PANUP: Civil Society Denounces US Nomination of World Bank

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PANUP: Civil Society Denounces US Nomination of World Bank

President

Tue, 22 Mar 2005 17:15:00 -0800

 

 

 

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P A N U P S

Pesticide Action Network Updates Service

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Civil Society Denounces US Nomination of World Bank President

March 22, 2005

 

 

On March 16th, George W. Bush nominated US Deputy Defense Secretary

Paul Wolfowitz to serve as the future President of the World Bank. Within

30 hours, European heads of state received a multi-country petition

signed by more than 1,300 organizations and individuals from 68 countries

who denounced the nomination and called on European governments to

reject it.

 

The US nomination of Wolfowitz, who is recognized as the key architect

of the US invasion, war and occupation of Iraq and a strong proponent

of unilateralism in US foreign policy, has elicited a firestorm of

protest from development experts and citizens around the world. The civil

society petition sent to European heads of state on March 18th warned

that his appointment would risk " the Bank becoming seen as a tool of the

current controversial US foreign policy, with aid flows becoming more

dependent on strict adherence to US Administration priorities. " The

petition further denounced " the untransparent and undemocratic process by

which one government nominates a single candidate for Bank president " and

called on European governments to " take action to reject the current

nominee and press for other candidates. "

 

Alex Wilks, coordinator at Eurodad, the network of European development

NGOs that organized the petition, noted, " The massive and rapid

response to this strongly-worded petition is a sample of the anger on

this

issue. " In agreement, Rede Brasil (the Brazil Network on Multilateral

Financial Institutions), stated that " the nomination of Mr. Wolfowitz

is an

outrage to all of us [who] aspire to build an international system that

is more just, peaceful and committed to fostering socially and

environmentally sustainable forms of development. "

 

In defense of his nomination, President Bush said that Wolfowitz is a

" compassionate decent man, committed to development, and a skilled

diplomat " with prior experience running a big organization, namely the

Pentagon. But Tomasz Terlecki of the Central and Eastern European

Bankwatch

Network countered, " Not only is his nomination the result of a

secretive, undemocratic selection process, but Mr Wolfowitz's

well-known track

record of unilateralism is fundamentally ill-suited to a multilateral

institution which must balance the diverse interests of its member

countries. "

 

Even the European Parliament weighed in on the topic. Chair of the

Development Committee of the European Parliament, Louisa Morgantini,

writing on behalf of her Committee, called on European governments " to

open

up the process to accept other candidates. " The US traditionally selects

the president of the World Bank, while the Europeans select the

president of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Both Boards typically

confirm these nominations without much debate; although once, in 2000,

the

US rejected the European candidate for IMF president.

 

In an action alert sent out on Monday, Pesticide Action Network North

America (PANNA) warned that Wolfowitz would be a disastrous choice. The

Alert explained that Wolfowitz has little understanding of and no

meaningful expertise in poverty eradication, sustainable development,

environmental protection, local community empowerment, food security

or human

rights-all issues inextricably linked with international development.

 

PAN has fought for decades against the World Bank's undemocratic

processes, lack of transparency, and addiction to unsustainable

chemically

dependent systems of agriculture. In recent years, civil society achieved

some important advances, including the Bank's adoption of an improved

pest management policy. Yet even under the current president, James

Wolfensohn, policy implementation has been weak. Furthermore, Bank

partnerships with pesticide companies have exposed the industry's

powerful

influence at the Bank, calling into question the agency's commitment to

environmentally sustainable development.

 

But should Paul Wolfowitz become the next president, the situation will

get significantly worse, says PANNA-civil society's hard-won gains over

the past 10 years will almost certainly be rolled back, any remaining

potential for civil society to hold the Bank accountable will evaporate

and all constraints on US control over the Bank will be removed.

 

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors will be meeting to

discuss Wolfowitz's nomination in the coming days; a confirmation vote

will

follow soon thereafter. The US Director is required to support the

nomination. However, together the European Directors have enough voting

power to block the confirmation. PAN is joining thousands of civil

society

groups around the world in calling on European governments to veto the

US nomination and open the selection process up to other candidates.

 

 

Sources:

World Bank President, http://www.worldbankpresident.org/

Eurodad (European Network of Debt and Development NGOs),

http://www.eurodad.org/

Bank Information Center, http://www.bicusa.org/

IFI Watchnet, http://www.ifiwatchnet.org/

Rede Brasil, http://www.rbrasil.org.br/

CEE Bankwatch Network, http://www.bankwatch.org/

Contact: PANNA, visit websites listed above and see PANNA's Action

Alert at http://ga4.org/campaign/_Wolfowitz

 

 

PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and

reporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the

mainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network North

America, a

non-profit and non-governmental organization working to advance

sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.

 

You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for our work and

all contributions are tax deductible in the United States. Visit

http://www.panna.org/donate.

 

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