TheChallenge of Theoretical and Practical Status of Human Rights in the System of the World Bank

دانشنامه حقوق اقتصادی

Article 4, Volume 25, Issue 13, April 2018, Pages 101-130   

Document Type: Scientific research

DOI: 10.22067/le.v25i14.67059

Authors

Hojjat Salimi Turkamani^{* 1}; Peyman Shahbazi²

¹Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University

²Institute for management and planning studies

Abstract

Nowadays international economic law and international human rights law as two diverse domains of international law have complex relations. The relationship between these legal branches is mainly around the development of law. One of the areas of interconnection and coincidence between these two branches of international law in the framework of development is the activities of international economic organizations including the World Bank. The activities of the World Bank have a substantial effect on the issue of human rights, and different societies are affected by the implementation of the World Bank’s projects. The World Bank has no vivid human rights policies and has always adopted doubtful measures in relation to human rights. Sometimes the World Bank has avoided contribution in promotion of human rights and sometimes it has declared itself bounded to protect the human rights law by developing its operation and applying a new definition. Even at the times that the actions of the World Bank have human rights effects, it doesn’t mention the human rights explicitly. The main question raised here concerns the role of the World Bank on human rights in the period of its existence.  
Research Method
the research method used in this study is descriptive-analytical using library resources. In order to answer the question, the statute of IBRD and its related documents were analyzed.
Results and Discussions
The World Bank, as an important international economical organization is the challenging  area between human rights discourse and development discourse. This challenge in the framework of the World Bank may be addressed in theoretical and pragmatic aspects. The inquiry on this challenge in the field of theoretical aspects reveals that the protection and propagation of human rights is not outside the competence of the bank and theoretically it is desirable. Some consideration such asThe promotion of human rights status in international issues, adoption of human policies in development, and excessive experimental proofs in relation to the consistency between all human rights instances, make difficulties in applying confined and limited deduction in relation to the human rights status in the world bank system. Gradually, the absolute economical deduction of the notion development has been faded by the emergence of notions such as sustainable development and good governance and has caused the human rights deduction to be coupled with the notion of development. According to this fact, today the human rights have a desirable status in the bank’s constitution and general international documents of the World Bank system. To sum up the bank is obliged to consider human rights in the context of economical consideration or any other  ways.
The inquiry between development and human rights discourse in the framework of the World Bank policy shows the inconsistency among the mentioned domains. Despite the bank and its authority’s claims, the applied measures in protecting human rights were not so satisfactory. Examining several pragmatic cases such as stablishment of inquiry commissions, formation of inspection assembly and conducting structural programs reveal this fact that the mentioned cases could not be in line with the promotion human rights status in the World Bank system. in spite of claims of  the bank and its authorities,  the measures applied by the World Bank in mentioned cases were not satisfactory and there was considrable gap between the human rights status in the bank’s claims in their reports and their operations. Although human rights has a desirable status in the constitution of the World Bank and general international law rules, but the  study on the pragmatic cases shows the relative indifference of the bank to the human rights issue.
Conclusions & Suggestions:
Finally, it can be expressed that the only method to promote the human rights, both theoretically and pragmatically, is perhaps to consider the development in the field of human rights and applying a human rights-centralized approach to development. This is an issue which must be result in the emergence of the issue of human rights in strategical and operational policies of the World Bank. In adopting such an approach, the real connection might be made between the development and the human rights ideals. Otherwise the obvious unbalance between the status of human rights in theoretical and practical aspects would remain unsolved. The World Bank approach in relation to the human rights is an important opportunity to propagate the human rights, and at the same time it is a serious threat to the human rights protection. If this opportunity is utilized, the bank might have a constructive role in human rights propagation, the rule of law establishment, and also good governance and sustainable development. If this opportunity is not used, however,it will result in a stream that only would bring the development of violence to the mind.

Keywords

World Bank; Human rights; development; Economic Consideration; Sustainable development

References

[1] Abouharb M. ,Rodwan & David L. Cingranelli. ( 2006). (The Human Rights Effects of World Bank Structural Adjustment 1981-2000), International Studies Quarterly, Vol 50, No 2, pp.233-262.

[2] Ackerman, John M. (2005). (Human Rights & Social Accountability) ,Social Development Papers Participation & Civic Engagement, Paper No. 86.

[3] Baker, Lucy. (2007). the World Bank & human rights, Breton Woods Project.

[4] Bank Information Center & Inclusive Development International. (2013). (Human Rights & the World Bank: Case Studies from IDA Countries), Report.

[5] Brodnig, Gernot. (2001). (the World Bank & Human Rights: Mission Impossible?) Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Working Paper: T-01-05.

[6] Clark, Dana L. (1992). (The World Bank & Human Rights: The Need for Greater Accountability), University of Virginia, School of Law.

[7] Emami, Mohammad. (2015). Human Rights obligations in WTO’s documents, Journal of Legal Studies, Volume 7, Issue 1, Page 29-58. (In Persian)

[8] Etchichury, Horacio J.. (2014). (A Shiny Fragmentary Skeleton: The World Bank & Workers' Human Rights in the 2013 World Development Report), Journal of Economic & Social Policy, Volume 16 , Issue 2, pp.1-21.

[9] Herbertson, klrk. (2010). (Kim Thompson & Robert Goodland, A Roadmap For Integrating Human Rights Into The World Bank Group), World Resources Institute.

[10] Hohenveldern, Ignaz seidi. (2007). International Economic Law, Translation & research :S.Ghasem Zamani. (Tehran: The Shahr-e- Danesh institute of law) (In Persian)

[11] Horta, Korinna. (2002). (Rhetoric & Reality: Human Rights & the World Bank), Harvard Human Rights Journal, Vol. 15,pp.221-239.

[12] IBRD. (2009). Executive Summary, Annual Review of Development Effectiveness.

[13] Johnson. (2002). The World Bank Defends Its Record on Human Rights, Advocacy Project, Global Policy Forum.

[14] Kinley, David. (2006). (Human Rights & the World Bank: Practice, Politics, & Law), the University of Sydney, Sydney Centre Working Paper.

[15] McCully, Patrick. (1994). Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP):An Overview, International Rivers Network from a variety of Indian government, World Bank, Narmada BachaoAndolan & independent sources.

[16] McInerney-Lankford, Siobhan & Hans-Otto Sano(2012). (Human Rights Indicators in Development), World Bank study.

[17] Nagan , Winston P. FRSA & Graige Hammer. (2004). (The chancing Character of sovereignty in international law & international relations), Columbia journal of transnational law, vol 43, Issue.14, pp 141-187.

[18] Natenson, Meghan. (2015).The World Bank Group’s Human Rights Obligations Under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, Berkeley Journal of International Law, Volume 33, Issue 2 Article 8, pp. 489-525.

[19] Oberleitner,Gerd, (Global Human Rights Institutions, Between Remedy & Ritual (UK, polity: 2007).

[20] Oestreich, Joel E. (2004). (the Human Rights Responsibilities of the World Bank: a Business Paradigm), Global Social Policy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA.

[21] Palacio, Ana. (2006).The Way Forward: Human Rights & The World Bank Article On The World Bank Development, World Bank Institute.

[22] Pendergast, Claire & Ian M. Kysel. (2014). (A Framing Paper: Multilateral Development Banks & Human Rights), Samuel Dash Conference on Human Rights, Human rights institute at Georgetown law.

[23] Picker, Colin. B and others, international Economic Law: the State & Future of the Discipline. (Oxford & Portland, Oregon: 2008).

[24] Salomon, Margot E, (global responsibility for human rights. (Oxford university press: 2007)

[25] Schreur, Chrisoph. (1993), (The Waning of the sovereign: Toward a New Paradigm for international law?), European Journal of international law, vol 4 , pp.447-471.

[26] Shamsaii, Mohammad . (2006). International Economic Law & principle sustainable development, Public Law Research , Volume 8, Issue 19, Page 7-25. (In Persian)

[27] Sharifi Tarazkoohi, Hosein & S. Salahedin Fateminejad. (2017). World Trade Organization & International Human Rights, Journal of Legal Studies,Volume 8, Issue 4, Page 103-135. (In Persian)

[28] Shihata, Ibrahim F.I. (1995). (Prohibition of Political Activities in the Bank's Work) Legal Opinion by the Senior Vice President of General Counsel.

[29] Toussaint, Eric. (2006). (The World Bank & the respect of human rights), CADTM Belgium (Committee for the Abolition of the Third World Debt).

[30] UN-CHR. (2000). Debt relief & local investment: coordination between the HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Countries) Initiative, Common Report by Ronaldo Figueredo & FantuCheru, E/CN.4/2000/51.

[31] UN-CHR. (2000). Effects of structural adjustment policies and foreign debt on the full enjoyment of human rights, especially economic, social and cultural rights, E/CN.4/2003/10.

[32] Van Genugten. (2003).Willem Tilburg Guiding Principles on World Bank, IMF and Human Rights, Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2003.

[33] World Bank. (1998). Development and Human Rights: the Role of the World Bank, Washington DC.

[34] World Bank. (1989). Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth, Washington DC.

[35] World Bank. (1996).The World Bank Operational Manual, Resettlement and Development: The Bank wide Review of Projects Involving Involuntary Resettlement 1986–1993 .

[36] Zamani, Seyyed Ghasem . (2007). International Organizations Law: Personality, Responsibility And Immunity. (Tehran: The Shahr-e- Danesh institute of law) (In Persian)

[37] Zamani, Seyyed Ghasem & Peyman Bolouri. (2015). The World Bank and IMF Accountability in Human Rights, International Law Review, Volume 32, Issue 52, Page 91-120. (In Persian)