In Morocco, civil society is pooling efforts to organize a Parallel Forum to the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings to be held in Marrakech, from October 9 to 15, 2023, for the second time on the African continent in nearly 50 years.
Considering that human rights should be at the core of global economic and financial agendas, it is crucial that civil society joins efforts to pressure international financial institutions to respect human rights and comply with all the relevant United Nations decisions. Thus, the World Bank and the IMF have an obligation to promote and protect human rights in the countries where they operate. This entails ensuring that the projects and policies financed, in accordance with the strategic choices of each country, do effectively uphold human rights, and promote social inclusion and gender equality.
It is a well-established fact that unsustainable growth accelerates the depletion of resources, exacerbates economic, social and gender inequalities and injustices, increases environmental degradation, magnifies climate change challenges and has adverse effects on health, access to water and sanitation, food, housing and land rights, and endangers the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable populations, particularly women, children and migrants.
The spiralling debts overwhelm developing countries, and constitute major obstacles to their decision-making capacity, as they hinder the processes of control over their natural resources and their provision of public services, and thus debt repayment is a flagrant violation of the right of these countries to development.
Since the obligations of States and private companies require them to ensure that commercial activities do not impede access to human rights;
Considering that economic growth through the export of raw materials and agricultural products engenders irreversible damage to the environment, fuels conflicts and compromises the survival of future generations;
Based on the principle that countries are obliged to participate in their development in a free, active and meaningful way, the Moroccan civil society composed of trade unions, associations, networks and informal groups launch an initiative parallel to the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF to be held in Marrakech, and coordinates in this sense with the international civil networks to engage in a serious debate on the responsibility of creditors and debtors;
This press release also serves as a call to associations, groups, and national and international dynamics to join the Parallel Initiative to the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF -2023 for the respect of human rights, for the protection of the environment and for the right to development.
As a reminder, the Annual Meetings bring together central bank governors, finance and development ministers, private sector leaders, civil society representatives, the media and academics to discuss the most pressing issues facing the global economy, including economic outlooks, financial stability, poverty eradication, inclusive economic growth and job creation, climate change, and digital transformation.
