PRESS RELEASE: 18th March, 2025, Kathmandu, Nepal
The International People’s Tribunal vs. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)and World Bank (WB) concluded its third hearing with demands to stop the IMF and World Bank’s harmful policies. The two-day tribunal session on March 15-16 heard witnesses testifying to decades of destruction by these institutions and called for their dismantling.
Ten accusations against the World Bank included violations of human rights to basic services such as education, due to its promotion of privatization; prioritizing corporate, profit-driven interests over people; imposing austerity and economic loan conditions on governments; fueling the climate crisis by supporting by lending for fossil fuel projects; deepening inequality and creating greater debt burdens for the Global South.
Prosecutors and witnesses from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Indonesia called the IMF and World Bank to account for these charges. However, the IMF and World Bank failed to appear despite previous notification.
More than 300 movement leaders, human rights activists, peasants, trade unions, legal practitioners, climate justice activists, grassroots community leaders and youth representatives from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia gathered for the People’s Tribunal.
The People’s Tribunal against the IMF and World Bank is the third session after the Peoples’ Tribunal in Manila, Philippines and Kolkata, India. The Tribunal in Kathmandu was adjudicated by the panel of judge’s Dr. Bela Bhatia, India, Human Right Activist, Dr. Ravi Sharma Aryal, Nepal, Former Judge of the High Court, Nepal, Dr. Amali Chamindika Wedagedara, Sri Lanka, human rights activist, Mohammad Shahjahan Siddiqui, Bangladesh, Legal Economist, Advocate Haider Ali Butt, Pakistan and Mohna Ansari, Nepal, Former Member, Human right Commission, Nepal and international panel of judges who joined virtually.
Before the two-day People’s Tribunal, more than 200 people marched to the World Bank, Nepal office and movement leaders from the region handed a “Letter of Demand against International Monetary Fund/ World Bank” to the World Bank administrative officer in Kathmandu, Nepal.
International People’s Tribunal vs. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) is a process initiated by the grassroots movements, trade unions, peasants, women groups, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from the region led by Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) on its 80th year of debt and destruction. The jury gave their key observations, stating that the IMF and World Bank’s imposition of neoliberal policies of privatization and trade liberalization that violate rights, deepen inequality, promote false solutions, perpetuate the climate crisis and drive corporate profits. Their policies and loan conditionalities have disproportionately harmed women and marginalized communities in the Global South.
The final verdict of the International People’s Tribunal vs. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) of the Kathmandu Hub along with Peoples’ Tribunal in Manila, Philippines and Kolkata, India will be announced during the annual meetings of these institutions in Washington D.C. USA, in October 2025.
For Further Information:
Prayash Adhikari : 9848415263
Palistha Tuladhar : 9843816220
