World Bank, IMF

Human Rights Watch investigates human rights abuses in which international financial institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and regional development and investment banks have been implicated. We have exposed discrimination in the distribution of development aid, efforts that have outright harmed community members, and reprisals against critics of “development” initiatives. We advocate for these institutions to recognize their rights obligations and uphold human rights through their policies and practices. We press governments that partner with these institutions and ultimately implement the projects to ensure that human rights are respected. We ask that governments that oversee these institutions ensure that the rights impacts of projects are understood, that projects that will violate rights are not funded, and that institutional policies advance, rather than undermining human rights.