The World Bank contributes to the realization of human rights in different areas, e.g., improving poor people's access to health, education, food and water; promoting the participation of indigenous peoples in decision-making and the accountability of governments to their citizens; supporting justice reforms, fighting corruption and increasing transparency of governments. A program has been launched to develop a more informed view among Bank staff on how human rights relates to the Bank’s core work and mission of promoting economic growth and poverty reduction, and is being supported by a $20 million multi-year and multi donor Nordic Trust Fund. This internal knowledge and learning program will support activities that - capture and make available knowledge about how human rights relate to the Bank’s analytical sector/thematic work,
- capture and make available knowledge about how human rights relate to the Bank’s operational work including strategy, planning and implementation and,
- increase awareness among staff and management of how the Bank’s work and human rights are related and how human rights aspects can be applied to the Bank’s work.
The Nordic Trust Fund [NTF] The $20 million NTF has been established with agreed contributions from Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. On this page
Background - Activities - Monitoring and evaluation
Partnerships - Development and Human Rights Background The program responds to the need for better internal knowledge and learning for Bank staff and management to equip them to better understand how human rights relate to their work. The program is intended to respond to three types of knowledge and learning needs within the World Bank Group: - Analytic. In the international community, the debate about the relationship between economic development and human rights is intensifying and broadening, and many actors argue that the two are directly linked. Bank staff and Management should have an up-to-date basic understanding of the main features of the debate and of research in this area and how it relates to their work.
- Operational. Many Bank-supported programs use or overlap with international human rights standards and definitions, but they often do so without reference to the formal framework of human rights as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, other internationally agreed human rights treaties, or specific commitments made at regional and country level. Enhanced understanding among operational staff and Management of how human rights relate to their work is needed.
- Staff demand for knowledge and learning. Bank staff are keenly interested in learning more about human rights. A recent survey revealed that overall, staff view human rights positively and think that they often deal with human-rights-related topics in their work, but have little knowledge about formal and institutional human rights frameworks and their role in the development process. The program would develop staff training modules to raise staff awareness of and build their skills in this area.
Activities Activities under the program will focus on support to World Bank teams in their work on operational or analytical tasks. They must have a clear link to human rights and strong knowledge and learning potential for a broader Bank audience. The program would not support activities that fall outside of the Bank’s mandate or are prohibited by the Bank’s Articles of Agreement. While the program is primarily a Bank-internal 'learning by doing' process based on pilot projects, it can also involve activities in countries based on the expressed interest and full endorsement from client government[s]. Monitoring and evaluation This work will be guided by a Steering Committee comprised of Senior Management and chaired by the Vice-President, OPCS. A framework for monitoring and evaluation will be developed for reporting to the Steering Committee and donors on activities and progress in achieving the stated objectives. A working level Advisory Committee and a Secretariat will be responsible for day-to-day work. Partnerships The NTF will encourage collaboration and partnerships with other organizations. Outreach, through dialogue and information exchange, will help to ensure that NTF activities: (i) draw on the human rights expertise of other agencies; (ii) respect the specificity of roles and functions of organizations and the division of labor between them, while seeking to identify the possibility of workable areas of collaboration; and (iii) provide an avenue for the Bank to lend its expertise and better define its own areas of comparative advantage in human rights considerations. Development and Human Rights There is emerging recognition of the importance of human rights to development cooperation at the international level, and the Accra Agenda for Action notes that “[g]ender equality, respect for human rights and environmental sustainability are cornerstones for achieving enduring impact on the lives and potential of poor women, men and children. It is vital that all our policies address these issues in a more systematic and coherent way.” In Accra, developing countries and donors agreed to “ensure that their respective development policies and programs are designed and implemented in ways consistent with their agreed international commitments on gender equality, human rights, disability and environmental sustainability.” A number of core principles that may guide development can be derived from international, regional or domestic human rights instruments. These include participation, accountability, non-discrimination and transparency. Incorporating a human rights perspective entails examining the conditions of different groups, securing accountability for development processes and outcomes and ensuring the inclusion and empowerment of groups affected by development, particularly those who are marginalized, excluded or discriminated against. For more information contact Gchopra@worldbank.org. | 
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