A global summit to reform the international financial system (Bretton Woods Project)

Over the summer of 2008 pressure was already building in official circles for a new Bretton Woods-style international conference to restructure the international financial architecture. A Commonwealth summit in June produced a statement calling for such a conference. And the discussions on the draft document for the UN's Financing for Development conference in Doha (slated for December 20008) also have included language calling for such a conference. Finally in early October, the calls were made publicly by leaders of several big European countries, notably France. This may be the greatest chance since 1944 to influence the structure of international finance. This page is aimed at helping civil society coordinate a response to this potential conference. We will bring you analysis, links to documents and highlight selected events. If you want to contribute just write to info@brettonwoodsproject.org.

Civil society moves

The IFI watching and debt activist communities and movements are working on a global sign-on letter to governments about the process for a new international financial architecture. Please check back here for more information on this effort shortly.

Several NGO networks and movements have produced statements on the financial crisis and their demands for a reformed international financial architecture. These statements generally focus on the financial sector and financial markets. But it is expected that more will be forthcoming. If you have a statement you want included in this list please let us know.

Statement by the Attac network
Statement drafted at the Asia-Europe People's Forum - casinocrash.org blog site created by IPS and TNI network

Latest intelligence

After the calls from three major European leaders (UK, France, and Germany) for a new international financial architecture, the G7 was pressured into acting. US president George Bush has agreed to host a summit in the US in the second week of November. The G8 statement calls for "key leaders" to be invited but makes it clear that it will not be a truly international summit. French president Nicholas Sarkozy was with George Bush in Washington for the announcement. Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, seems to have agreed as well on the timetable for a quick conference in November with only selected participation. If you have more intelligence you would like to share please do make it available. Bush has now set the date for the summit as 15 November, and plans to host it in Wahsington, spurning the offer from the UN general secretary to hold the conference at UN headquarters in New York. The plan is to invite the members of the G20 which means the G8 plus some emerging markets (like Brazil, India, China, Argentina, Turkey, South Africa, and Indonesia) and other rich OECD countries (like Australia and South Korea), as well as Saudi Arabia.

In contrast to the G8 moves, the president of the UN General Assembly announced he is setting up a high-level task force to review the global financial system, including major bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in response to the current turmoil that is affecting all countries, large and small. Miguel D'Escoto has appointed Joseph Stiglitz to chair the panel, which will also suggest steps to be taken by UN members "to secure a more stable global economic order". The special commission is to hold its first meeting on 30 October.

Background

For more background on the calls for the new conference the best paper is the briefing produced by our colleagues in Canada at the Halifax Initiative. Their issue brief, Rethinking the international financial system and its architecture: Calls for a "Bretton Woods II" walks people through the calls that have been made up until mid October 2008. As of now the following people/forums have announced support for such an initiative.

Selected Commonwealth heads of state in the Marlborough House statement
Nicholas Sarkozy, president of France
Gordon Brown, UK prime minister
Angela Merkel, German chancellor
Commonwealth finance ministers in their October 8 statement
Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations
Supachai Panitchpakdi, UNCTAD Secretary-General
UN Financing for Development (draft outcome document)

Additionally some governments and statements have expressed interest in something less comprehensive than a full international conference involving all countries and external stakeholders. For example:

The G8 statement of October 15 calls for a meeting of "key leaders"
Pascal Lamy, director-general of the WTO "welcome[d] the construction of what some are calling a new Bretton Woods consensus" according to Livemint/WSJ