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Posted 6:20 PM by Mary

February 10, 2005

The Honorable Kofi A. Annan
Secretary-General
United Nations
Secretariat Building, Room S-3800
New York, NY 10017

Your Excellency Kofi Annan,

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your leadership in establishing the Millennium Project and for your recognition of the importance of reproductive health to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. We fully concur with your statement that:

“The Millennium Development Goals, particularly the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, cannot be achieved if questions of population and reproductive health are not squarely addressed. And that means stronger efforts to promote women’s rights, and greater investment in education and health, including reproductive health and family planning.”

The Millennium Project has produced important recommendations for practical programs and policies in multiple sectors that will accelerate attainment of the MDGs in their overview report, Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and Task Force reports. We are pleased with the Millennium Project’s efforts to strengthen integration of sexual and reproductive health and rights concerns into implementation of the MDGs. The Gender Equality, the Child and Maternal Mortality and the HIV/AIDS Task Forces in particular recognized sexual and reproductive health and rights as fundamental to progress towards the Goals. The overall recommendation to strengthen health systems and address girls’ and women’s health (including reproductive health) rings clearly in their analyses. The contribution of the Project in these areas, and to encouraging priority to other neglected concerns (e.g., infrastructure, energy, multiple dimensions of women’s empowerment) is an indication of its wise counsel.

We strongly support the Project’s endorsement of universal access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, including family planning; protection of sexual and reproductive health and rights as critical pathways to achieving the MDGs; and the recognition that highest levels of unmet need for family planning and reproductive health services occur in the poorest countries among the poorest populations.

We are encouraged by the strong statements of reaffirmation which emerged from the regional and other UN meetings held to mark the tenth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development. We also note the outcomes of the Countdown 2015 Global Roundtable, the NGO-led review of the ICPD supported by the European Union, as a demonstration of additional international support for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Taken together, these statements demonstrate the international community’s continued commitment to the ICPD Programme of Action and its goals. Through these meetings, governments also affirmed their view that implementing the ICPD Programme of Action is essential to achieving the MDGs.

In light of the Millennium Project’s recommendations and continued strong international support for expanding access to sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV/AIDS services, we trust that sexual and reproductive health and rights concerns will be clearly addressed in your report for the General Assembly High-Level Plenary.

To this end, we recommend that your report:
· Include specific language on the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the overarching goal of reducing poverty;
· Endorse, as strongly as possible, the findings and recommendations of the Millennium Project and its Task Forces, including those regarding refinements of targets and indicators for the various goals;
· Acknowledge the international community’s continued support for the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development’s Programme of Action, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the agreements of the other major UN international conferences of the 1990s as foundations for the Millennium Development Goals and the importance of their realization to achievement of the MDGs.

Similarly, we recommend that the on-going technical review processes adopt specific recommendations of the Task Forces – in particular those of the Task Forces on Child Health and Maternal Health, on Education and Gender Equality, and on HIV/AIDS – including a specific target on universal access to reproductive health services under the Maternal Health Goal and several indicators relevant to sexual and reproductive health and rights within the indicator framework for various of the goals and targets.

We realize that the timeframe for finalization of the Secretary-General’s report is very short, but we felt it was important to have the full benefit of the work of the Millennium Project – given its mandate – before communicating directly. Moreover, as the opportunities for civil society engagement in the Millennium Summit process are somewhat limited, we feel obliged to take advantage of every opportunity to share our concerns.

In conclusion, we note again our appreciation for your efforts to advance implementation of the MDGs, and in particular the work of the Millennium Project. We look forward to working with the UN system, UN Member States, and other civil society actors on our common agenda for development over the next decade and beyond.

Signers include
American Humanist Association

Posted 4:13 PM by Mary

Date: February 7, 2005
To: World Bank Board of Governors

From: IFI Democracy Coalition
Dear Sir/Madame:

Attached please find a Statement on Democratizing the World Bank and the IMF prepared by the IFI Democracy Coalition of US and international civil society organizations and endorsed by many other organizations around the world.

This Statement expresses our overarching concern about the absence of transparency and accountability in the process of selecting the next President of the World Bank. The democratic deficit at both the World Bank and the IMF is glaringly evident in this process and must be addressed – if the legitimacy of these institutions is to be restored.

This democratic deficit is apparent in several notable ways including the unequal distribution of votes on the Boards of the Bank and Fund. The current distribution is based on a formula corresponding to the size of national economies and share of global trade in 1944. To use this metric to determine the size of a country’s vote itself challenges democratic principles. Moreover, actions taken by the Board of public institutions are bathed in secrecy. It is not possible to know which Executive Director has taken which decision for which reasons. Finally, the accountability of Executive Directors to elected officials and legislative bodies are often quite tenuous. The world deserves international financial institutions that reflect contemporary realities and standards of good global governance – not the world of six decades past.

We ask you, the Governors of the World Bank, to consider the importance of the process in approving the nomination for the next World Bank President. Consider the more innovative approach adopted to appoint the new chief of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Would such an approach not work for the World Bank?

We believe that steps taken to make the process more open, participatory, and accountable are essential. This will ultimately require bold, principled actions from the Board of Governors. We ask for your attention to this matter and for your strong support in addressing the persistent democratic deficit in the World Bank and other international financial institutions.

On behalf of the IFI Democracy Coalition:

Manish Bapna, Executive Director, Bank information center, mpapna@bicusa.org

Jo Marie Griesgraber, Chair, New Rules for Global Finance Coalition
jgiresgraber@new-rules.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Democratizing the World Bank and IMF

Statement of the IFI Democracy Coalition

As James Wolfensohn’s term as World Bank president nears its end, we alert the public that world leaders are preparing to appoint the head of a major international financial institution behind closed doors for the second time within a year. Just as we condemned the overtly undemocratic selection of the IMF Managing Director, we now warn that the same is likely to happen again at the World Bank. Recognizing that these institutions remain rooted in an outmoded model of governance, we call on the member governments and the institutions themselves to take responsibility for creating and following a process that is consistent with contemporary standards of democracy.



After World War II, it was widely considered acceptable for technocrats to make foreign aid and development policies in secrecy. But today citizens and civil society recognize an urgent need for greater democratic involvement in and improved governance of global institutions. This demands processes that provide for more transparency, direct civic input, and public accountability. We interpret the fact that over 50 countries have adopted freedom of information laws, with half of them doing so over the last decade, as a sure sign that citizens and civil society organizations are able interlocutors with full intent of meeting the responsibility of active democratic participation.

But it is widely recognized that democratic institutions at the national level alone will not solve the modern “democratic deficit”. Today, international financial institutions (IFIs) wield tremendous power over the economies of developing countries in matters ranging from trade policy to the level and composition of public expenditures to the role of the private sector. Yet, the IFIs are stuck in a 19th century model, with a few very powerful people operating as the ultimate authorities by “unwritten agreement.” In the 21st century, people demand transparency and accountability. Only by reshaping our global institutions can we accomplish these objectives.


We support the spirit of some recent governance reform proposals at the IFIs, although we recognize that they do not advocate the kinds of systemic changes that we find necessary. In 2000 broad-based public criticism of the undemocratic selection of Horst Köhler as the IMF Managing Director compelled the World Bank and IMF to establish a joint panel of board members to recommend guidelines for the next succession. However, even this limited reform proposal, presented to the IFIs’ boards in 2001, was ignored in the 2004 selection process of Rodrigo Rato as the new IMF Managing Director. The closed-door process prompted unprecedented criticism from within the institutions as eleven IMF board members (representing well over 100 countries) issued a public statement calling for a more open process without geographical restrictions. Similarly, recent proposals to improve the “voice and vote" of developing countries on the executive boards of the World Bank and IMF have also not been adopted. While these proposed initiatives would still fall far short of the structural changes required, we support their spirit of reform to bring outdated governance structures of IFIs up to modern democratic standards.

We strongly affirm the need for the public in both borrowing countries, whose citizens are affected by their operations, and rich countries, whose governments exercise disproportionate influence at IFIs, to have a far greater degree of input into the decision making processes than currently exists. As a starting point, we call on the establishment of a transparent and accountable process for the selection of the next World Bank President. . The process should provide for the selection on the basis of explicit criteria, including the commitment to a genuine democratization of the institution, and be open to candidates from all countries. Furthermore, we call on the IFIs themselves to support such a process. This time around, IFIs will have to demonstrate that they are the appropriate channels for development resources, and one part of proving that is accepting responsibility for their own governance.

This statement was prepared by a group of civil society organizations who are committed to improving governance of the World Bank itself, and who reject perpetuating the “tradition” whereby the US government names the President of the World Bank.


Endorsed by the following organizations and individuals:


Action for Economic Reforms, Philippines, Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III, Coordinator
Action Aid International USA
African Leadership and Progress Network, Michael Isimbabi
ALOP (Latin American Association of Development Organizations), Jorge Balbis, Executive Director
Association for Accountancy & Business Affairs, Professor Prem Sikka
Bank Information Center, Washington, DC, Manish Bapna, Executive Director
Berne Declaration, Switzerland, Christine Eberlein
Bread for all – Switzerland
Bretton Woods Project, UK, Jeff Powell
Broederlijk Delen, Brussels, Belgium-Europe, Ann De Jonghe, Policy Advisor
Campagna per la riforma della Banca mondiale, Italy, Antonio Tricarico
Center of Concern, Washington, DC, James E. Hug, SJ, President
Centro de Estudios en Cooperación Internacionanl y Gestión Pública, A.C.CECIG, MEXICO, Susana Cruickshank, Executive President
Christian Aid, UK, Olivia McDonald, Senior Policy Officer: Governance and Poverty
Citizens for a Better Environment(CBE), KITWE, ZAMBIA, Mr. Peter Sinkamba, Executive Director
Citizens for Global Solutions, USA, Heather Hamilton
Citizens Network for Essential Services (CNES), Nancy Alexander
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Ian Plaskett, Research and Policy Analyst,
Congregation of Sisters of the Good Shepherd, New York, NY, USA, Clare Nolan, NGO representative
Council of Ethics Based NGO Organizations Associated with The Department of Public Information of the United Nations, CEBO, Mary Beaty, Moderator
Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst e.V. (EED, Bonn, Germany, Wilfried Steen, Policy Director
Financial Policy Forum, Washington, DC, Randall Dodd
Foreign Policy In Focus
Foundation For Grassroots Initiatives in Africa, (GrassRootsAfrica), Accra, Ghana, Rudolf Amenga-Etego
Friends of the Earth, England, Wales & N. Ireland, Hannah Ellis
Friends of the Earth, France, Sébastien Godinot, IFI Reform Campaign
Friends of the Earth, Ghana, Accra, Noble Wadzah, IFI Programme Coordinator
Friends of the Earth, USA
Global Policy Forum, USA, James Paul, Executive Director
Global Village, Koueda Kohng Jean, Cameroon.
Halifax Initiative/L'Initiative d'Halifax, Canada, Michael Bassett, Coordinator/Coordonnateur
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL), Niger Delta Region, Nigeria, Anyakwee Nsirimovu, Executive Director
Instituto del Tercer Mundo, Uruguay
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
International Rivers Network, USA, Peter Bosshard
Liberty Now, Nigeria, Innih Archibong
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, USA, Marie Dennis
Missionary Oblates, Justice/Peace & Integrity of Creation, Séamus P. Finn OMI
National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water, Accra, Ghana
National Wildlife Federation (USA), Barbara Bramble
Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD), Sierra Leone, Abu A. Brima
New Rules for Global Finance Coalition
One World Trust, Houses of Parliament, London, UK, Simon Burall, Executive Director
Oxfam International
Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville (SAL), Andrew Kang Bartlett
Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations, Bern, Switzerland
Tax Justice Network, John Christensen, International Coordinator
TERRA Mileniul III, Buresti, Romania, Ionut Apostol, Executive Director
UNANIMA International, Catherine Ferguson, Coordinator
World Confederation of Labor, Paul N. Tennassee
World Federalist Movement - Institute for Global Policy, International Secretariat
World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), New York, Gaia Larsen