Kathmandu School of Law Review

P-ISSN : 2091-2110, E-ISSN : 2773-8159, DOI : 10.46985, Publisher : Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal
Annual flagship journal of Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal

Volume 3, Issue Special, May 2013
Articles

Human Rights and Financial Institutions: Pinning the Responsibility

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  • Nidhi Modani
Nidhi Modani
National Law School of India University, Bangalore
Bio

Published 2013-05-31

How to Cite

Modani, N. (2013). Human Rights and Financial Institutions: Pinning the Responsibility. Kathmandu School of Law Review, 3(Special), 116–128. Retrieved from https://kslreview.org/index.php/kslr/article/view/1013

Abstract

This paper is a study of the possible human right obligations of international financial institutions. As financial institutions have not been looked upon as agencies influencing or influenced by human rights, this study becomes significant. The study is limited to international financial institutions, with a special focus on the World Bank (hereinafter ‘Bank’) and the International Monetary Fund (hereinafter ‘Fund’ or ‘IMF’). 2 Further, there is a special focus on developing nations.3

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References

  1. Majority of the nations in the world are members of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Most of the international public debt of countries is owed to the World Bank and the IMF. OECD, Financing And External Debt Of Developing Countries, Survey (1989).
  2. Most of the countries that draw on their funds in the IMF or get support from the World Bank belong to the developing nations or ‘third world’ countries. The financial policy of the financial institutions has a direct impact on the political and social framework of the country.
  3. MA Geer, ‘Foreigners in their own land: Cultural Land and Transnational Corporations – Emergent International Rights and Wrongs’ (1998) Virginia Journal Of International Law, 38; KA Rodman, ‘Think globally, punish locally: Non-state actors, multinational corporations and human right sanctions’ (1998) Ethics and International Affairs, 12.
  4. Sigrun Skogly, The Human Rights Obligations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (2001) 1.
  5. IMF’s Articles of Agreement, art XXXI; World Bank’s Articles of Agreement, art XI.
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  9. Skogly (n 5) 153.
  10. Denters, Law and Policy of IMF Conditionality (1996), 1996 12 Skogly (n 5) 17.
  11. Articles of Agreement and Bank’s Loan and Guarantee Regulations (1985).
  12. Skogly (n 5) 28.
  13. Denters (n 1 ) 90.
  14. Gold, Interpretation: IMF and the International Law (1996) 352-353.
  15. Ibid 353.
  16. Charter of the United Nations, art 102.
  17. Denters(n 11) 101.
  18. IMF Articles of Agreement, Article XXXI, s 10; IBRD Articles of Agreement, Article XI, s 1.
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  21. Schermers and Blokker (n 20) 1123.
  22. Agreement between the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund (15 November 1947) ; Agreement between the United Nations and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (15 November 1948).
  23. Article 1(2) of the Relationship Agreement between UN and IBRD.
  24. Bradlow, ‘The World Bank, the IMF and Human Rights’ (1996) 6(1) Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems 47, 51
  25. World Bank’s Articles of Agreement, art I(iii); the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, art (ii).
  26. Decision 287-3 (17 March, 1948).
  27. Skogly (n 5) 76.
  28. Patricia Armstrong, ‘Human Rights and Multilateral Development Banks: Governance Concerns in Decision Making’ (1994) 88 (6-9) Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of International Law) 277, 278.
  29. Skogly (n 5) 17. She concludes the same on the basis of their changing nature of operations.
  30. Development and Human Rights: The Role of the World Bank (1998).
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  33. Amerasinghe, Principles of the Institutional Law of International Organizations (1996) 246-247.
  34. UN Charter, art 103.
  35. ICJ on the interpretation of the Agreement of 25 March, 1951 between WHO and Egypt.
  36. Darrow(n 8) 127.
  37. Skogly (n 5) 84.
  38. Skogly (n 5) 109.
  39. About two-thirds of the members of the Bank and the Fund have ratified the two covenants on human rights.
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  42. Ibrahim Shihata, The World Bank Inspection Panel (1994) 141.
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  48. Ibid 395.
  49. Ibid 396.
  50. Donnelly & Howard, Human Rights Self-monitoring: A proposal for the Northern European Democracies (1996).
  51. Skogly (n 5) 25.
  52. Though the IMF Articles of Agreement does not have a similar provision, it emphasizes in its role in dealing with issues linked with economic performances and not political ones. World Bank, Articles of Agreement, art IV, s 10,
  53. Skogly (n 5) 36.
  54. Statement of the representative of the IMF to the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities at its 43rd Session, Written Statement submitted by IMF, UN DocE/C4/Sub2/19991/63 , 7.
  55. Armstrong (n 30) 279.
  56. Knox, ‘Key Lenders tie money to rights: World Bank, IMF take untraditional step of officially linking loans to peace efforts’, The Globe and Mail (15 September 1999).
  57. For instance, during Article IV consultations with its members, IMF discussed issues like governance, employment policies, social safety nets, military expenditure and environmental issues.
  58. Many of these will have a direct effect on the domestic human rights situation. Skogly (n 5) 36.
  59. Ibrahim Shihata, The World Bank in a Changing World: Selected Essays (1991) 133.
  60. Armstrong (n 30) 279.
  61. Reference (n 33) 2.
  62. Skogly (n 5) 39.
  63. Ibid 41.
  64. Darrow (n 9) 48.
  65. World Bank Articles of Agreement, art VII, ss 2, 3; IMF Articles of Agreement, Article IX, ss 2, 3.
  66. IMF Articles of Agreement, art IX, s 3.
  67. Schermers & Blokker (n 21) 1006.
  68. Skogly (n 5) 32.
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  70. Bradlow, ‘A test case for the World Bank’ (1996) 11 American University Journal of International Law and Policy, 248.
  71. Skogly (n 5) 181.
  72. OD 4.20 (17 September, 1991).
  73. OD 4.30 (June 1990).
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  75. Bradlow (n 26) 52.
  76. Dana Clark, ‘The World Bank and Human Rights: The Need for Greater Accountability’ (2002) Harvard Human Rights Journal 15.
  77. Namita Wahi, ‘Human Rights Accountability of the IMF and the World Bank: A Critique of existing Mechanisms and Articulation of a Theory of Horizontal Accountability’ (2006) 12 U C Davis Journal of International Law and Policy 12.