ABSTRACT
Like the World Trade Organization (WTO), both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are international organisations constituted by member States. All three institutions have an economic focus, which in turn has a substantial effect on the realisation of human rights. However, the similarities with the WTO end there. In contrast to the role of the WTO as a forum for the formulation, interpretation and enforcement of international trade law, the World Bank and the IMF are independently active in the global economic sphere. Within the bounds of their respective organisational mandates, the World Bank and the IMF are direct actors in development and economic policy, rather than mere keepers of the law. An analysis of their respective roles and responsibilities with regard to human rights will therefore be quite different to the consideration of the WTO in the previous chapter.
