World Bank Safeguards Update

The previous issues of Land Times reported on the review of the World Bank safeguards for involuntary resettlement.  Inclusive Development has been spearheading the efforts of organizing a critical response to the process and ensuring that civil society is involved in reformatting these guidelines. HLRN, in coordination with Inclusive Development, Bank Information Center and the International Accountability Project submitted recommendations for the new safeguard policy to the World Bank. Some of the recommendations include, but are not limited to:

• Changing the scope of the policy: The policy scope be more inclusive and extensive, clarifying that the policy applies in all cases of full or partial displacement, as well as measures to protect communities when access to water, land or other resources is permanently or temporarily disrupted.   Additionally, the safeguard policy should be applied retroactively in some cases.
• Prohibiting forced evictions and ensuring that displacement is a last resort: The new policy should adopt the definition of forced eviction that is found in the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement. Projects should conduct an independent assessment that determines the general welfare value of any proposed projects what will cause displacement or cause restrictions on the use of land, water or other natural resources. A project will not meet this threshold if its public purpose cannot be affirmed through a democratic process, including meaningful consultations with affected communities, if there are not real development priorities for the poor and marginalized groups, if the project violates human rights, or if the magnitude of displacement and degree of risk is not reasonable or proportional to its public value.
• Human rights impact and due diligence: The Bank should design an assessment tool that is consistent with best practice related to human rights. This tool should collect and disaggregate data regarding the human rights impacts of Bank projects on the affected communities. These assessments should be done with full participation of the communities and should place special attention on marginalized groups.
• Access to information, consultation and active participation in decision making: Affected peoples and communities should be included through meaningful involvement in the project at the earliest stages and throughout the project cycle, using accessible communication methods and language. Attention should be given to ensure participation of vulnerable or marginalized groups such as women, landless peoples, and other minorities. It is also imperative that the Bank respects the policy of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for any indigenous community affected by a Bank-funded project.
• Respecting and fulfilling the right to adequate housing: Relocation sites should meet standards of adequate facilities and sanitation, including access to potable water and other basic services, as well as schools and health care facilities. A culturally appropriate form of tenure should be secured for relocated communities to prevent them from a secondary forced eviction.
• Livelihood improvement and benefit sharing: The new policy should ensure that communities that are relocated have their livelihood improved through proportionate investment in the community’s development. Resettlement budgets must accurately reflect the actual financial and technical investments needed, upfront and over time, to fully replace lost assets and develop the living conditions and livelihoods of those resettled and achieve the policy objectives. Resettlers should also be appropriately compensated during any periods of transition.
• Cut-off dates and eligibility for benefits: Adequate notice and process rights must be respected for anyone that is to be resettled, including a minimum of 90-days notice prior to any action taken. Persons affected by any Bank project should be eligible for compensation after any cut-off date that is created for full compensation.
• Resettlement supervision, monitoring and evaluation: Various independent reviews for all aspects of the project that have direct and indirect impacts on communities, including resettlement, should be conducted at consistent intervals throughout the project implementation.
• Reparations and access to an effective remedy: The Bank policy should guarantee effective reparations for all persons and communities effected by Bank-funded projects, and should provide recourse for affected people to seek remedies, including where appropriate compensatory damage.

 The full document (and a shortened version) is available on the HLRN website

 For any question about this process, or HLRN’s involvement, please feel free to contact us.