Close to 200 Civil Society Groups, Individuals Demand Shutdown of World Bank, IMF

New Delhi: Close to 200 individuals and civil society groups have called for the creation of a new democratic and decentralised financial system that prioritises sustainability and equality.

Representing a wide range of social movements, campaigns, and grassroots organisations and campaigns, a statement endorsed by close to 200 signatories has demanded the shutdown of the two Bretton Woods institutions—World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)—to pave the way for “more democratic, public- spirited institutions.”

“For the past 80 years, the World Bank and IMF have globalised a model of development and financialisation rooted in the colonial logic of extraction and exploitation. These institutions have facilitated the continuous transfer of wealth from the Global South to the Global North, while trapping nations in deep debt and depriving them of sovereignty over their natural resources,” read the statement, which assailed the policies pushed by World Bank and IMF that have led to the privatisation of essential public services, including water, electricity, education, healthcare, and transportation.

“Despite the harm they have caused to societies, economies, and the environment, the World Bank and IMF have remained immune from accountability,” the civil society groups, adding that they believe these institutions are beyond reform and called for new institutions that “prioritise equality, sustainability, and the needs of all nations, not just a select few.”

Read the full statement and the list of signatories below:

Indian civil society demands a new democratic financial system on World Bank/IMF’s 80th anniversary

The Bretton Woods institutions - the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)- have completed 80 years of existence and operations.  As people of the

global south, who continue to bear the brunt of the impacts of colonial expansion, resource extraction, wealth concentration, climate change and deepening inequality,

we demand that these institutions be shut down and make way for a new global democratic and decentralised economic system which protects both people and the

planet.  For far too long, the World Bank and IMF have been instrumental in entrenching a system of global financial governance that perpetuates poverty and

inequality, displaces people and communities, and destroys nature, livelihoods and life itself. 

The World Bank and IMF were created in 1944 at the end of the Second World War to ostensibly rebuild war-torn economies and countries newly liberated from colonialism through international economic cooperation. In truth, however, they have globalised a model of development and financialisation that is rooted in the colonial logic of extraction and exploitation and have been vehicles for the continued extraction and transfer of wealth from the Global South to the Global North. 

The Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) and austerity measures imposed by the World Bank and IMF respectively included the privatisation of essential public services including water, electricity, education, healthcare and transportation, steep cuts in spending on social protection and welfare programmes, labour market deregulation, drastic wage cuts and labour contractualisation, and the reduction and/or elimination of subsidies in food and agriculture resulting in hunger and food and nutrition insecurity. Not only was the existing public sector substantially shrunk across the global south, but the very conditions of building/rebuilding robust public

sectors were eliminated.  Rural and urban working classes, poor communities, women, small-scale food producers, indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups were the hardest hit by these policies.  

The policy conditionalities at the core of SAPs, austerity measures and so-called development policy and fiscal stabilisation loans aligned with the economic and

financial interests of Western countries that were former colonial powers. These policies, commonly known as the Washington Consensus, boosted the market power

of western transnational corporations and established forms of financial-economic governance that have snared countries in vicious debt traps, undermining national

sovereignty and people’s democratic control over their resources in the global south.  

Projects funded by the World Bank such as big dams, mines, ports, and other large infrastructure projects have displaced entire communities and villages, caused

deforestation, and accelerated ecological destruction and degradation.  The earth has been plundered, and countless peoples have been dispossessed of their means to dignified livelihoods and lives. 

People across the world in the global south and north have risen up against the World Bank and IMF, leading to massive protests challenging their policies and conditionalities.  In India, protests by affected communities against the World Bank-supported Sardar Sarovar hydropower project that resulted in large-scale

displacement without adequate resettlement and rehabilitation forced the World Bank to withdraw its support, citing social and environmental impacts. 

Likewise, the fisher people in Mundra, Gujarat challenged the immunity of the World Bank after their sea and fisheries were destroyed by a thermal power plant funded by the World Bank Group.  The tea garden workers of Assam have been questioning the complicity of IFC in perpetuating the low wages, and poor living conditions of tea workers giving rise to poverty and child labour. The policies of the World Bank and the push for privatisation and deregulation have impacted people’s access to health and quality education on the one hand and impacted the collective bargaining right of the labour and environmental regulations. 

Despite the destruction that they have wreaked on people, societies, economies and nature, the World Bank and IMF have faced no consequences. Their respective founding charters provide them with full immunity from legal and material accountability–they are literally above the law.  The introduction of Inspection Panels and social safeguard policies have not changed their policies and operations in any Meaningfull manner, and have reduced all accountability measures to toothless instruments. 

Given their origins, history and track records, we believe that the World Bank and IMF are beyond reform. Their governance, policies, and market obsessed  economic paradigm are too deeply entrenched in the status quo to allow for meaningful change and  their transformation from forces for evil to forces for good.

We need a fundamental paradigm change through new institutions founded on principles of democratic and decentralised economic governance, prioritising

equality, sustainability, and the needs of all nations, not just a select few. 

These new institutions must be committed to truly inclusive development, ensuring that all voices are heard – especially of those who bear the brunt of financial, economic and social insecurity – and that policies are designed to meet the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. They should promote development approaches that are embedded in human rights, protect the environment, and ensure the abilities of future generations to live in dignity, harmony and peace. The new institutions should support genuine debt relief initiatives as a

matter of urgency and provide favourable financing that helps countries break free from the vicious cycles of debt dependency.

The new paradigm of financial and economic governance must recognise the interconnectedness of economic, social, environmental, climate and political justice. It must end the financialisation of nature, protect the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, workers, women and youth, and legally regulate the economic power of transnational corporations. 

It is time for the World Bank and IMF to realise that their time is over. These outdated institutions should be replaced by ones that reflect the needs and aspirations of all

communities and nations. Only by doing so can we build a more just, equitable, and sustainable world.

Endorsed by:

1. Aashima Subberwal - Friends of Earth India

2. Abha - One Billion Rising

3. Achin Vanaik

4. Adarsh K Warman

5. Aditya Nigam

6. Adv Dr Shalu Nigam

7. Agnes Kharshiing

8. Alpha Thomson Abumwami - YPC

9. Ambika Yadav - Jharkhand Kishan Parishad

10. Amitanshu Verma - Centre for Financial Accountability

11. Anant Phadker - Shramik Mukti Dal

12. Andrew Wheeldon - Bicycle Cities

13. Anirban - CFA

14. Anne Stegmann

15. Annie Namala

16. Anshu Kumari - JJSV, Bihar

17. Anto Elias - KSMTF

18. Aparna - NCDHR

19. Aravind Unni - NAPM - SHRAM (Urban Struggles Forum)

20. Arundhati Dhuru - NAPM

21. Ashish Kothari

22. Ashish Ranjan - JJSS

23. Ashok Choudhary - All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP)

24. Ashok Shrimali - Mines, Mineral & People

25. Asmi Sharma - Jan Sarokar

26. Avinash Kumar Chanchal - Greenpeace India

27. Aysha - Right to Food Campaign

28. Badami Lal - Aravallis Suraksha Udaipur

29. Banojyotsna - Independent Research Consultant

30. Benny Kuruvilla - Focus on the Global South

31. Bhanumathi Kalluri - Dhaatri

32. Bhargav Oza

33. Bhavreen Kandhari

34. Bijay Bjai - Bharat Jana Andolan

35. Butchaiah Gadde - United Nations

36. Chinmay Mishra - Madhya Pradesh Sarvoday Mandal

37. Chythenyen - Centre for Financial Accountability

38. Debsmita Roychowdhury

39. Devaky

40. Devidas Tuljapurkar - Maharashtra State Bank Employees Federation

41. Dinesh Abrol - Delhi Science Forum

42. Disha A Ravi - Fridays For Future India

43. Dr Meena Kandasamy - Writer

44. Dr Sunilam - Kisan Sangharsh Samiti

45. Dr. O. G. Sajitha

46. Dr. Suhas Kolhekar - National Alliance of People's Movements

47. Eddy Monte

48. Elsy Gomes

49. Financial Accountability Network India (FAN India)

50. Fr. Eugene Pereira

51. Gautam Bandyopadhyay - Nadi Ghati Morcha - India

52. Geeta Sahu

53. Geo Damin - Poovulagin Nanbargal

54. Guman Singh - Himalaya Niti Abhiyan

55. Hans Kaushik

56. Haripriya Harshan - CFA

57. Himanshu Thakkar - SANDRP

58. Himmat Singh - Bahujan Communist Party

59. Ian Williamson

60. India Greens Party

61. Jacob Kurien - Sarvodayasangham

62. Jammu Anand - Indian Social Action Forum

63. Jannet Cletus - Theeradesa Mahila Vedi

64. Jawan Singh - VMKS

65. Joe Athialy - Centre for Financial Accountability

66. John Dayal - Writer

67. John Dsouza - CED

68. Jones Thomas Spartegus

69. Josephine Joseph - CWCSN

70. K VITTALRAO - RAI CENTRE Utnoor, Adilabad

71. K.V Krishna Kumar

72. Kailash Anerao - Environmental & Climate Change Activist

73. Kailash Mina - NAPM

74. Kamayani - JJSS

75. Kangkimang Takuk - Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF)

76. Kanhaiya - Aravalli Mazdoor Sangathan

77. Kapil Agarwal - YMC

78. Kavita

79. Khirod Routray - Udyog

80. KP Das

81. Krishna

82. Krunal

83. Kurien John

84. Lalita Ramdas

85. Lambodar Mohanta - EKTA NIKETAN

86. Lara Jesani

87. Lima Sunil - Fr. Thomas Kocherry Centre

88. Linda Chhakchhuak

89. Lisa Pires

90. Lucas Braganca

91. Mahendra Kumar - NCAER

92. Maimoona Mollah - AIDWA Delhi-NCR

93. Maju Varghese - BIC Trust India

94. Mallela Seshagiri Rao - Capital Region Farmers Federation, Amaravathi

95. Manan - Independent Journalist

96. Manasi - Johns Hopkins University

97. Manisha Desai - Center for Changing Systems of Power, Stonybrook University

98. Md. Zahidul Islam - COAST Foundation

99. Mecanzy Dabre - Kamgar Ekata Union, Maharashtra

100. Meera Sanghamitra - National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM)

101. Mercy Mathew - Cheru Resmi Centre

102. Mohammad Chappalwala - Sambhaavnaa Institute

103. Moncy M Thomas

104. Monica - Independent Researcher

105. Moushumi Basi - Jawaharlal Nehru University

106. Mujahid Nafees - MCC

107. Mukta Srivastava

108. Muralidharan - National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled

109. Nancy Pathak - Pension Parishad

110. Narayan Lal Panwar

111. National Hawker Federation

112. Navdeep Mathur - IIM Ahmedabad

113. Nawaz - Avsar Collective

114. Neelam Ahluwalia Nakra - Founder Member, People for Aravallis

115. Nidhi

116. Nikhil Dey - MKSS

117. Nikita Chatterjee

118. Nikita Naidu - Climate Action

119. Nitin

120. Nitin Sethi

121. P. M. Bhattacharya

122. Pamela Philipose

123. Pavuluri Siva Prasad

124. People for Aravallis

125. Pervin Jehangir

126. Prafulla Samantara - Lok Shakti Abhiyan

127. Prakash Chandra Bhagota - SR Abhiyan

128. Prakash Louis

129. Pranay Raj - CFA

130. Pranita Kulkarni - CFA

131. Prasad Chacko - People's Union for Civil Liberties

132. Priya Dharshini - Delhi Forum

133. Purushan Eloor - Periyar Malineekarana Virudha Samithy

134. R Ravi - Samata

135. R. Ajayan - Editor, Navayugom, Kerala

136. Raj Kumar Sinha - Bargi Bandh Visthapit Evam Parbhavit Sangh

137. Raj Shekhar - Right to Food Campaign

138. Rakesh Dewan - Sarvodaya Press Service

139. Ram Puniyani - All India Secular Forum

140. Ram Wangkheirakpam - Indigenous Perspectives

141. Ranjan Kumar - JJSV, Bihar

142. Rashi Rajgor

143. Ravindranath - River Basin Friends

144. Rita Das

145. Rizwan - Pension Parishad

146. Rohini Hensman - Writer and Independent Scholar

147. Rohit Prajapati - Environment Activist, Gujarat

148. Roma - All India Union of Forest Working People

149. Rosamma Thomas - Freelancer

150. Saba Dave

151. Sabita Lahkar - NWMi

152. Sagari Ramdas - Food Sovereignty Alliance

153. Saktiman Ghosh - National Hawker Federation, India

154. Sameer Vartak - Paryavarn Samvardhan Samiti

155. Samir K. Chakravorty - Freelancer

156. Sandeep Pamarati

157. Sandiksha Roychowdhury

158. Sandip Roychowdhury

159. Sanjeev Chandorkar

160. Sarath Cheloor - Dynamic Action, Keralam

161. Sarika - IGP

162. Satheesh Lakshmanan - Poovulagin Nanbargal

163. Sauraj Gurjar

164. Sayantan Das

165. Shabnam Hashmi - Anhad

166. Shamala Kumar - University of Peradeniya

167. Sheelu Francis - Women's Collective

168. Shehri Mahila Kamgar Union

169. Shiraz Bulsara Prabhu - PUCL

170. Sho - Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, Bihar, India

171. Shruti - PhD student at VIT-AP University

172. Shweta Tambe

173. Shyam - चरागाह एवं पर्यावरण विकास समिति

174. Simran Grover

175. Sitaram Shelar

176. Soumya Dutta - Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha (BJVJ)

177. Subham Biswas - Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan

178. Suchetana Ghosh

179. Sujata Patel

180. Sukumaran Krishnan - Advocate

181. Suma Josson

182. Suresh Garimella - CPI-M

183. Sutapa Majumdar

184. Tani Alex - Financial Accountability Network India

185. Thomas Franco - People First

186. Uma Shankar

187. Usha Lachungpa - Green Circle, Sikkim

188. Usmangani Sherasiya - Samsat Machimar Samaj Gujarat

189. Vaishnavi Paliya - Azim Premji University

190. Vaishnavi Varadarajan - International Accountability Project

191. Vanaja Mercima Soundarabai

192. Veena M - Ecosystems Services

193. Venkateswara Rao Maddi - Maddi Lakshmaiah & Co Pvt Ltd

194. Vijoo Krishnan - All India Kisan Sabha

195. Vinay Baindur

196. Vinita Balekundri - Maharashtra Hawker Federation

197. Vinod Koshy - Dynamic Action

198. Yash Agrawal - Fridays For Future Mumbai,