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News (56)
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USA: Court Rules IFC Not Immune |
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By :Diane Desierto, European Journal of International Law blog |
| 28 February 2019 |
SCOTUS decision in Jam et al v. International Finance Corporation (IFC) denies absolute immunity to IFC…with caveats
When it rains, it somehow pours.
February 2019 ended up being such a landmark month for international law adjudication. A day after the International Court of Justice released its landmark Chagos Advisory Opinion (finely discussed by
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Petition to Stop Land Grabbing in Sierra Leone |
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By :Okland Institute |
| 21 February 2019 |
Stop the criminalisation of land rights defenders!
Oakland, CA—One month after violent incidents in the SOCFIN plantations in Sierra Leone leading to brutal repression by security forces, the death of two people and 15 people arrested, Sierra Leonean and international civil society organisations urge the government of Sierra Leone and the
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Mining Grabs Up Land in Central America |
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By :Edgardo Ayala, Inter press Service |
| 19 February 2019 |
SAN SALVADOR, Feb 19 2019 (IPS) - Like an octopus, metals mining has been spreading its tentacles throughout Central America and dealing a blow to the region’s agriculture and natural ecosystems, according to affected villagers, activists and a new report on the problem.
“Where the mining company is operating was land
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Land Grabbing Worsens Climate Change |
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By :Fredrick Mugira, Annika Mcginnis, Pulitzer center |
| 10 January 2019 |
In Uganda, there were at least 17 “land grabs” since 2000 with contracts totaling 74,831 hectares of land, according to Land Matrix data.
A new report has linked land grabbing to worsening climate change, calling on governments to secure community land rights to protect the world’s natural resources such as “forests”
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UNHRC Adopts Peasant Rights Declaration |
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By :La Via Campesina |
| 30 September 2018 |
UN Human Rights Council passes a resolution adopting the peasant rights declaration in Geneva
GENEVA—Seventeen years of long and arduous negotiations later, peasants and other people working in rural areas are only a step away from having a UN Declaration that could defend and protect their rights to land, seeds, biodiversity, local
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Evicted Apaa Residents Accuse UN of Neglect |
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By :Witness radio |
| 07 August 2018 |
Gulu. Hundreds of locals who have for the last one month camped at the UN premises in Gulu Municipality seeking its intervention over the ongoing evictions in Apaa Village, Itirikwa Sub-county, Adjumani District have accused UN officials of neglect.
The locals say since July 11 when they issued a letter to
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Laos: “Substandard construction” Causes Dam Collapse |
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By :Kocha Olarn, Sandi Sidhu and Ben Westcott, CNN |
| 27 July 2018 |
Minister says “substandard construction” caused Laos dam to collapse. 25,000 people evacuated.
The collapse of Laos dam that triggered massive flooding and devastation was due to "substandard construction," the country`s Minister of Energy and Mines said Thursday.
According to the state-run Laos News Agency, Minister Khammany Inthirath told reporters at a news
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Uganda: Amuru Land Grab Apaa Village Evictions |
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By :Minbane.wordpress.com |
| 20 July 2018 |
That the Northern Uganda have been in deep end of the stick in many eyes is evident, by how lax the state has been to take care of their needs and their rights. That can now be proven by the forceful evictions from land in Apaa Village in Amuru District/Adjumani
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World Bank Evaluation: Things Fall Apart |
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By :Sophie Edwards, Devex |
| 18 June 2018 |
World Bank failing to follow watchdog advice, says IEG report
WASHINGTON — World Bank managers are failing to properly implement, and in some cases ignoring, the recommendations of its own independent watchdog, according to evaluators.
In a report presented Thursday, the Independent Evaluation Group, the body tasked with evaluating the performance of all parts of the World
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World Bank Evaluation: Things Fall Apart |
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By :Sophie Edwards, Devex |
| 18 June 2018 |
World Bank failing to follow watchdog advice, says IEG report
WASHINGTON — World Bank managers are failing to properly implement, and in some cases ignoring, the recommendations of its own independent watchdog, according to evaluators.
In a report presented Thursday, the Independent Evaluation Group, the body tasked with evaluating the performance of all parts of the World
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Ethiopia: New Deal with Iconic Land Grabber Karuturi |
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By :Anywaa Survival Organisation |
| 07 May 2018 |
Reading, United Kingdom - The Anywaa Survival Organisation (ASO) is outraged by recent news reports that the Ethiopian government is providing a new lease of lands to disgraced land grabber Karuturi Global Ltd.
Karuturi`s disastrous 300,000 hectares (ha) farm project in Ethiopia`s western Gambela region is the most vivid example of the Ethiopian government`s
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HICtionary Newly Updated |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 06 May 2018 |
HIC-HLRN has just updated the HICtionary: Key Habitat Terms from A to Z. This reference work is the result of deliberation and debate across multiple specializations, regions and cultures within the membership of Habitat International Coalition (HIC). The purpose of that debate—and this reference work—have been to consolidate and harmonize
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30 Cities Join Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day |
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By :Platform No to the Destruction of Sur, Istanbul Sur Solidarity, Mesopotamia Ecology Movement, and Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive |
| 30 April 2018 |
DIYARBAKIR / AMED—As part of the Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day in almost 30 cities, actions have been organized on 28 April 2018. Activists and civil organization raised awareness on the ongoing destruction of the two antique cities Sur and Hasankeyf at the Tigris River in North (Turkish) Kurdistan.
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China Mining Co. Destroys Mozambique Village |
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By :Ghana News |
| 01 April 2018 |
Mozambique’s coastal village on the brink of extinction from irresponsible Chinese mining company. Mining giant Haiyu denies responsibility for flood that left 290 people homeless, while Mozambican authorities fail to regulate mining industry to ensure people’s safety, denying village residents reparation for their losses.
An irresponsible Chinese mining operation in Mozambique
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Nicaragua: Future Canal Threatens Mass Eviction |
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By :Amnesty International |
| 03 August 2017 |
Nicaragua: Country’s future for sale as canal threatens thousands with forced eviction
The Nicaraguan government must stop placing business before the future of the country and its people, Amnesty International said in a new report today looking at a secretive deal that will lead to the construction of a canal
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“Spotlight” on UN High-Level Forum, SDGs |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 10 July 2017 |
As the UN High-Level Forum opens in New York, a global civil society report spotlights the role of big business in hindering development and deepening economic and social disparity.
Unbridled privatization, corporate capture and mass-scale tax abuse are blocking progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, argues a new report by a
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China Evicts More Tibetan Nomads for “Development” |
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By :RFA |
| 15 June 2017 |
Tibetan nomads forced from resettlement towns to make way for development
Tibetan nomads previously forced from traditional grazing lands in a state-directed resettlement scheme in Qinghai are now being told to go back, as authorities begin to target their current homes for development as tourist centers and housing for government employees,
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Toward a UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants |
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By :La via Campesina |
| 09 March 2017 |
The need for a UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and other People Working in Rural Areas is all the more urgent and evident in the 21st century. Despite years of campaigning for a better recognition and protection of the rights of peasants, displacements and criminalization continue affecting hundreds
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USA: Will HUD Benefit Trump? |
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By :Allan Smith, businessinsider |
| 12 January 2017 |
At the Senate hearings vetting US President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet appointees, Sen. Elizabeth Warren questioned proposed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson over whether he could guarantee that money distributed by HUD will not enrich President-elect Donald Trump. He failed that fundamental ethical test, apparently unable to
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Sri Lanka: Clashes over Land in China Port Deal |
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By :abc.net.au |
| 07 January 2017 |
Sri Lankan police used water cannons to try to break up violent clashes between government supporters and villagers marching against what they say is a plan to take over private land for an industrial zone in which China will have a major stake.
Key points:
Clash takes place as Prime Minister attends
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Public Payment for Royal Renovations Opposed |
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By :HIC-HLRN and Metro.uk |
| 19 November 2016 |
Britain is experiencing a national crisis in housing and the National Health Service, while austerity is forcing cuts in many social services. Yesterday, the press announced a decision by the British prime minister and chancellor to pay an additional £369m from the public purse for a major 10-year refurbishment to
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Sierra Leone: Land Grabbing of Forests |
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By :Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya, Standard TimePress |
| 10 November 2016 |
Land grabbing around the Western Area Peninsular Forest Reserve is presently intensifying primarily for housing purposes. The Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security is directly responsible for the protection of forests in the country and through the dedicated collaboration of the Environment Protection Agency of Sierra Leone as focal
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Namibia: Land Grabbing Continues at Katima |
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By :Lugeretzia Kooper, Namibian News |
| 09 November 2016 |
THE grabbing of council land at Katima Mulilo has increased due to the influx of people from rural areas to the town in search of employment opportunities, town mayor Regina Mwiya-Simataa said in a press release last Friday.
Although Mwiya-Simataa conceded that the council had been slow in delivering land to
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Stop European Money Fuelling Land Grabbing |
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By :Peter Drury, Global Witnesses |
| 04 November 2016 |
Around the world, companies and speculators are engaged in a frantic rush for land. Millions of hectares are being bought up, citizens violently turfed off their land and critical ecosystems irrevocably damaged, in order to feed growing demand for fuel, food and raw materials.
At its worst, this is fatal. According
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Indigenous Rights Key to Saving Forests |
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By :Jonathan Watts, The Guardian |
| 02 November 2016 |
Indigenous rights are key to preserving forests, climate change study finds. Leaving forests in communal hands cuts carbon emissions from deforestation, helps communities and offers long-term economic benefits: “Everyone wins.”
RIO DE JANEIRO—The world’s indigenous communities need to be given a bigger role in climate stabilisation, according to a new study
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EU Declares Israel Boycott Protected as Free Speech |
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By :Raphael Ahren, The Times of Israel |
| 31 October 2016 |
Palestinians hail Federica Mogherini’s statement, but she stresses that the union ‘rejects the BDS campaign’s attempts to isolate Israel’.
the European Union’s foreign policy chief recently affirmed the right of EU citizens to boycott Israel, citing freedom of expression and rebuffing claims by Jerusalem that such measures amount to banned anti-Semitic
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Nigeria: When They Bulldozed, She Fought Back |
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By :Betty Abah and Elaine Zuckerman, Ms. magazine |
| 03 October 2016 |
Bimbo, 57 and a mother of four, grew up in Makoko, Lagos Nigeria’s largest slum, married, and established a thriving soft drink business in boisterous Badia East, another Lagos slum. Her life was upturned when the World Bank-financed Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project bulldozed Badia East in 2013 without notice.
The “urban
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US: Protests of Native Community on Water |
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By :Mary Annette Pember, indiancountrytodaymedianetwork |
| 28 September 2016 |
Benjamin Conrad, 20, only brings out his grandfather’s war bonnet for special occasions. Today was such a day.
Conrad of the Northern Arapaho, Choctaw and Creek tribes joined about 300 water protectors in a peaceful direct action opposing continued construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline under the Missouri River near the
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World’s Indigenous People and Profit Enterprise |
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By :Elika Ansari, Undergroundreporter.org |
| 22 August 2016 |
9 August 2016 marked the 12th International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, a day pronounced by the U.N. to promote the rights of the indigenous peoples of the world, while also celebrating their contributions to environmental protection.
Meanwhile, over a hundred indigenous men and women dressed in traditional garb marched in Baguio City, Philippines, in
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Native Americans Block Oil Pipeline Construction |
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By :Matt Agorist, The free though project.com |
| 21 August 2016 |
The Camp of the Sacred Stones has swelled from a few dozen to more than 2,500, according to Standing Rock Sioux Tribe officials. They are calling for further review of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the end of July without a
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Rio’s Indigenous Trapped in Social Housing |
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By :Alix Vadot, Rioonwatch.org |
| 15 August 2016 |
In Estácio, a centrally located neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, Block 15 of the Zé Keti social housing complex, part of the Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV) program, has been the home of some of the city’s remainingindigenous families since June 2013. Its residents have described the complex, built on the grounds of the former
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WB Retreat from Indigenous Rights |
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By :Gretchen Gordon and Prabindra Shakya, telesurtv.net |
| 08 August 2016 |
There are many within World Bank staff and management who see Indigenous peoples as obstacles to development.
While recent years have shown a steady advancement in recognition of the rights of Indigenous peoples, last week the World Bank adopted a new policy framework that threatens to undermine this progress and put
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World Bank Policies Imperil Land Defenders |
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By :Cyril Mychalejko, teleSUR |
| 04 August 2016 |
Just 5 months since the murder of Honduran environmental defender Berta Caceres, the Bank is passing new safeguards that do more harm than good.
The World Bank is expected to approve Thursday its new “Environmental and Social Framework” which civil society groups say weakens human rights protections and will likely endanger the very communities the safeguards are intended to protect.
At issue
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India Mine Displaced 400 Adivasi Families |
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By :Elizabeth Puranam, Al Jazeera |
| 07 July 2016 |
The mine that displaced India`s indigenous people. About 400 Adivasi families once lived near the Chaal coal mine, but blasting and water contamination forced them to leave
The earth-shattering sound of dynamite welcomed us to the small village of Lath, which sits on the edge of an open-cast coal mine.
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Demise of World Bank Accountability |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 22 June 2016 |
A forthcoming article in the American University International Law Review(AUILR) addressed “The Demise of Accountability at the World Bank?” The article by Natalie Bugalski, of Inclusive Development, examines recent trends in the accountability system at the World Bank, including the proposed Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and developments at the
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Standing up to TNC Land Grab in Sierra Leone |
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By :HLRN |
| 16 June 2016 |
HLRN has joined over 40 civil society organizations to express deep concern over the impact of a monoculture agricultural project that involves the dispossession of the people living in Malen Chiefdom, Pujehun District in Sierra Leone.
The project is the subject of an investment by SOCFIN Agricultural Company Sierra Leone Ltd.
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Myanmar: Plan to Build Hydro-Power Dam |
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By :Sa Isue, Karen News |
| 09 May 2016 |
In an effort to create more understanding on the proposed hydro-power dam on Baw Ka Hta River in Kyaukyi Township, the Karen National Union held a consultation meeting with community organizations on May 6 in the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
The Baw Ka Hta hydro-power dam project, located in
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Myanmar: Human Rights Should Be "Top Priority" |
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By :Karen News |
| 09 May 2016 |
Prominent human rights advocacy organization, Human Rights Watch calls for new civilian government to push for human rights reforms.
In a statement released today, Human Rights Watch has called on the new National League for Democracy government to make human rights a “top priority.”
Mr. Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights
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World Bank Accountability @ Spring Meetings |
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By :Oakland Institute |
| 12 April 2016 |
World Bank Accountability on Forced Resettlements Must be a Priority at Its Spring Meetings
Oakland, CA—World Bank accountability on forced resettlements resulting from its programs must be front and center at its spring meetings, taking place this week in Washington DC.
Between 2004 and 2013, nearly 3.4 million people were physically or economically
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Panama: Ngäbe Communities Facing Evictions |
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By :Jennifer Kennedy, International Solidarity |
| 08 April 2016 |
The Barro Blanco Dam will have a disastrous effect on Ngäbe communities inside the Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle and campesino communities also living on the banks of the river.
Ngäbe communities in western Panama are calling for support from the international community after officials from the Honduran-owned energy company, GENISA, warn that they
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African New Habitat Agenda Priorities |
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By :Ahmed Mansour Ismail and Dr. Daniel W. Ambaye |
| 23 February 2016 |
HABITAT III Africa Regional Meeting
“African Priorities for the New Urban Agenda”
Land and African Sustainable Urbanization, side event organized by GLTN
Abuja, Nigeria, 23 February 2016
Summary prepared by Ahmed Mansour Ismail (HIC-HLRN) and Dr. Daniel W. Ambaye (Institute of Land Administration)
Mr Ernest Aubee, ECOWAS (as moderator) introduced the panelists and further emphasized
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HLRN-India Launches Habitat III Status Report |
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By :HLRN-India |
| 05 February 2016 |
New Delhi—On Friday, Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) launched its first Habitat III country report titled, Housing and Land Rights in India: Status Report for Habitat III. The United Nations (UN) Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III)—the third bidecennial international conference on habitat issues—will be held
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HIC-critics on Habitat III Policy Papers |
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By :HIC |
| 05 February 2016 |
Since the very early stages of the Habitat III preparations, Habitat International Coalition (HIC) has called for the integrity of the Habitat II (1996) commitments and modalities; this demand has three related aspects:
• Processes must uphold the Habitat II-established principle to be as inclusive as possible;
• Maintain the Habitat Agenda,
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OXFAM to Davos Millionaires: “Even it up” |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 21 January 2016 |
In a world where the richest 62 people are as wealthy as half of world`s population, Oxfam tells global economy leaders at the World Economic Forum meeting at Davos, Switzerland to correct their greedy behavior.
Oxfam’s new report, “Even It up: Time to End Extreme Inequality,” advises that only higher wages,
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Ethiopia`s Development Crackdown on Dissent |
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By :Charles Stratford, Al Jazeera |
| 10 January 2016 |
Rights groups say 140 people killed in recent weeks as government moves forward with controversial development plans.
Wolonkomi, Ethiopia—Security forces have killed at least 140 people during a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in Ethiopia in recent weeks, activists and rights groups say.
The protests by members of the country`s largest ethnic group,
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Ethiopia: Reacts to Sudan Land-giveaway Rumour |
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By :Tesfa-Alem Tekle, Sudan Tribune |
| 25 December 2015 |
December 25, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Ethiopian prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn dismissed on Friday circulating rumours that his government secretly gave away part of the Horn of Africa’s territories to stakeholders in neighbouring Sudan.
Desalegn’s remarks came while responding to queries raised by members of the House of People’s Representatives
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COP21: Land & Water Convergence Speaks |
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By :Global Convergence of Land and Water Struggles |
| 08 December 2015 |
Parallel to the climate conference in Paris, social movements and allies within the “Global Convergence of Land and Water Struggles” stand up for climate justice and real solutions to the climate crisis. This alliance of struggles has delivered its message to the COP21 currently meeting at Paris. Their statement follows.
The
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World Bank Rolls back Safeguards Further |
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By :BIC |
| 04 August 2015 |
Dangerous rollback in environmental and social protections with the World Bank’s new Framework, undermining President Kim’s commitment to “no dilution”
Washington—The World Bank has released new draft safeguard policies[i] that will vastly weaken protections for affected communities and the environment at the same time as the bank intends to finance more
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HIC Reviews Habitat III Issue Papers |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 31 July 2015 |
Habitat International Coalition has just issued its compilation of inputs from Members and officers following their review of the Habitat III Issue Papers. The 22 thematic contributions from technical experts selected by the UN-Habitat/Habitat III Secretariat have been drafted as a framework for the debate leading up to the Third
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Myanmar: New Land Confiscation Report |
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By :Karen Human Rights Group |
| 30 June 2015 |
Villagers in Karen areas of southeast Myanmar continue to face widespread land confiscation at the hands of a multiplicity of actors. Much of this can be attributed to the rapid expansion of domestic and international commercial interest and investment in southeast Myanmar since the January 2012 preliminary ceasefire between the
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World Bank Group’s Compliance & Land |
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By :HIC-HLRN |
| 30 June 2015 |
Private sector investment affecting land in developing countries often leads to disputes between companies and local communities over land rights and land use. Since 1999, the private-sector arms of the World Bank Group (WBG)—the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)—have had an accountability mechanism to
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FIFA and Human Rights |
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By :Miloon Kothari, Middle East Online |
| 23 June 2015 |
Middle FIFA has become an institution that is not only a byword for corruption, but one that, through acts of omission and commission, has tolerated human rights violations around the world.
The past few weeks have revealed FIFA’s ills. The allegations and arrests of key officials have focused on massive
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Turkey: Plundering Istanbul’s “Lungs” |
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By :Northern Forest Defense |
| 25 May 2015 |
The Istanbul-based Northern Forests Defense (NFD) movement has published two new reports in English to expose the hazards of current plans for the construction of the Turkish city’s new airport complex. The NFD is a public-interest initiative that advocates the protection of the ecologically interconnected and diverse area north of
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Myanmar: Villagers Protest Hydropower Dam |
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By :Nan Wai Pyo Zar, Karen News |
| 19 May 2015 |
The villagers from the Palet Wa region in Thandaung Township lost their homes and land to a hydro-power dam in Htantabin Township are protesting and demanding their lands are returned from the companies.
More than a 100 villagers and representatives from community-based-organizations demonstrated at Thaukyekat No.2 site to staged a protest
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Libya: NATO Targeted Water Infrastructure |
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By :Nafeez Ahmed, Ecologist |
| 14 May 2015 |
The military targeting of civilian infrastructure, especially of water supplies, is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions, writes Nafeez Ahmed. Yet this is precisely what NATO did in Libya, while blaming the damage on Gaddafi himself. Since then, the country`s water infrastructure - and the suffering of its people
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Do RAI Principles Meet the Task? |
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By :Sylvia Kay, rightingfinance |
| 06 May 2015 |
On 15 October 2014, the Member States of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), hosted at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, approved the “Principles on Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems.” (“RAI” or “RAI Principles”)
In a recent assessment of the principles, the Transnational Institute (TNI) exposes
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