The World Bank and other International Financial Institutions must uphold human rights in all activities they support

This joint statement urges the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold International Financial Institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank, accountable for the human rights impacts of their projects, particularly in energy, resource extraction, and infrastructure development.

• International Financial Institutions (IFIs) often fund projects in energy, resource extraction, and large-scale infrastructure that lead to environmental damage and human rights violations, such as forced evictions, particularly affecting marginalized communities.
• The authors argue that IFIs and their member states have a responsibility to implement human rights due diligence, including impact assessments and safeguard policies, throughout the design, implementation, and evaluation of projects.
• Legal frameworks and international principles, including the 2011 UN International Law Commission's Draft Articles and the 2012 Maastricht Principles, establish that intergovernmental organizations and their member states have international law obligations to respect human rights.
• The statement calls on the UN Human Rights Council to take action to reinforce the responsibilities of IFIs and suggests a panel discussion to explore the connection between IFI activities and human rights protections, especially in the context of post-2015 development goals.

APA

Natural Justice (n.d.). The World Bank and other International Financial Institutions must uphold human rights in all activities they support. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/UNHRC-Statement.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. The World Bank and other International Financial Institutions must uphold human rights in all activities they support. n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/UNHRC-Statement.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Natural Justice |title=The World Bank and other International Financial Institutions must uphold human rights in all activities they support |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/UNHRC-Statement.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{naturaljusticendworld, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{The World Bank and other International Financial Institutions must uphold human rights in all activities they support}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/UNHRC-Statement.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }