africa: Rich Nations Continue to Wield Power in Global Bodies

From the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the United Nations, to Interpol and the World Health Organisation (WHO), dozens of international agencies now work to regulate world trade, telecommunications, transportation, labour, business, health and the environment, among other issues. In almost all of those bodies, poor and powerless nations, like Somalia and Afghanistan, are under-represented while the rich and powerful, like Britain and the United States, operate with almost unchecked authority and overwhelming power. Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are impatient to see real change.