A/HRC/36/40 Governors to strengthen World Bank governance and accountability through enhanced and facilitated access to justice when abuses occur. The Bank is in a position to give effect to its commitment to end poverty and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals ahead of 2030. There is reason for optimism, since the Bank is conscious of the problems, has a formidable staff and benefits from the input of civil society organizations that do not cease producing excellent studies, diagnoses and pragmatic recommendations. 83. Bearing in mind that multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, receive large injections of public money, their biased approach in support of the private sector in developed and developing countries must be transformed into a human rightsbased approach that carefully weighs the needs of the populations concerned. 84. The Independent Expert believes that a fundamental rethink is necessary and should result in an explicit definition of new priorities that puts the interests of billions of human beings who are deprived of the necessities of life ahead of those of foreign investors. The rules of the game must be changed so that loans are not granted on purely economic considerations and that the loan “conditionalities” henceforth aim at advancing the wellbeing of the populations concerned. The Independent Expert admires the impressive rhetoric and the beautiful publications of the World Bank and suggests that fewer resources should be devoted to public relations and the packaging of the product, and much more to risk-assessment, monitoring and implementation. 85. To that end, the Independent Expert proposes a change of paradigm that would require not only amending the Articles of Agreement of 1944 (adopted at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and last amended on 16 February 1989), but also clear directives from the Board of Governors. Pursuant to article V, section 8 (a) of the Articles of Agreement, the Bank should cooperate with international organizations having specialized responsibilities in related fields, including the Economic and Social Council and UNCTAD, which have proposed plans of action to advance development and human rights. 114 86. At present, article IV, section 10, of the Articles of Agreement could be interpreted as an obstacle to that paradigm change. That obsolete provision stipulates that “the Bank and its officers shall not interfere in the political affairs of any member; nor shall they be influenced in their decisions by the political character of the member or members concerned”. However, there is no reason to consider the promotion of human rights and environmental protection to fall under the scope of the prohibited “political activity” of the Bank. Indeed, all States parties to the World Bank Agreement are also United Nations members and all are bound by the Charter of the United Nations and numerous human rights treaties. 87. Of relevance is the Agreement between the United Nations and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which came into force on 15 November 1947, and its Protocol, signed at New York on 15 April 1948, which came into force on 1 July 1948. Pursuant to article IV of the agreement, the United Nations and the Bank shall consult and exchange views on matters of mutual interest. Formal recommendations may be made after such consultation. Moreover, “the Bank recognizes that the United Nations and its organs may appropriately make recommendations with respect to the technical aspects of reconstruction or development plans, programmes or projects”. Article VIII specifically authorizes the Bank “to request advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice on any legal questions arising within the scope of the Bank’s activities”. Hence, it would be appropriate to make better use of the Articles of Agreement so as to effectively coordinate the work of the United Nations and the Bank in a manner that will advance implementation of United Nations human rights, development and environmental commitments. In particular, the Bank should request an advisory opinion on the overall priority of human rights treaties over commercial and other arrangements and how best to integrate customary human rights norms into the Bank’s loan conditionalities. 114 20 See World Bank, “Coherence, coordination and cooperation among multilateral organizations: 2009 progress report” (2009). Available from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/589571468339611391/pdf/484000BR0SecM2101Official 0Use0Only1.pdf.