國際貨幣基金組織 世界銀行 需要係統性改革

國際貨幣基金組織/世界銀行：需要進行係統性改革

有缺陷的方法對權利的影響

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/05/imf/world-bank-systemic-reforms-needed

斯裏蘭卡：國際貨幣基金組織貸款政策 2023 年 10 月 5 日
 
（馬拉喀什）－人權觀察今天發布報告稱，國際貨幣基金組織（IMF）和世界銀行年會將於 2023 年 10 月 9 日在摩洛哥馬拉喀什開幕，討論應優先考慮係統性改革，使政策與人權保持一致。 視頻來說明問題。 這些改變是必要的，因為當前的政策正在加劇貧困和不平等。

這段時長五分鍾的視頻講述的是生活在斯裏蘭卡的婦女 Shanthi，她正在努力應對該國的經濟危機，以及國際貨幣基金組織 30 億美元救助所附加的貸款條件，該救助使燃料和電力成本增加了一倍。 增值稅。 國際貨幣基金組織表示，斯裏蘭卡在 2022 年出現債務違約，是煤礦裏的金絲雀，因為有數十個政府陷入或接近債務困境。

人權觀察高級經濟正義研究員兼倡導者莎拉·薩杜恩 (Sarah Saadoun) 表示：“世界各地有數以百萬計的人都有過像尚蒂這樣的故事。” “國際貨幣基金組織的救助條件使已經因全球通脹和其他經濟挑戰而改變的生活變得更加困難。”

當尚蒂無法支付賬單時，她的電力被切斷了，她現在完全依靠別人來獲取食物和其他基本必需品。 她失去了政府社會保障計劃的重要收入，該計劃自 1994 年以來一直在提供福利，此前政府在世界銀行的支持下根據國際貨幣基金組織計劃的要求對該計劃進行了徹底改革。 她於 7 月份提交的新項目申請尚未收到回複。

正如人權觀察組織的一份新報告所記錄的那樣，尚蒂的故事是一個例子，說明國際貨幣基金組織向數十個國家提供的貸款影響了超過十億人，經常迫使政府以損害權利的方式削減開支和提高累退稅。 人權觀察還發現，國際貨幣基金組織應對這些影響的努力基本上無效。

為了確保經濟複蘇能夠在短期和長期內最好地促進權利，國際貨幣基金組織和各國政府應停止威脅權利的緊縮政策。 他們應確保衛生、教育和社會保障支出占國內生產總值和國家預算的百分比至少達到國際基準。

該視頻還展示了世界銀行社會保障方法的缺點，在包括斯裏蘭卡在內的許多情況下，世界銀行與國際貨幣基金組織的項目合作，旨在緩衝其影響。 盡管致力於促進全民社會保護，世界銀行經常資助經過經濟狀況調查的項目，其資格取決於收入、資產或狹義貧困指標。 研究表明，這些計劃存在高錯誤率、腐敗和社會不信任的問題，同時錯過了建立社會凝聚力和以團結和權利為基礎的新社會契約的機會。

10月4日，43個人權和經濟正義組織以 Right To Social Security 和 Universal Social Security 為主題標簽發起一項倡議，敦促各國政府和國際金融機構致力於全民社會保障，為每個人在生命中的不同階段提供福利。 作為經濟人權方針的一部分，並結束令數億人失望的政策。

薩杜恩說：“國際貨幣基金組織和世界銀行認識到人們需要支持，但隨後他們推行了狹隘的經濟狀況調查計劃，這些計劃無論從設計上還是由於長期高錯誤率，都將許多陷入困境的人排除在外。” “國際貨幣基金組織和世界銀行需要修改其政策以支持全民社會保障。”

IMF / World Bank: Systemic Reforms Needed
New Video Illustrates Impact of Flawed Approach on Rights
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/05/imf/world-bank-systemic-reforms-needed

Sri Lanka: IMF Loan Policies  October 5, 2023 
 
(Marrakesh) – Discussions at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Annual Meetings that open in Marrakesh, Morocco, on October 9, 2023, should prioritize systemic reforms to align policies with human rights, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing a video to illustrate the concerns. The changes are needed because current policies are compounding poverty and inequality.

The five-minute video features Shanthi, a woman living in Sri Lanka who is struggling to cope with both the economic crisis in the country and the loan conditions attached to a $3 billion bailout from the IMF that increased the cost of fuel and electricity and doubled value-added taxes. Sri Lanka, which defaulted on its debt in 2022, is the canary in the coal mine as dozens of governments are in or near debt distress, the IMF has said.

“Millions upon millions of people around the world have stories like Shanthi,” said Sarah Saadoun, senior economic justice researcher and advocate at Human Rights Watch. “IMF bailout conditions make lives already upended by global inflation and other economic challenges even harder.”

Shanthi’s electricity was cut when she was no longer able to pay her bill and she now relies entirely on others for food and other basic necessities. She lost critical income from a government social protection program that had been providing benefits since 1994 after the government overhauled it in line with a requirement in the IMF program, with World Bank support. She has yet to receive a response to her application for a new program that she submitted in July.

Shanthi’s story is an example of how IMF loans to dozens of countries, affecting over one billion people, frequently push governments to cut spending and raise regressive taxes in ways that harm rights, as a new Human Rights Watch report has documented. Human Rights Watch also found that the IMF’s efforts to address these impacts are largely ineffective.

To ensure economic recovery that best advances rights in the short and long term, the IMF and governments should halt austerity policies that threaten rights. They should ensure that spending on health, education, and social security meet, at a minimum, international benchmarks as a percentage of GDP and national budgets.

The video also demonstrates the shortcomings of the World Bank’s approach to social security, which in many cases, including Sri Lanka, works in tandem with IMF programs with the intention of cushioning their impact. Despite a commitment to promote universal social protection, the World Bank often funds programs that are means-tested, for which eligibility hinges on income, assets, or narrow poverty indicators. Research shows that these programs suffer from high error rates, corruption, and social mistrust, while missing the chance to build social cohesion and new social contracts anchored in solidarity and rights.

On October 4, forty-three human rights and economic justice organizations began an initiative, under the hashtags #RightToSocialSecurity and #UniversalSocialSecurity, urging governments and international financial institutions to commit to universal social security, which provides benefits to everyone at various times in their life course as part of a human rights approach to the economy, and end policies that have been failing hundreds of millions of people.

“The IMF and World Bank recognize that people need support, but then they promote narrow means-tested programs that—both by design and due to chronically high error rates—exclude many people who are struggling,” Saadoun said. “The IMF and World Bank need to revise their policies to support universal social security."