We are hereby putting the IMF and World Bank on trial for their crimes against life on earth. Operating on behalf of the predatory financial vultures, these institutions have imposed policies in our countries that have enriched a few elites while subjecting vast numbers of our people to a life of perpetual misery. Today, they are making a shameful bid to capitalize on the climate disasters, economic crisis and war-induced shocks to ensure exorbitant profits for the rich. We, the People of the World, affirm that life and dignity of all people is sacred. We reject the notion that life can be banked on and hedged, or that we owe debt to those who have exploited our people and plundered our lands.
We believe these institutions must be held accountable for their actions. We collectively assert the promise that justice will be done; reparations must be paid by those who have looted the land and labor of our people. At a time when the combination of climate catastrophe, economic meltdown, and food scarcity threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions, dismantling this failed financial architecture is the only practical option available to humanity. We call upon citizens of the world to join this global and necessary fight, as the stakes of our struggle could not be higher.
This Peoples’ Trial against the IMF and World Bank is being held by the For People, For Planet Coalition, which is holding a series of actions outside of the World Bank-IMF annual meetings in Washington DC. The groups planning this particular event include ShutDown DC, CODEPINK, Debt for Climate, Extinction Rebellion and Democratic Socialists of America.
