The World Bank Asian Development Bank And Human Rights

ÔDr Fujita reminds us of the critically important role that human rights can play. Opening up new perspectives, this book is a major and original contribution to the literature.Õ Ð From the foreword by Paul Hunt ÔSanae FujitaÕs book, The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Human Rights is a significant scholarly contribution to important issues of global governance in our increasingly interconnected world. The book is an excellent treatment of the emergence of participatory rights and accountability in the context of international finance and international organizations more generally. Particularly valuable is the in-depth treatment of transparency and accountability at the Asian Development Bank, an important and often-overlooked institution critical to international governance.Õ Ð David Hunter, American University Washington College of Law, US The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are two of the worldÕs major institutions conducting development projects. Both banks recognize the importance of transparency, participation and accountability. Responding to criticisms and calls for reform, they have developed policies that are designed to protect these values for people affected by their projects. This original and timely book examines these policies, including those recently revised, through the prism of human rights, and makes suggestions for further improvement. It also analyses the development of the BanksÕ stance to human rights in general. This unique book contains valuable and deeply insightful information drawn from extensive face-to-face interviews with relevant actors, including key personnel from both banks, consultants to the banks and members of civil society organisations. It expands the scope of research/discussion on human rights obligation of International financial institutions that will prove insightful for both academics and students. Practitioners will gain a great deal from the detail given on the standards of transparency, participation and accountability and their applicability to the day-to-day operations of development institutions.

Women perform 66% of the world's work, produce 50% of the food, but earn 10% of the income and own 1% of the property. To shed light on why this grim statistic still holds true, Women, Business and the Law aims to examine legal differentiations on the basis of gender in 143 of the world's economies. Women, Business and the Law tracks governments' actions to expand economic opportunities for women across six key areas: accessing institutions, using property, getting a job, providing incentives to work, building credit and going to court. The report uncovers legal differentiations for women and married versus unmarried women such as being able to register a business, open a bank account and work at night. These issues are of fundamental importance. When, because of tradition, social taboos or simple prejudice, half of the world's population is prevented from making its contribution to the life of a nation, the economy will suffer. The empirical evidence does suggest that, slowly but surely, governments are making progress in expanding opportunities for women. It is our hope that data presented in Women, Business and the Law will both facilitate research on linkages between legal differentiation and outcomes for women, and promote better informed policy choices on what governments can do to expand opportunities for women.

This first report deals with some of the major development issues confronting the developing countries and explores the relationship of the major trends in the international economy to them. It is designed to help clarify some of the linkages between the international economy and domestic strategies in the developing countries against the background of growing interdependence and increasing complexity in the world economy. It assesses the prospects for progress in accelerating growth and alleviating poverty, and identifies some of the major policy issues which will affect these prospects.

This book is a history of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral development bank established 50 years ago to serve Asia and the Pacific. Focusing on the region’s economic development, the evolution of the international development agenda, and the story of ADB itself, this book raises several key questions: What are the outstanding features of regional development to which ADB had to respond? How has the bank grown and evolved in changing circumstances? How did ADB’s successive leaders promote reforms while preserving continuity with the efforts of their predecessors? ADB has played an important role in the transformation of Asia and the Pacific the past 50 years. As ADB continues to evolve and adapt to the region’s changing development landscape, the experiences highlighted in this book can provide valuable insight on how best to serve Asia and the Pacific in the future.

This publication captures memories and experiences and provides a very personal and human perspective on dealing with the challenges of the development world. In 2009, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) interviewed senior and younger personnel, both past and present, on their struggles and triumphs in ADB, working for the development of Asia and the Pacific region, and ADB's evolution as an institution. Interspersed with the critical elements of ADB work---from project formulation to making tricky judgment calls---are also the interviewees' recollections of past and present colleagues, first days at ADB, friendships forged, and more.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which began operations in 2016 and now has an approved membership of eighty-four worldwide, has quickly become perhaps one of the world’s most promising agents of global economic development. With its firm commitments to the twenty-first century imperatives of cost-effectiveness, zero tolerance for corruption and active promotion of environmental sustainability, its clearly stated aims and requirements echo the goal of reform that other multilateral institutions are undertaking. This book is among the first to offer an incisive introduction to the AIIB’s law and governance, which are now essentially in place. From a perspective of Chinese multilateralism, which parts ways from the dominant twentieth-century Bretton Woods arrangements, the author provides in great depth the details of such elements of the Bank’s Articles of Agreement as the following: – non-resident board system; – procurement; – role of trust funds; – state-owned enterprises as private entities; – immunity; – dispute settlement; – accountability for involuntary resettlement and human rights violations; and – policy on prohibited practices. Throughout, the author provides deeply informed comparisons with such existing multilateral development banks as the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as with the World Trade Organization. He shows how the AIIB not only emulates but also innovates while continuing to collaborate closely with these institutions. He suggests what should be done to optimize governance, standards and operations of the AIIB together with these peer institutions in a mutually emulating manner. Lawyers and policymakers involved in international economic law and related fields will welcome this nuanced and in-depth description and analysis of the AIIB. Its concomitant analysis of political economy and global governance issues will be of interest to bankers, businesses, government officials and others looking for an overall understanding of multilateral development banking and China’s approach toward global governance in particular.

This revised edition offers updated information and an expanded range of tools to support ADB staff and stakeholders to implement participatory approaches effectively. The updated content reflects ADB's new business processes and highlights key opportunities for participation in policy dialogue and throughout the project cycle, and advises on methods and approaches, as well as pitfalls to avoid. In this edition, special attention is given to safeguards, gender, governance, HIV/AIDS and infrastructure, and water and sanitation. A wealth of participation resources developed by a wide range of organizations exists online; this guide includes an inventory of references for those seeking further information.

Policy dialogue on governance.