Good policy paper
Guiding practice from the policies of Independent Accountability Mechanisms
FMO
SOMO and Both ENDS condemn violence against Indigenous community near the Barro Blanco dam in Panama
Members of the Indigenous Ngäbe Buglé people were brutally attacked by Panamanian police on Friday 29 October 2021 on a parcel of private land near the FMO-financed Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam. The victims, all members…
In conversation with the Ngäbe-Bugle community in Panama, after five years of Barro Blanco dam
Letter to FMO on concerns over investments in Honduran bank
SOMO and other NGOs welcome the fact that FMO has ceased negotiations on a $60 million loan to the Honduran bank Ficohsa. Unfortunately this does not dispel all our concerns. For instance, we do not…
Transparency at development bank FMO is seriously lacking
The Dutch development bank FMO is not sufficiently transparent about the projects it finances and is therefore acting contrary to its mandate. This is evident from a new report published by the International Accountability Project…
FMO and FinnFund exit the controversial Agua Zarca project
Both ENDS and SOMO welcome the announcement done today by the Dutch and Finnish development banks, FMO and FinnFund, to exit the controversial Agua Zarca hydroelectric project in Honduras. Conflict about the project has led…
Human Rights Defenders Essential for Development
Development banks should respect human rights in their investments around the world and ensure their activities are not putting human rights and environmental defenders at risk, said SOMO in a joint petition signed by over…
FMO and the Agua Zarca project
Less than two weeks after the brutal murder of Berta Cáceres, another COPINH advocate, Nelson García, was murdered in Honduras. Over the years, COPINH activists have faced violence and intimidation for their opposition to the…
Letter to Dutch government concerning the Agua Zarca project
Following the murder of human rights defender Berta Caceras, today various NGOs submitted a letter to the Dutch government concerning its responsibility to ensure the divestment of the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) from the Agua…
Independent report: Dutch and German development banks failed to comply with environmental and human rights standards in financing the Barro Blanco dam in Panama
Kiad, Panama/Amsterdam/Bogota – Last Friday, a long-awaited report by an independent panel, found that FMO and DEG, the Dutch and German development banks, violated their own policies by failing to adequately assess the risks to…
Complaint leads to temporary stop on construction of Barro Blanco dam
Following years of community protests, the government of Panama temporarily suspended the construction of the Barro Blanco dam on 9 February 2015. Although the dam’s construction is nearing completion, the Movimiento 10 de Abril (M-10)…