Rethinking the Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Human Rights Violations in West Africa

Abstract

In this article I argue that the worsening human rights situation of West Africa in the early 1990s was largely the creation of the structural adjustment policies (SAP) of the IME/World Bank. The austerity measures implemented through SAP plunged the region into hardship, forcing the population to demand better living conditions through public demonstrations and protests. Attempts by the West African states to contain protesters led to further human rights abuses. The implementation of a common liberalization policy across board without taking into account the specificities of each country was counterproductive. In fact, some of the excesses recorded could have been avoided if SAPs had been country specific and human rights-based.