannot be filed after the last disbursement of funds, while problem-solving complaints must be filed within one year of final disbursement. Additionally, complainants are excluded from commenting on Management Action Plans.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2014). Joint Statement by Accountability Counsel, Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, CEE Bankwatch Network, Center for International Environmental Law, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), and Human Rights Watch. https://www.ciel.org/news/european-bank-for-reconstruction-and-development-draft-environment-and-social-policy-retreats-on-human-rights/

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Joint Statement by Accountability Counsel, Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, CEE Bankwatch Network, Center for International Environmental Law, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), and Human Rights Watch. 2014. https://www.ciel.org/news/european-bank-for-reconstruction-and-development-draft-environment-and-social-policy-retreats-on-human-rights/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Joint Statement by Accountability Counsel, Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, CEE Bankwatch Network, Center for International Environmental Law, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), and Human Rights Watch |date=1 February 2014 |url=https://www.ciel.org/news/european-bank-for-reconstruction-and-development-draft-environment-and-social-policy-retreats-on-human-rights/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2014joint, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Joint Statement by Accountability Counsel, Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19, CEE Bankwatch Network, Center for International Environmental Law, Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), and Human Rights Watch}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/news/european-bank-for-reconstruction-and-development-draft-environment-and-social-policy-retreats-on-human-rights/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }