En stort set enig NGO-front i Vesteuropa vender sig stærkt mod den amerikanske viceforsvarsminister, Paul Wolfowitz, som ny chef for Verdenbsbanken, klodens største giver af udviklingsbistand.
EUs statsledere skal drøfte Wolfowitz nominering på EU-topmødet tirsdag – over frokosten – og Verdensbankens bestyrelse (Executive Board) mødes og foretager det endelige valg den 31 marts.
Her fredagens pressemelding fra det europæiske gældsnetværk, Eurodad:
A multi-country petition to European heads of state challenging the choice of Paul Wolfowitz for World Bank president has met an unprecedented response. It has attracted 1.255 signatories from 68 countries within 30 hours.
Alex Wilks, Eurodad coordinator, commented: – The massive and rapid response to this strongly-worded petition is a sample of the anger on this issue. It will increase pressure on European governments to take a firm stance and declare their positions.
The petitioners express “strong concern about the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz for the World Bank president position” and call on European governments to “take action to reject the current nominee and press for other candidates”.
The petition is being transmitted by campaigners in different countries. Organisational signatories to the petition include organisations and individuals such as:
Christian Aid, the Spanish Platform of Development NGOs, Friends of the Earth. Individuals signing include many prominent academics such as Professors Jan Aart Scholte and Robert Chambers, as well as Jesse Jackson and a number of World Bank staff members.
The current signatory list, and French and Spanish versions of the text, can be seen at: www.eurodad.org. Signatures are still arriving at the rate of over one a minute and more will be added on an ongoing basis.
Contacts:
Alex Wilks, Eurodad. Tel: 0032 4 985 494 82
Hetty Kovach, Eurodad. Tel: 0032 4 942 396 57
Jeff Powell, Bretton Woods Project. Tel: 0044 7817184435
PUBLIC STATEMENT to European heads of state on the World Bank president nomination
WE the undersigned wish to register our strong concern about the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz for the World Bank president position.
1) We consider Mr Wolfowitz experience as US ambassador to Indonesia during the Suharto government insufficient qualification on development issues and economics.
2) We fear his appointment risks the Bank becoming seen as a tool of the current controversial US foreign policy, with aid flows becoming more dependent on strict adherence to US Administration priorities.
3) We reject the untransparent and undemocratic process by which one government nominates a single candidate for Bank president.
4) We call on European governments to challenge the current World Bank process and also to commit to a fully open process next time the IMF Managing Director is appointed.
5) We urge European governments to follow the precedent set by the USA in 2000 when it rejected a European candidate for the IMF position. European governments, if they act collectively, represent the largest shareholder block in the Bank. You can take action to reject the current nominee and press for other candidates.
6) We call on all European governments to clearly and publicly state their position on this matter as a matter of urgency.
A challenge to the nomination would be in line with international democratic norms and many European government policy statements. Who runs the World Bank is a vital question which affects the future of international efforts towards poverty eradication.
For frequent independent updates on the World Bank presidency issue see: www.worldbankpresident.org
