IIsrael will become a new member of the Asian Development Bank, which finances social and economic development projects across Asia—a region where many countries (and ADB members) have been outspoken in their criticism of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, and others they do not even recognize the sovereignty of Israel.
In the corridors of the ADB headquarters in Manila, there have been whispers for months about the plan to welcome the 69th member of the institution, which may become official in the coming days, according to several sources.
Israel’s application process is “ongoing,” an ADB spokesperson tells TIME, and “a decision will be announced once the process is complete.”
“Israel completed the requirements for ADB membership in early September and is looking forward to officially joining the Bank,” Ohad Niepris, a spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Finance, told TIME on Thursday.
Four ADB staffers who spoke to TIME on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals said concerns had spread among staff in recent months about Israel’s entry into the ADB, which was first approved in April 2022.
Since then, the ADB has granted at least two extensions to Israel to meet membership requirements, according to interviews and public records reviewed by TIME, including an extension that came after Oct. 7. 2023, despite growing international concern about Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which has repeatedly been criticized by the United Nations and others due to the high number of deaths and alleged human rights abuses.
These deadline extensions were “requested and approved for technical reasons,” said Niepris, the Israeli spokesman, adding: “Such deadline extensions are a common practice in international organizations, especially given that these procedures require multi-factorial legal and governmental procedures. those involved.”
“Many of us did not know about this last expansion of Israel,” one ADB employee told TIME. “So that shocked us a little when we thought that Israel, while committing this unjustified violence against the Palestinian people, was accepted as a member of the Asian Development Bank. I think it just comes off as a bit of a no-brainer, the time and the occasion.”
Israel has spent the last few years trying to join the ADB, as part of its plan to expand its footprint in Asia. It brings expertise in water management, which it has shared for years with institutions such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, among other resources at the institution.
“It didn’t really surprise me from a development perspective,” Jianzhi Zhao, associate professor of international development and public policy at the University of Exeter, tells TIME about Israel’s prospective ADB membership, describing it as a “win-win situation” for Israel. and ADB.
Since 2017, representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Finance have been attending ADB’s annual meeting of the Board of Governors—the bank’s highest policy-making body—as observers; in 2019, the then Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon met with his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire in Bercy and returned with what he said was a promise of French support for Israel to join the ADB.
Those efforts came to fruition in 2022, when Israel was allowed to join the ADB, according to a decision by the Board of Governors, which includes one representative from each member nation.
ADB did not respond to specific questions from TIME for this story but said in a statement that “new membership in the bank is determined in accordance with Article 3 of the Agreement Establishing the Asian Development Bank.” Referring to the same document, Niepris, the Israeli spokesman, said: “ADB—like all MDBs. [multilateral development banks]—is a political institution as stated in its constitution and therefore banking activities are guided by economic considerations only.”
To complete their ascension to ADB, prospective members must meet requirements, including implementing certain administrative measures and paying subscriptions to shares of ADB’s capital stock.
For undisclosed reasons, Israel missed that deadline of December 31, 2022. According to publicly available meeting minutes, Israel was given a December 2022 deadline by the ADB Board of Directors, 12 directors elected by the Executives and each representing several members. countries.
In May 2023, Israel’s finance ministry announced that the country was “on track to join” the ADB. But Israel apparently missed the deadline again: According to the minutes of the meeting, the Board of Directors recorded its approval for Israel to be granted a second extension of its membership until December 2023—two months after Israel began its military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas. ‘ October 7 attack.
It remains unclear to what extent the directors communicate with the member governments they represent—including several countries that do not recognize Israel, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Brunei.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met with Hamas leaders in May and condemned “the brutality of the Zionist regime.” The Pakistani government has called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “terrorist”. And Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world and a long-term supporter of Palestinian rights, has also constantly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 7. In these three countries alone, according to the ADB website, the bank has hundreds of projects that are active or approved.
Sources tell TIME that it is not uncommon for prospective members of multinational banks to miss such deadlines. But while Israel’s first deadline extension may have been due to more administrative considerations, Zhao said, the second extension—given after the outbreak of war in Gaza—cannot be interpreted without including “international reputation or international politics in decision-making.” ”
“Because after all,” said Zhao, “the development banks of many countries [are] place of multilateral diplomacy.”
ADB, on the other hand, maintains that it is “non-political” as an institution. Its employee code of conduct states that while “employees may exercise their political rights,” they should “avoid engaging in political activities that may interfere with or conflict with their duties or status as ADB employees.” They are also prohibited from engaging in the publication of documents related to “any national political questions.”
In the past, the bank has been criticized for not paying enough attention to human rights in its operations. In May, as the ADB held its 57th Annual Meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, a network of NGOs accused the bank of not adequately protecting the environmental and social impact of its projects, which activists have argued are shrinking public spaces and oppressing communities across the board. member countries, from Georgia to Vietnam to Bangladesh.
However, ADB has in the past noted human rights concerns about sanctions against countries. In 2021, it suspended the issuance of private project funds and new contracts in Myanmar after the country’s military seized power in a coup; that same year, it suspended its regular aid to Afghanistan when the Taliban took over the country; it also halted its work on a cross-border gas pipeline project that would have passed through Afghanistan, saying it would wait until the Taliban-led authorities gained international recognition.
For some of the bank’s employees, it is unclear why Israel’s actions in the past year have not resulted in similar sanctions. Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories have been found by the International Court of Justice to violate international law, while Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant from the International Court of Justice for alleged war crimes.
“Obviously there is contradiction and hypocrisy in this move, because ADB has strict policies in partner countries,” said an ADB official from Israel who was allowed to join. “Accepting a member who clearly violates international law seems hypocritical of the institution.”
Niepris, Israel’s spokesperson, said Israel “strongly believes in the power of institutions to bring countries and people together to achieve shared goals” and that it “looks forward to working with all ADB members and staff to advance the bank’s mandate to promote sustainable development and eradicate poverty.” which extended throughout Asia and the Pacific.”
But while the impact of Israel’s addition to ADB remains to be seen, some staff are already worried about what it will mean for their jobs at the bank and the bank’s wider reputation.
Israel’s membership “could have an impact on how ADB is perceived in other countries where we operate,” an ADB official said. “The idea that ADB is an Asian institution that meets the needs of the countries of Asia and the Pacific is slightly tarnished by this decision.”
Source link
