Book Description

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.