Is the World Bank ignoring human rights issues?

Despite its significance, the World Bank is facing a lot of criticism for its persistent neglect of human rights

With its slogan of “working for a world free of poverty”, the World Bank, with its lending portfolio of billions of dollars per annum, is perhaps the most influential international stakeholder in the development process. Despite its significance, however, it is facing a lot of criticism for its persistent neglect of human rights. While it may be easier to dismiss NGOs or other civil society critiques of the World Bank, criticisms emerging from other multilateral agencies, like those in the UN system, are harder to ignore. It is thus significant to note the UN Human Rights Council appointed Special Rapporteur also terming the World Bank’s current approach towards human rights issues as being incoherent and counterproductive.

While a spokesman for the World Bank has been quick to refute the Special Rapporteur’s assessment, the report submitted to the UN General Council does make a convincing argument on the basis of which the World Bank has been described as “a human rights free zone”. The Rapporteur points out that while the World Bank may pay lip service to human rights in official settings, it does not sufficiently engage with human rights issues in its actual operations or lending policies.

The World Bank defends its current stance concerning human rights issues based on a political prohibition clause which prevents involvement in the political affairs of any country, given its primary function is to focus on economic issues. In practice, however, the World Bank is already engaged in a range of non-economic issues including environmental challenges, corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, governance and the rule of law. However, the issue of human rights remains on a shortlist of subjects that are considered off-limits, alongside providing support for military or intelligence services. There is ample justification for development financing provided by entities like the World Bank to also place emphasis on human rights since safeguarding such rights is essential for making the phenomenon of economic growth inclusive and sustainable. Yet, basic human rights principles are paid little heed within an entity which aims to spearhead a global strategy to alleviate poverty.

Giving due emphasis to human rights could also enable the World Bank to improve its own assessments and decision-making processes. Its rosy economic assessments of pre-revolution Tunisia, for instance, due to the failure of the World Bank to take into account grim human rights situation in the country, were clearly a misreading of ground realities as became evident when the Arab Spring was triggered in Tunisia.

The World Bank’s failure to assess the potential human rights impact of projects financed by it can have serious consequences. According to Human Rights Watch, the World Bank provided funds for government drug detention centres in Vietnam where arbitrary detention, forced labour, torture and other forms of ill-treatment were documented. The World Bank was also blamed for funding an Ethiopian government programme which led to the forcible relocation of 1.5 million indigenous and other marginalised people to new villages, where the promise of improved services and facilities also did not materialise. No one, including the UN’s Special Rapporteur, is suggesting that the World Bank should become an enforcer of human rights. However, it is about time that the World Bank conceded that human rights issues have to be factored into the varied development policies and programmes it supports, to help it avoid financing and endorsing interventions that, in fact, undermine human rights instead of safeguarding them.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2015.

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