50 Years Is Enough:
U.S. Network for Global Economic Justice
OUR DEMANDS OF THE IMF AND WORLD BANK
March/April 2000
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rescinded shall governments be accountable first and foremost to the will of their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/Institute for Food and Development Policy - Oakland, CA (USA)
- Freedom from Debt Coalition - Manila, Philippines
- Global Exchange - San Francisco, CA (USA)
- Institute for Policy Studies, Global Economy Project - Washington, DC
- 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
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