"International Financial Institutions’ responsibility to ensure Meaningful and Effective Participation", 14 Jul 2016

[The petition signed by over 150 NGOs states that] in many countries where international financial institutions (IFIs) are investing, [human] rights are under attack, from violent crackdowns on protests and criminalization of speech, to arbitrary arrests and detention of human rights defenders, as well as restrictions on civil society organizations...[The petition recalls that] Global Witness identified 2015 as the worst year on record for killings of land and environmental defenders, with 185 killings across 16 countries...[The petition maintains that] in all their activities, IFIs should do everything within their powers to support an enabling environment for public participation, in which people are empowered to engage in crafting their own development agendas and in holding their governments, donors, businesses, and other actors to account. [The petition calls upon] IFIs to actively support the realization of rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, and related human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR), in all their activities. 

The statement [can be signed and is available in] English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Russian, [and] Portuguese.