Ethiopia: World Bank approves controversial loan

The World Bank undermined the rights of indigenous peoples and the environment with its approval on 12 July 2012, of a US$684 million loan, Human Rights Watch, Friends of Lake Turkana, International Rivers, Survival International, and the Bank Information Center said. The loan is for a 1,000-kilometer transmission line that would supply power to Kenya from Ethiopia’s controversial Gibe III dam. The World Bank’s board of directors approved the loan without applying the Bank’s social and environmental standards to the Gibe III dam, a power source for the transmission line.