Civil society research documents clear harms from privatisation and fiscal consolidation on public services and human rights, as Bank and Fund push for their deepening.

Civil society research documents clear harms from privatisation and fiscal consolidation on public services and human rights, as Bank and Fund push for their deepening.
UN Secretary General’s New Agenda for Peace report identifies growing threats to global peace and stability, and proposes urgent reforms to the unjust economic system. World Bank and IMF resist policy and governance reform.
Incremental changes paper over deficiencies of status quo, as civil society calls for the radical change required to meet the moment.
V20 seeks confirmation of official observer status at the Bretton Woods Institutions by COP28, as IMF quota review fails to give greater voting power to climate vulnerable countries.
The Annuals 2023 G24 communiqué for reiterates an urgent need for financial support from both the IMF and World Bank for indebted countries, whilst also supporting reform through quotas, a new SDR allocation & surcharge abolishment and review.
The Group of 20 (G20) communiqué was published on 13 October. It focused on the consequences of the evolving debt situation, reaffirmed support for the much-criticised Common Framework and was silent on debt relief. The section on MDB reform meanwhile stressed ‘bigger’ rather than ‘better’ banks.
The Development Committee met on 12 October, with the chair issuing a statement, instead of a communiqué, reflecting the views of the majority of shareholders on the measures needed to tackle the development challenges that “have upended decades of hard-won development progress, and the development.”
Divisions once again prevented the IMFC from issuing a communiqué. The chair issued a statement that promised much but delivered little, supporting a third Sub-Saharan African chair on the IMF’s executive board, but kicking key reforms like quota realignment and a discussion on surcharges down the road.
As the World Bank moves toward finalising its ‘Evolution Roadmap’, and IMF shareholders struggle to agree on an outcome to the 16th Review of Quotas, the stakes in Morocco are high.
World Bank’s gender draft strategy for 2024-2030 steps up to name gender a human rights issue but fails to address barriers perpetuated by Bank’s macroeconomic model, while civil society warns of need to move away from Bank’s Maximising Finance for Development model as austerity sweeps the globe.
From South Africa to Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, the Bank and Fund have demonstrated they are not appropriate allies to address the scale of the crisis the world is facing, especially, given their record.
The recent BRICS enlargement creates additional pressure for IMF governance reform.