5 February 2002
Gordon Brown’s recent speeches on a “New Deal” for the global economy have been generally welcomed, especially for their suggestions that aid budgets should be increased.
In February the World Bank’s Board will consider a new Private Sector Development Strategy.
After the first two donor conferences on the reconstruction of Afghanistan - in Islamabad in November and in Brussels in December - some people worry that reconstruction funds could easily be misused and fuel continued civil strife.
A new report compiled from workshops organised by Jubilee South, Focus on the Global South and other southern civil society groups claims structural adjustment logic and policies essentially remain unchanged in PRSPs.
The World Bank’s clumsy attempts to censor its own researchers have resulted in stinging criticism by Bank staff.
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.
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.
