Problem
Unaccountability of international financial institutions
Other Names:
Secrecy in international development banksUnaccountability of international aid institutions
Incidence:
In 1992, the World Bank decided to continue supporting the Indian Sardar Sarovar dam and irrigation projects, despite overriding calls for a suspension of loan disbursements from Canada, the USA, Japan, Germany, Australia and Norway. An independent review team had called the project "flawed" and argued for a halt to construction while a thorough re-evaluation is undertaken. The review report also said the Bank routinely failed to make India carry out proper environmental impact assessments and resettlement plans, as the 1985 loan agreement required. Legal covenants were flagged and then forgotten, and conditions relaxed and discarded when the Indian Government failed to comply. Some thousands of the 240,000 villagers threatened with displacement have formed "drowning squads" and are refusing to move. Constitutionally the bank is unaccountable and legally immune for the people affected by its projects.Policies of the International Monetary Fund which affect the lives of a billion people are negotiated in secret, with key conditions not released to the public. The people who bear the burden of these policies often do not even have access to the agreements which have been negotiated.
The corporations in the top 200 list of 2001 reflect current global economic trends. Reforms made by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have eroded the dominance of manufacturing and natural resource-based companies.
Broader Problems:
Non-accountability of transnational enterprisesLack of transparency in international organizationsUnaccountability of institutions degrading the environmentUnaccountability of institutions degrading the environment Narrower Problems:
Non-accountability of offshore banksDiscrimination in lending by transnational banksInadequate information concerning transnational banks Aggravates:
Ineffectiveness of foreign aidInstitutional economic dominationUnethical practices in economicsBurden of servicing foreign public debtInadequate environmental concerns of international financial institutions Strategies:
Protesting environmentally unsound policies of development banksIncreasing social responsibility of banksMaintaining secrecy in international development banksExposing secrecy in international development banksIncreasing accountability of international financial institutions Subject(s):
Commerce → BankingDefence → Secrecy
Development → Development
Development → Aid
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
01.02.2001 – 00:00 CET