The World Bank’s private-sector finance unit supported development projects in numerous countries that involved grave violations of human rights, anti-poverty group Oxfam alleged in a new report Thursday. Oxfam said the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation has increasingly channelled its funds through other financial institutions, like local banks and private-equity funds, sacrificing close oversight of projects that have a harmful impact on impoverished populations. The IFC “has little accountability for billions of dollars’ worth of investments into banks, hedge funds and other financial intermediaries, resulting in projects that are causing human rights abuses around the world,” Oxfam said.
