The IUF has called on the World Bank’s private sector lending arm, the IFC, to reconsider a USD 160 million loan proposal by Kasada Hospitality Fund LP to acquire 20 Accor-branded hotels in Africa. Kasada is a partnership between Accor SA and the Qatari sovereign wealth fund. After discussions with unions in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Senegal including several IUF affiliates, the IUF has filed a complaint to demand the resolution of several serious rights’ issues prior to IFC approval of the investment. These include:
*inadequate human rights due diligence on the first eight Accor hotels to be acquired in Ivory Coast, Senegal and Cameroon
*ongoing rights violations at Accor hotels in Indonesia and Nigeria
*Accor’s business ventures with the military dictatorship in Myanmar
*Kasada’s registration in the tax haven of Mauritius
IUF General Secretary Sue Longley said, “We are pleased that the IFC has decided to delay the scheduled vote on March 31st as we requested, but we wish to be very clear: until Accor remedies these human rights violations around the world, we will continue to pursue this complaint up to and including calling on the Board of Directors of IFC to vote down the investment.”
