A flurry of papers by the IFIs, UNCTAD and NGOs raise concerns over renewed debt difficulties in poor countries just as the IFI's complete a review of the debt sustainability framework to allow more borrowing.
Debt
IFI governance
News
Bank's $100 billion annual lending plan
The progress report for G20 finance ministers said that World Bank lending was projected to reach $100billion annually by 2011, which compares to current annual overseas development assistance aid from all donors of$120 billion.
Rights
News
Good cop, bad cop?
There has been significant concern about IMF programmes in Honduras, where the IMF has not made clear whether it will deal with coup leaders who seized power from the elected president, and in Sri Lanka due to concern over allegations that the government is abusing the human rights of hundreds of thousands of Tamils.
IFI governance
News
Rebranding hides little change for IMF lending
The IMF has launched a rebranding exercise for all of its lending to low-income countries, and while the new facilities will deliver more resources, the money seems destined to come with the usual damaging conditionality attached.
Finance
News
Record World Bank lending
In June, the World Bank announced record levels of lending with much of the funding for infrastructure projects, where the Bank's record has been particularly controversial.
IFI governance
News
IMF: Bigger but not much nicer
World leaders agreed at the G20 to treble the size of the IMF's resources, but critics worry about strengthening the Fund without fundamental reform of its governance and conditionality.
Land
News
DFID snuggling up to the Bank?
In February the UK Department for International Development (DFID) belatedly released its latest annual report on its relationship with the World Bank. This continues a tradition which sees these reports appear at irregular intervals. As with previous annual reports there is a marked absence of the critiques heard from the Banks Independent Evaluation Group, the Parliament's International Development Committee or civil society for the period reviewed.
IFI governance
News
World Bank's planned lending splurge: Do the numbers stack up?
The first signs of a promised dramatic increase in World Bank lending are emerging, but critics continue to attack the Bank’s lending practices, including its controversial use of conditionality.
Conditionality
Background
Combating tax flight: ending evasion and reducing avoidance
Norway, Germany, IMF, WOrld Bank and experts discuss tackling tax evasion and capital flight.
Rights
News
World Bank, NGOs clash at roundtable on odious debt
A recent roundtable meeting shows that some progress has been made in official understanding of odious debt, but that the World Bank is remaining very cautious on the topic.
Featured briefings
6 April 2023
World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings 2023
5 April 2023
The IMF at the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The need for governance reform
As the world celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is time the IMF’s shareholders use the opportunities provided by the anniversary and growing calls for reforms to the international financial architecture to redesign the IMF’s governance structures and programmes to ensure they are consistent with the commitments outlined in 1948 and with international human rights law.
5 April 2023
The global financial architecture and the international debt crisis: An urgent call for reform
Influence of unreformed international financial institutions and creditor interests in debt solutions in low- and middle-income countries plagued by delay and ineffective when undertaken.