A/HRC/36/40 • A vision for sustainable development, which sets out the Bank’s aspirations regarding environmental and social sustainability; • An environmental and social policy for project financing, setting out mandatory requirements for projects it supports; • Ten environmental and social standards, setting out mandatory requirements for borrowers and projects. 13. The vision statement of the new Environmental and Social Framework formulates a strategy that “sets out the corporate goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity in all its partner countries”, including goals relevant to human rights, such as environmental sustainability, social inclusion and the preservation of resources. Within the Framework, 10 environmental and social standards, which are designed to support borrowers’ projects, focus on: (a) social risks and impacts; (b) labour and working conditions; (c) pollution prevention; (d) health and safety; (e) land acquisition, land use and involuntary resettlement; (f) sustainable management of living natural resources; (g) indigenous peoples; (h) cultural heritage; (i) financial intermediaries; and (j) stakeholder engagement and information disclosure. 14. The vision goes beyond “do no harm” and aims at maximizing development gains. Thus, where the borrower’s environmental and social assessment has identified potential development opportunities associated with a project, the Bank will discuss with the borrower the feasibility of incorporating those opportunities into the project. Moreover, the Bank is committed to work with borrowers to identify strategic initiatives and goals to address national development priorities and maintain dialogue on environmental and social issues with donor governments, international organizations, countries of operation and civil society. 15. There is no shortage of opinions about the impact of the World Bank on the international order. Some observers contend that the Bank and IMF have a greater impact on world affairs than all the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council combined. While the supremacy clause in Article 103 of the Charter of the United Nations stipulates that the Charter shall prevail over all other international agreements, the fact is that the Bretton Woods institutions are not subordinated to the General Assembly and the Security Council and that they will continue to have a determining effect on world affairs, including the enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. 16. Many in academia have been studying the impact of World Bank policies on human rights and the international order. Already in 2003 the Tilburg Guiding Principles on World Bank, IMF and Human Rights were adopted.9 A follow-up conference at the University of Tilburg, in the Netherlands, entitled “Globalization and Transnational Human Rights Obligations”, led to the adoption of the Tilburg-Glothro Guiding Principles in 2015 (see annex 3). Similarly, in 2009, the Indian Law Resource Centre issued the “Principles of International Law for Multinational Development Banks”, 10 in which scholars refuted the argument that the international financial institutions are somehow above the law and that they only have to honour their charters and constitutions. 17. Whereas the Bank has the word “development” in its name, the question must be answered what development means for the purposes of the Articles of Agreement. Hitherto, both in doctrine and in practice, the Bank has understood development to mean growth in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), increased trade and greater consumption. Observers have been proposing a different understanding of “development”, as a more equitable distribution of wealth, food security, clean water, sanitation, health care, housing, 9 10 See Willem van Genugten, The World Bank Group, the IMF and Human Rights: A Contextualized Way Forward (Cambridge, Intersentia, 2015). See http://scholar.law.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=free-prior-andinformed-consent. See also Günther Handl, “Multilateral Development Banking”, available from www.meraki-autoworks.com/multilateral-development-banking-environmental-principles-andconcepts-reflecting-general-international.pdf. 5