GLOBAL ECONOMIC RIGHTS -- APPEAL TO THE IMF AND THE WORLD BANK
Vienna, 17 March 2000/P/K/16777
The International Progress Organization has joined international NGOs from all continents in endorsing an appeal to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank urging these institutions to reorient their economic policies towards the needs of the developing countries and to respect the basic economic and social rights of the people. Following is the text of the appeal:
50 Years Is Enough:
OUR DEMANDS OF THE IMF AND WORLD BANK
On the occasion of the first meetings of the governing bodies of the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the 21st century, we call for
the immediate suspension of the policies and practices that have caused
widespread poverty, inequality and suffering among the world's peoples and
damage to the world's environment. We assert the responsibility of these
anti-democratic institutions, together with the World Trade Organization, for an
unjust world economic system. We note that these institutions are controlled by
wealthy governments, and that their policies have benefited international
private sector financiers, transnational corporations, and corrupt officials.
We issue this call in the name of global justice, in solidarity with the peoples
of the Global South and the former "Soviet bloc" countries who
struggle for survival and dignity in the face of unjust, imperialistic economic
policies. We stand in solidarity too with the millions in the wealthy countries
of the Global North who have borne the burden of "globalization"
policies and been subjected to policies that mirror those imposed on the South.
Only when the coercive powers of the international financial institutions are
rescinded shall governments be accountable first and foremost to the will of
their peoples. Only when a system that allocates power chiefly to the wealthiest
nations for the purpose of dictating the policies of the poorer ones is reversed
shall nations and their peoples be able to forge bonds - economic and otherwise
- based on mutual respect and the common needs of the planet and its
inhabitants. Only when integrity is restored to economic development, and both
the corrupter and the corrupted held accountable, shall the people begin to have
confidence in the decisions that affect their communities. Only when the
well-being of all, including the most vulnerable people and ecosystems, is given
priority over corporate profits shall we achieve genuine sustainable development
and create a world of justice, equality, and peace where fundamental human
rights, including social and economic rights, can be respected.
With these ends in mind, we make the following demands of those meeting in
Washington April 16-19, 2000 for the semi-annual meetings of the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund:
1. That the IMF and World Bank cancel all debts owed them. Any funds required
for this purpose should come from positive net capital and assets held by those
institutions.
2. That the IMF and World Bank immediately cease imposing the economic austerity
measures known as structural adjustment and/or other macroeconomic
"reform," which have exacerbated poverty and inequality, as conditions
of loans, credits, or debt relief. This requires both the suspension of those
conditions in existing programs and an abandonment of any version of the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative which is founded on the concept of
debt relief for policy reform.
3. That the IMF and World Bank accept responsibility for the disastrous impact
of structural adjustment policies by paying reparations to the peoples and
communities who have borne that impact. These funds should come from the
institutions' positive net capital and assets, and should be distributed through
democratically-determined mechanisms.
4. That the World Bank Group pay reparations to peoples relocated and otherwise
harmed by its large projects (such as dams) and compensate governments for
repayments made on projects which World Bank evaluations rank as economic
failures. A further evaluation should determine which World Bank projects have
failed on social, cultural, and environmental grounds, and appropriate
compensation paid. The funds for these payments should come from the
institutions' positive net capital and assets, and should be distributed through
democratically-determined mechanisms.
5. That the World Bank Group immediately cease providing advice and resources
through its division* devoted to private-sector investments to advance the goals
associated with corporate globalization, such as privatization and
liberalization, and that private-sector investments currently held be liquidated
to provide funds for the reparations demanded above.
6. That the agencies and individuals within the World Bank Group and IMF
complicit in abetting corruption, as well as their accomplices in borrowing
countries, be prosecuted, and that those responsible, including the institutions
involved, provide compensation for resources stolen and damage done.
7. That the future existence, structure, and policies of international
institutions such as the World Bank Group and the IMF be determined through a
democratic, participatory and transparent process. The process must accord full
consideration of the interests of the peoples most affected by the policies and
practices of the institutions, and include a significant role for all parts of
civil society.
The accession to these demands would require the institutions' directors to
accept and act on the need for fundamental transformation. It is possible that
the elimination of these institutions will be required for the realization of
global economic and political justice.
We commit to work towards the defunding of the IMF and World Bank by opposing
further government allocations to them (in the form of either direct
contributions or the designation of collateral) and supporting campaigns such as
a boycott of World Bank bonds until these demands have been met.
*The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a
division of the World Bank Group. Also included is the Multilateral Investment
Guaranty Agency (MIGA), which insures private investments in Southern countries.
SIGNED:
50 Years Is Enough Network
Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC) - Cape Town, South
Africa
Anti Debt Coalition - Indonesia
Campaign Against Neo-Liberalism in South Africa (CANSA) - Johannesburg,
South Africa
Campaign for Labor Rights - Washington, DC
Ecumenical Support Services - Harare, Zimbabwe
Focus on the Global South - Bangkok, Thailand
Food First - Oakland, CA (USA)
Freedom from Debt Coalition - Manila, Philippines
Global Exchange - San Francisco, CA (USA)
Institute for Policy Studies, Global Economy Project - Washington, DC
International Progress Organization (I.P.O.) - Vienna, Austria
Jubilee 2000 Afrika Campaign - London, UK
Jubilee 2000 Afrika Campaign (USA) - Pittsburgh, PA
Jubilee 2000 South Africa - Cape Town, South Africa
Kenya Action Network - Washington, DC (USA)
Kenya Human Rights Commission - Nairobi, Kenya
LALIT - Port Louis, Mauritius
Nicaragua Network - Washington, DC (USA)
NICCA - Oakland, CA (USA)
Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt & Development - Harare, Zimbabwe
South Movement - Melbourne, Australia