devinitorg/iati-policy-markers huggingface dataset:
WDP Romania Warehouses de Pauw NV (WDP or the Company), a listed Belgian Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), has requested IFC to provide a long-term loan to support the building of around 1 million square meters of semi-industrial and logistics property throughout various cities in Romania (the Project) over the next few years through its subsidiary, WDP Romania. With the aim to build a 1 billion portfolio in Romania by 2023, the Companys goal is to have its Romania portfolio become 20 percent of its overall asset portfolio. The proposed investment is expected to have limited environmental and social impacts which will be sitespecific with none anticipated to be significant. Further, the impacts can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to recognized performance standards, procedures, guidelines and design criteria as described in the followingsections. Thus, this is a Category B project in accordance with IFCs Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability.  Key environmental and social issues applicable for this investment are: design and construction of buildings in accordance with national construction codes and standards, particularly related to seismic resistance and life and fire safety; effective implementation of the environmental, occupational health and safety management plans during construction; energy efficiency and other resources consumption during buildings operation.
DANUBE FUND Summary Of Project Information (SPI)       Project Name    Romania-The Danube Fund              Region    Europe        Sector       Project No007168   Projected Board DateMarch 14, 1996   Company NameThe Danube Fund   Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders    	The Fund is sponsored by the Alpha Credit Bank group, the largest private banking group in Greece.  Alpha Credit Bank and its affiliates have committed to provide 15% of the Funds total capital.  Other investors will include BNP, EBRD, various Greek industrial concerns and several international institutional investors.    Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment    	Total Fund size will be US$25 million, of which IFC will invest US$1 million.    Location of project and Description of site    	The Funds principal investment activities will take place in Bucharest, Romania.        Description of Company and Purpose of Project    	The Danube Fund will make equity and quasi-equity investments in small and medium-scale private enterprises in Romania.  In particular, the Fund will seek opportunities to invest alongside Greek industrial companies which are establishing joint ventures in Romania.  As a result, the Fund Manager will spend significant amount of time in Athens, Greece, to solicit capital from Greek companies interested in investing in Romania. The Fund is expected to contribute to the development of Romanias private sector and to the countrys transition to a market economy.    Environmental Category and Issues    	This is an environmental category FI project.  The Danube Fund will be required to undertake an environmental review of eligible investee companies operations.  In addition, IFC will assess the Danube Funds capability to carry out environmental reviews of each investee company.       Date SPI sent to PIC     February 6, 1996      For Additional Information contact:  Corporate Relations Unit -   telephone: (202) 473-7711   facsimile: (202) 676-0365
MiroBank C Line Microfinance Bank Romania S.A. (MIRO Bank) is a licensed commercial bank, regulated and supervised by the National Bank of Romania. MIRO Bank, which began operations on July 1, 2002, is a specialized provider of financial services to micro and small businesses as well as low-income individuals in Romania. 

The purpose of the IFC investment is to assist MIRO Bank to achieve outreach on a scale that will ensure the availability of financial services to the vast numbers of the population who are currently marginalized by the formal financial sector, and to facilitate the organizations permanent self-sufficiency and sustainability.
Lukoil Petrotel OAO Lukoil is Russias largest integrated oil company.  In 1998, Lukoil acquired the Petrotel refinery from the Romanian government through a privatization process.  Since then, Lukoil has expanded its downstream operations in Romania to include about 300 retail petrol stations, 60 LPG filling skids and 8 petroleum distribution centers throughout the country.  Through these targeted investments, Lukoil succeeded in creating a fully-integrated business chain starting at the oil well in Russia and going all the way downstream to the pump in Romania.  Apart from the Romanian fuel wholesale and fuel retail market, Lukoils Romanian operations also cater to the Moldavian market and other export markets through Lukoils international trading company, Litasco International S.A.  

The project involves the modernization and revamping program of S.C. Petrotel-Lukoil S.A. (Petrotel), its Romanian refinery.  The project is aimed at:

-  providing high quality petroleum products to Romanian consumers that comply with European Euro-3 and Euro-4 standards, 
-  improving refinery operations by increasing the output of higher value petroleum products and reduce emissions and energy consumption; and providing high quality petroleum products to Romanian consumers that comply with European Euro-3 and Euro-4 standards.  

This in turn will strengthen the overall long-term competitive position of Lukoils entire downstream network.
RALFI IFN SA ROMANIA The proposed investment consists of a senior loan of up to EUR10 million (in RON equivalent), to Ralfi IFN S.A Romania (operating as Garanti BBVA Consumer Finance) (Ralfi or the Company), a new client to IFC. The proposed investment will help to scale up the Companys recently launched green loan portfolio, with 100% of IFCs proceeds channeled to providing funding to individuals for the purchase of eligible green assets including green housing upgrades, PV panels, electric/hybrid cars, electric bicycles and scooters, domestic appliances (A+++), geothermal heating devices for homes and home isolation materials and technologies. Established in 1997, Ralfi is a key player in Romanias consumer finance market. It is a subsidiary of Turkey Garanti BBVA (TGB) and is regulated as a non-banking financial institution under the National Bank of Romania. The Project is expected to strategically increase access to climate financing specifically by supporting the financing of green consumer loans. Consumer credit solutions can play a key role in supporting the green transition in Romania and with this project, IFC will help consumers to contribute to climate goals through their consumption choices, particularly by helping to fund green asset purchases
DistrigazSud Distrigaz Sud (DGS) is the dominant gas distribution and supply company in southern Romania.  In 2004, the Government of Romania (GOR) signed a privatization agreement for the sale of a 51 percent interest in DGS to Gaz de France (GdF), the leading supplier and distributor of natural gas in France and one of the largest gas utilities in Europe.  The privatization closing is expected to occur soon.  IFC's investment in Distrigaz Sud will support the company's 2005-2012 investment program aimed at upgrading and expanding the company's distribution network.
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   Motoractive IFN S.A. (Garanti Leasing, or the Company) is the ninth largest leasing company in Romania with an estimated market share of 4.6 percent as of December 2016.    It was established as Motoractive IFN S.A. in 1998 and in 2006 was acquired by GE Money. Turkiye Garanti Bankasi became the largest indirect shareholder of the Company in 2010, and rebranded it to Garanti Leasing Romania in 2011. Garanti Leasing employs 72 fulltime staff in Romania and has six offices in the country.   The proposed project is a senior loan of up to EUR 20 million to Garanti Leasing, at least half of which for on-lending to women-controlled small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The proposed investment is consistent with IFCs strategy in Romania and would help a good existing IFC client to expand its SME reach with focus on women owned businesses following another EUR 5.5 million loan earlier this year and would further strengthen the relationship with Garanti group. The main objectives of the project are to (i) help respond to the critical term funding gap for SMEs as Garanti Leasing's customer base is predominantly SME's; (ii) alleviate the difficulty of SMEs in accessing bank financing by using asset-secured lease finance; and, (iii) generate employment through resultant growth of SMEs and investment in productive assets, with a focus on women owned SMEs.
DCM RBRO MREL 2 The proposed project is to invest up to US$100 million equivalent (in RON and/or EUR) for IFCs own account in Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL) eligible bonds (senior preferred, SP, and senior non-preferred, SNP) with up to 7 years tenor to be issued by Raiffeisen Bank S.A. (RBRO or the Bank), in line with its funding plan. The bonds will be issued under the Banks recently developed Sustainability Bond Framework which is aligned with ICMAs Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, and Sustainability Bond Guidelines, as confirmed by an independent second party opinion provider, and as such will support the growth of a sustainable economy in Romania. The project is expected to: 
i) contribute to increasing access to financing for eligible climate and social projects in Romania. 
ii) contribute to greater market resilience by enhancing the capitalization of systemically important banks toward compliance with regulatory requirements under the European Commissions bank recovery and resolution directive 2019/879/EU (BRRD 2) by January 2024.
Protecting and assisting refugees and asylum seekers, migrants and trafficking victims The Israeli economy makes use of very large numbers of migrant workers (estimated number 160,000 at last check) who are brought into the country to work in specified sectors and for a named employer.   This leaves them vulnerable to, and often victims of, violations such as underpayment, debt bondage and subhuman living conditions, and can easily become "illegal" as a result of employer negligence or fraud.   Around 60,000 African asylum seekers, mostly Sudanese or Eritrean, are denied refugee status or a proper hearing, and are liable to indefinite detention.  A significant proportion of the asylum seekers, and some migrants, are also victims of trafficking, enslavement and torture.  Hotline for Refugees and Migrants (HRM) extends a comprehensive assistance and protection service for these large groups and for all other refugees and asylum seekers, migrants and trafficking victims.  Services include a telephone hotline, regular visits to detention centres, provision of information, legal advice and representation, data collection and monitoring of authorities' treatment of migrant workers, High Court petitions and promoting enforcement of the rule of law, campaigning and advocacy work with decision-makers, media, non-governmental agencies and the general public.
Affordable housing for Christian Palestinians Since East Jerusalem was annexed to Israel in 1967, the total population has increased dramatically, as has also the relative percentage of different religious groups.  Reputable human rights organisations allege that Israel has used a combination of discriminatory policies on land and residency rights, planning and budgetary allocations to increase the number of Jews and reduce that of Palestinians.  Although by 1993 the Jewish population had achieved a slight overall majority, this was not sustained, and the present ratio of Jews to Arabs is approximately 40/ 60.  However Christians in East Jerusalem are undeniably an endangered species: whereas they constituted 36% of the population before 1948, they are now down to less than 2%.  The temptation to emigrate is high.  More crucially, if young families are unable to secure housing, they may feel that emigration is their only option – or at least feel obliged to leave Jerusalem (in which case they will lose their residency rights and be unable to return).  Assistance to secure housing, along with job creation and education, is therefore among the main priorities of the Latin Patriarchate.  Since 2004 the Patriarchate has been working with a group of 80 underprivileged Christian families in Jerusalem to acquire land and construct housing units (apartments averaging 110-115 sq m).  Construction began in January 2009.  Each of the families has already paid its share of the cost of the land, and applied for a mortgage loan of around US $150,000.  However the Patriarchate is appealing for assistance with the taxes (ie one-off improvement taxes on construction of buildings) and legal fees, which are extraordinarily high in Jerusalem (nearly US $28,000 per family).  It has been agreed therefore that CAFOD will make a donation towards the legal fees.
Protecting and assisting refugees and asylum seekers, migrants and trafficking victims With the aim of building up Israel as a just, equitable and democratic society in which the human rights of all people are honoured, Hotline for Refugees and Migrants (HRM) strives to extend a comprehensive programme of assistance and protection for refugees and asylum seekers, migrant workers and trafficking victims.  Services include a telephone hotline, regular visits to detention centres, provision of information, legal advice and representation, data collection and monitoring of the treatment of migrant workers, High Court petitions and promoting enforcement of the rule of law, campaigning and advocacy work with decision-makers, media, non-governmental agencies and the general public.  HRM’s knowledge and experience are widely recognised as making it an authority on issues concerned with refugees and migrants, and it serves as an advisory body for national and international bodies, government ministries, academia and civic organizations.
Employment opportunities for Arab women Disproportionate levels of poverty between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel, and the continued marginalisation of the Arab population within Israel, are widening socio-economic gaps in a way that inevitably limits the prospects for peace in the region.  High levels of poverty among Arab families living in Israel are further accentuated by low participation of women in the workforce, reinforced by patriarchal Arab society that would prefer to see women at home, and the fact that women who do go out to work often face poor working conditions, low pay and non-payment of  social benefits.  In order to combat the poverty among this group, the MAAN branch office in Baqa seeks to encourage Arab women to take up employment and help them find job placements where they will receive full social rights and the legal minimum wage.  The project also seeks to expand their employment opportunities by working with the Ministry of Agriculture to persuade Israeli farmers to source labour from within the country, and lobbying the government to limit permits issued for the import of foreign workers on exploitative temporary contracts.    Additionally activities are organised within the Arab communities to raise the status of women in society, educating women about their rights, providing leadership training, and particularly working to reduce the stigma around women working in unskilled manual jobs.
Protecting human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory A consistent pattern of human rights abuse in the occupied Palestinian territory by Israeli authorities, military and civilians, combined with ineffective law enforcement amounting to a system of impunity for acts of violence and land grabbing, directly harm Palestinians in the West Bank but also affect the Israeli public by creating obstacles to peace.  Yesh Din (Hebrew for “There is justice”) takes a two-tiered approach to human rights protection: working on individual cases to seek justice for those whose rights have been violated, and using the accumulated data to highlight structural violations of human rights in support of an evidence-based programme of advocacy for systemic change.  Beginning from 2020 Yesh Din is placing a stronger focus on campaigning an advocacy in light of the Israeli government's intention of unilaterally legalising its proposed annexations of occupied territory and the US government's "deal of the century" licensing such annexations.
Addressing human rights abuses in the Palestinian Territory There is a consistent abuse of human rights in the Palestinian territory by Israeli authorities, military and civilians.  Although these abuses are against both international law and Israeli law, the system of impunity that operates allows the perpetrators to continue their acts of violence and land grab.  These actions directly harm Palestinians in the West Bank but also affect the Israeli public as they create obstacles to peace.  Yesh Din (Hebrew for “There is a law”) does not propose a political solution to the larger problem of the occupation.  Rather, they work to promote any structural change through the law and legal systems, by which Israel will uphold its responsibilities to safeguard the rights of Palestinians living in the occupied territory.  Their programmes work across three areas:  Law Enforcement on Israeli Civilians in the West Bank (“settler violence”); Access to Land; and Accountability of Israeli Security Forces Personnel.  By continually exposing the inability of Israeli authorities to uphold their legal responsibilities to the Palestinians – to police themselves, to investigate violations of rights, or to correct systemic failures that are brought to their attention – Yesh Din aims to motivate the state authorities, their various agencies and the general public to bring about reform.
Jewish and Palestinian activist communities for an equal and just society in Israel Community in Action is a volunteering and leadership development project targeting Jewish and Arab young adults from the mixed community of Jaffa and surrounding neighbourhoods in and around Tel Aviv. Participants have to be passionate about creating social change and volunteering with youth. The project provides a model set of educated young local activists, able to share a vision of peace and partnership with the city’s youth, uprooting preconceived perceptions. The project aims to form and equip a small group of 16 young adults aged 18-25, comprising a balanced mix of Arabs and Jews, women and men, to be politically aware and have a belief in Palestinian-Jewish partnership, and be able to lead social initiative and campaigns, promoting an equal and just society in Israel. The participants will undergo enrichment, leadership and campaign training, and will then themselves work with youth centres to tutor and mentor over 200 disadvantaged youth.
Employment opportunities in agriculture for Arab women Disproportionate levels of poverty between Arab and Jewish citizens, and the continued marginalisation of the Arab population within Israel, are widening socio-economic gaps in a way that inevitably limits the prospects for peace in the region.  The ailing economic situation of the Arab population has been exacerbated by the mass import of foreign cheap labour into Israel. By 2003 some 350,000 migrant workers occupied the branches of construction, agriculture and domestic service, jobs previously held by Arab Israelis who could not compete with the new labourers who worked 14 hour days, demanded no social benefits and had no family obligations.  High levels of poverty among Arab families living in Israel are further accentuated by the patriarchal Arab society that would prefer to see women at home. Unfortunately the few women that do go out to work often face exploitation in the guise of middle men (ra'is) who organise work without any social benefits and skim already meagre wages.  In order to combat the poverty among this group, Workers’ Advice Centre – Ma’an (WAC) seeks to encourage Arab women to take up employment, and to help them find job placements.  By working with the Ministry of Agriculture to persuade Israeli farmers to source labour from within the country, and lobbying the government to limit permits issued for the import of foreign workers, WAC seeks to increase opportunities for the women to find job placements where they will receive full social rights and the legal minimum wage.  WAC also organises activities within the Arab communities to raise the status of women in society, educating women about their rights, providing leadership training, and particularly working to reduce the stigma around women working in unskilled manual jobs.
Building a culture of peace The project will work with young people aged 14-17 in 14 socio-politically marginalized communities, both Palestinian and Jewish, in central Israel. A longer-term component comprising 15 weekly sessions in the local communities and 4 organization-wide activity days aims to encourages the young people to identify injustices relating to their own group as well as "the other," to initiate efforts to promote social and political change, and to recognize the need to work together to promote a just and equal shared society.  A shorter-term component comprising 8 sessions in the local communities aims to expose youth to social injustices influencing different groups in society, thereby enabling them to recognize the need for social and political change and grasp their own responsibility and ability to work for change.
Addressing human rights abuses in the Palestinian Territory There is a consistent abuse of human rights in the Palestinian territory by Israeli authorities, military and civilians.  Although these abuses are against both international law and Israeli law, the system of impunity that operates allows the perpetrators to continue their acts of violence and land grab.  These actions directly harm Palestinians in the West Bank but also affect the Israeli public as they create obstacles to peace.  Yesh Din (Hebrew for “There is a law”) does not propose a political solution to the larger problem of the occupation.  Up to 2016 they worked to promote  structural change through the law and legal systems, urging Israel to uphold its responsibilities to safeguard the rights of Palestinians living in the occupied territory.  Their programmes worked, and will continue to work across three areas:  Law Enforcement on Israeli Civilians in the West Bank (“settler violence”); Access to Land; and Accountability of Israeli Security Forces Personnel. Under a new strategic plan, Yesh Din will continue from 2017 onwards to challenge specific abuses through legal action, but place more emphasis on exposing the systemic failure of Israeli authorities to uphold their legal responsibilities to the Palestinians.