– Recalling the 2003 Tilburg Guiding Principles on World Bank, IMF and Human Rights, drafted by a group of experts, meeting at Tilburg University, The Netherlands, in October 2001 and April 2002 ('2003 Tilburg Guiding Principles’);

– Considering the significant overlap between substantive areas covered by international human rights law and the work of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on, inter alia, improving poor people's access to work, health, education, food and water; promoting the participation of indigenous peoples in decision-making; holding state governments accountable to those under their jurisdiction; and supporting justice reforms;

– Recalling that creating the conditions for the realization of human rights is a central goal of human development and a responsibility of all States under, inter alia, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

– Reaffirming the WBGs and IMFs own policy statements, recognizing, albeit in different ways, the growing need to address human rights in a more explicit fashion;

– Emphasizing the self-proclaimed role of the WBG and the IMF to support their Member States in fulfilling their human rights obligations while carrying out the policies, projects and programs of both international financial institutions (IFIs);

– Reviewing the human rights obligations and responsibilities of the WBG and the IMF in light of developments in the domain of international human rights law over the last decade.