May 21, 2014
World Bank Board of Governors
Africa and the Caribbean Regions
do Executive Directors The World Bank
Washington, DC 20433

Dear Honorable Board of Governors:

I am National Chair of The National Congress of Black Women, Inc. (NCBW), a civil rights organization dedicated to the educational, political, economic and cultural development of African American Women and their families. NCBW has over 100 chapters throughout the US and abroad. Our Greater Metropolitan Washington, DC chapter, led by Mrs. Johnnie Scott-Rice, who is also our National Second Vice Chair, has been a part of the Washington Metropolitan Civil Rights Coalition that is organized to end institutionalized racial discrimination in the World Bank. Over the last several months the Coalition has been meeting weekly, and its findings, based on extensive review of World Bank reports and discussions with both current and past World Bank employees, are gravely disconcerting and demand the immediate attention of the Board.
How rampant is racial discrimination in the World Bank? In a recent (December 2013) written testimonial submitted to the World Bank Tribunal Dr. Aklog Birara, the former Senior Advisor on Racial Equality (SARE) to former President James Wolfensohn, wrote:
"In my role as SARE, I have received and reviewed more than 450 allegations of discrimination in a span of five years... The majority of the complainants alleged that they were reluctant to use the internal justice system because they believed the system was neither independent nor fair to them. Some of the complainants focused on the opportunity they were denied, but the majority expressed their experiences as a violation of their human dignity and rights. Many of them alleged to have suffered emotional and psychological damages" (emphasis added).
The number of allegations--450 in five years—frankly--is shocking. Even more shocking is the
fact that according to the organization, Justice for Blacks, "the 450 figure does not include
complaints filed with other offices such as the Ombudsman, the Peer Review System, the

Mediation Office, etc." Justice for Blacks' "conservative extrapolated estimate is that over the last 20 years over 1500 racial discrimination cases have been filed in one office or another and yet not a single manager has been held accountable." The fact that the Bank has failed to address these rampant, systemic, and prolonged acts of human rights violations shows that the Bank seems to exist in a parallel universe, detached from and indifferent to universally accepted norms of racial equality and justice.
My focus in this letter is on Dr. Birara's last line in the above quotation: "Many of [the complainants of racial discrimination"> alleged to have suffered emotional and psychological damages." We would be remiss not to ask: "What is the impact of sustained human rights abuses on the health of victims of discrimination who have no voice and can raise no defense?" In this regard, I would like to bring your attention to one such victim. In a letter addressed to President Kim and copied to the Board of Executive Directors, Dr. Ann Marie Bodo, wrote:
"I write to you as a victim of racial discrimination and as one [who is"> inflicted by breast cancer at a young age, without any family history of cancer. Victims of racial discrimination at the World Bank are suffering from various types of ailments caused by the stress that they [are subject to"> without legal remedy. There are scientific studies linking racial discrimination with breast cancer, suicide, diabetes, heart attack, blood pressure, and depression. These are studies from reputable institutions including Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Duke, and NIH, among others."
Is Dr. Bodo's case an isolated and unfortunate incident or is it a risk that other Black women are exposed to without protection? According to Justice for Blacks, there are other anecdotal cases of Black women in the World Bank who have suffered and died from breast cancer at an early age without having had a family history of the disease. In light of the presence of scientific studies linking breast cancer to sustained racial discrimination the issue demands serious attention.
Since 1979, the Board of Directors as well as the Board of Governors have discussed the presence of systemic racial discrimination many times over and have made just as many pronouncements declaring "zero-tolerance for racial discrimination." Moreover, the Bank has established over half a dozen Task Forces to deal with the chronic problem, including: "The African Study Group" (1979); "The African Issues Working Group" (1992); "The Team for Racial Equality" (1998); "The Diversity Office" (2003); "The Staff Association Diversity Working Group" (2005); "The 2007-2012 Diversity and Inclusion Task Force" (2007); and "The US Minority Working Group" (2009).
To address the problem, the 2007-2012 Diversity and Inclusion Task Force (DITF), to take one example, anchored its recommendations on four pillars: (i) leadership and accountability; (ii) reform of staffing processes; (iii) learning in support of behavioral change; and (iv) metrics and monitoring. At the launch of the DITF's reforms, in a letter dated January 9, 2007, and addressed to the Board's Personnel Committee, the Staff Association underscored the importance of these recommended reforms, writing:

"The Staff Association has deplored the lack of accountability for diversity improvements. Previous initiatives and pronouncements by Management were seriously undercut by a lack of transparency and a lack of managerial accountability.... The current [2007-2012"> recommendations, if implemented, will go a long way to both improving diversity outcomes and restoring staff trust."
The Association's lack of confidence in the Bank's management to establish a culture of accountability is hinted at in its last line. Sadly, its subtly expressed doubt proved to be well-founded. Presently, the Bank Group approaches racial discrimination among its ranks as though it is too ethereal to confront: The Bank knows it is there, but it cannot put its finger on it exactly. It's time to bring in external experts to help exorcise the institution of this demon.
The Board of Governors, as an institution, has an ethical and an institutional responsibility to step in and take immediate actions. It would be a breach of institutional responsibility for the Board to tell victims of discrimination to wait while the Bank's HR complex is given yet another chance to get it right in its umpteenth attempt. The Board, in general, and African and Caribbean Board members in particular, owe it to victimized Black staff to expeditiously establish an independent high-level commission accountable to it, which will review the current situation and provide recommendations for fundamental reforms.
Most importantly, the commission must be mandated to investigate whether the Administrative Tribunal as presently constituted is an appropriate forum for staff who complain about racial discrimination. Given (i) the Tribunal's consistent record in denying legal redress to victims who allege racial discrimination, and (ii) the conflicts of interest issues raised by the DC-Civil Rights Coalition in its proposal attached herewith, Black staff should be given an alternative legal avenue until an independent report is prepared by an external commission and reviewed by the Board.

Thank you in advance for your consideration. I can be reached through Ms. Johnnie Scott-Rice at [email protected] or 202/678-6788.

Sincerely,

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq., National Chair
Washington DC National Headquarters
Telephone: (202) 678-6788
Email: [email protected]
www.nationalcongressbw.org

cc: Barbra Mikulski, Chairwoman, US Senate Appropriations Committee
Patrick Leahy, Chairman, US Senate Judiciary Committee
Marcia Fudge, Chairwoman, US Congressional Black Caucus
Merza Hasan, Dean, Board of Executive Directors, World Bank
Sara Margalit Aviel, U.S. Executive Director, World Bank