Stubbs Thomas, Kentikelenis Alexander
1Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
2Department of Politics & International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK.
Public Health Rev. 2017 Nov 30;38:27. doi: 10.1186/s40985-017-0074-3. eCollection 2017.
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.
作为向公共债务水平难以为继的国家提供最后贷款人的角色，国际金融机构在过去几十年里引发了激烈争议，最近几轮紧缩措施后欧元区国家民众表达的不满就是例证。作为获得金融援助的交换条件，借款国必须就一系列往往痛苦的政策改革达成一致，这些改革旨在平衡预算。这种做法使国际金融机构在全球各国政府以及与人权直接相关的广泛政策领域拥有了巨大的政策影响力。本文回顾了国际金融机构强制推行的政策改革对人权享受的影响，重点关注国际货币基金组织和世界银行。研究发现，这些改革破坏了健康权、劳动权以及公民权利和政治权利的享受，所有这些都对公共卫生产生有害影响。有证据表明，要实现人权承诺，国际金融机构的活动必须进行根本性的重新定位。
