Abstract
Serving as lender of last resort to countries experiencing unsustainable levels of public debt, international financial institutions have attracted intense controversy over the past decades, exemplified most recently by the popular discontent expressed in Eurozone countries following several rounds of austerity measures. In exchange for access to financial assistance, borrowing countries must settle on a list of often painful policy reforms that are aimed at balancing the budget. This practice has afforded international financial institutions substantial policy influence on governments throughout the world and in a wide array of policy areas of direct bearing on human rights. This article reviews the consequences of policy reforms mandated by international financial institutions on the enjoyment of human rights, focusing on the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. It finds that these reforms undermine the enjoyment of health rights, labour rights, and civil and political rights, all of which have deleterious implications for public health. The evidence suggests that for human rights commitments to be met, a fundamental reorientation of international financial institutions’ activities will be necessary.
Highlights
After the 2007 global financial crisis, several European countries experienced growing public debts and shrinking economic output
In a Stubbs and Kentikelenis Public Health Reviews (2017) 38:27 scathing assessment of the policy reforms adopted at the behest of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Eurozone partners, the United Nations Human Rights Committee concluded that they were in violation of several human rights obligations, including the right to work, health, and social security [5, 6]
Health rights The realisation of the right to health is codified in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and expanded upon in General Comment 14 issued by the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2000 [31]
Summary
After the 2007 global financial crisis, several European countries experienced growing public debts and shrinking economic output. Greece was one of several countries that, in 2010, sought the assistance of international financial institutions to finance upcoming debt repayments. The country initially borrowed €110 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Eurozone partners under strict condition that there would be drastic curtailing of government spending. This had deleterious and potentially long-lasting public health implications. In a Stubbs and Kentikelenis Public Health Reviews (2017) 38:27 scathing assessment of the policy reforms adopted at the behest of the IMF and Eurozone partners, the United Nations Human Rights Committee concluded that they were in violation of several human rights obligations, including the right to work, health, and social security [5, 6]
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