U.S., Allies Set Environment Pact; Boon Is Seen to Overseas Business

By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS

Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Rights award calls attention to the plight of abducted -There are more than 40,000 'disappeared' in more than 50 countries, the UN reports

By MARINA JIMENEZ

The Cobwebs on Credit

 

 

World Press Review correspondent

Paris, France

Nov. 11, 2003

Novemb

October 31, 2003

A. Ian Gillespie

Canadian Business Journal

BY MATTHEW McCLEARN

COVER DATE: Sept. 2, 2003

Many Canadians cannot point to Lesotho on a map. Some have never heard of it. In the cruel calculus of world politics, business, trade and finance, it is almost completely irrelevant. And yet, this tiny nation landlocked by South Africa must loom large on the minds of executives at Acres International Ltd., an engineering consulting firm based in Oakville, Ont. Its legal representatives are now in the capital, Maseru, for what could be the endgame of the most important battle in the company's 79-year history.

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Significantly destructive projects that violate host country law, international environmental standards and international human rights and labor laws continue to be considered and supported by ECAs. "Race to the Bottom, Take II: An Assessment of Sustainable Development Achievements of ECA-Supported Projects Two Years After OECD Common Approaches Rev 6" presents a civil society proposal for reforming the OECD Common Approaches on Environment and supports the proposal with nine case studies of ECA-backed projects from all over the world.

The projects include the Aracruz Pulp and Paper Factory in Brazil, the BTC pipeline in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, the Bujagili dam in Uganda, the Camisea oil and gas project in Peru, the Cernavoda 2 Nuclear Reactor in Romania, the Sakhalin II oil and gas project in the Russian Far East, the Sepon Gold and Copper mine in Lao, the Tehri dam in India.

James Wolfensohn
President
World Bank
1818H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
USA

August 21, 2003

Dear Mr. Wolfensohn,

The fight against corruption is a central part of the World Bank mission to reduce poverty and improve the quality of people's lives.

The World Bank response to the loss of Acres International's appeal in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project of Friday, August 15th, 2003, will be indicative of how the World Bank approaches the fight against corruption.

We urge you to debar Acres International from future Bank-financed contracts. We also ask that all existing World Bank contracts with Acres be subject to review to determine whether Acres bid was carried out in a legal manner.