IFC standards have subpar outcomes
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank, is the largest department of the five World Bank entities. In recent years, due to pressure from civil society, and in some cases from private industry, the IFC developed performance standards related to social and environmental sustainability to manage environmental and social risks. The practical performance of these standards falls short.
U.S. funds create “21st century border”
According to a report crafted by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Jesuit Conference of the United States, the recent drop in the number of migrants from Central America trying to enter the U.S. through the southern border can be attributed to the policies being implemented by the Mexican and Central American governments at the behest of, and with funding from, the U.S. government.
Food security: Report on CFS Session 41
The following article, published in the November-December NewsNotes, was written by Fr. Ken Thesing, MM, who lives and works in Rome.
Ending anonymous ownership
The European Parliament is close to passing a law that will require all European companies to disclose their ultimate owners in a public registry.
Sustainability and nuclear weapons
From August 27-29, the UN’s Department of Public Information held its 65th annual conference.
Civil society groups call on UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to investigate UN offset project
The following press release from Carbon Market Watch reports on efforts by civil society organizations to raise awareness around the troubling classification of a dam project in Guatemala.
Resources, September-October 2014
A few resources from the September-October 2014 NewsNotes.
Shareholders call for worker rights, safety
The following article, published in the September-October 2014 NewsNotes, was prepared by Cathy Rowan, who is the Corporate Responsibility Coordinator for the Maryknoll Sisters.
Nuclear disarmament: Urgent and possible
The following article was prepared by Marie Dennis and published in the September-October 2014 NewsNotes.
Models to curb carbon yield different results
As the global community begins to recognize the dangers of climate disruption, some industrialized nations are starting to implement policies to help alleviate some of the stress put on our planet.
Water and the Keystone XL Pipeline
The following article, published in the September-October 2014 NewsNotes, was written by Christiana Z. Peppard, Ph.D.; it was prepared in response to readers’ reactions to the World Watch column in the May-June Maryknoll magazine, which focused on the faith community’s actions to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
HIV-AIDS: Report from 20th Int’l Conference
The following excerpt from a report written by Fr. Joe Fedora, MM, who attended the 20th International AIDS Conference, held July 20-25 in Melbourne, Australia, was published in the September-October 2014 NewsNotes