Accountability Counsel amplifies the voices of communities around the world to protect their human rights and environment. As advocates for people harmed by internationally financed projects, we employ community driven and policy level strategies to access justice.
Impact
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Communities Supported50
Our impact includes redesigned projects that now reflect community needs, harm stopped and prevented to defend water resources, and agreements resulting in compensation.
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Policy Influenced66
We advocate for the world's 66 accountability offices to be independent, transparent, fair, and effective. We have improved policy and practice at development institutions, U.N. agencies, and within the OECD.
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Complaints Tracked1,258
We created and run the Accountability Console, a comprehensive database of community complaints filed with independent accountability mechanisms about the impacts of internationally financed projects.
News
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24 September, 2020Amplifying Community Expertise
Making sure that communities have the technical support they need to defend their rights is a fundamental component of Accountability Counsel’s work. We share two videos, created in collaboration with our partners at True Costs Initiative, which highlight the important and ongoing work of incorporating cultural knowledge and local expertise in concepts of science and technical expertise to further human and environmental rights. -
24 September, 2020IDB Safeguards Review Leads to Enhanced Accountability
The Inter-American Development Bank recently concluded a review of the environmental and social safeguards that regulate its public-sector financing activities. Among the many changes to the Environmental and Social Policy Framework are notable improvements that will enhance the bank’s accountability to local communities affected by its financing activities. -
23 September, 2020African Development Bank Launches Public Consultation on its Independent Review Mechanism
The board of directors for the African Development Bank recently announced the first public consultation period for the review of the AfDB’s accountability office, the Independent Review Mechanism. Accountability Counsel will work with partners on the African continent and around the world to submit recommendations during the consultation to ensure that the IRM is an effective accountability tool for communities affected by AfDB financing. -
22 September, 2020To reduce climate change learning curve, philanthropists lean on collaboratives
Philanthropists and impact investors who “intend to do good” with their money often have “a blind spot” because they fail to consider “the potential negative consequences in a real way,” said Natalie Bridgeman Fields, founder and executive director of Accountability Counsel. -
22 September, 2020Ukrainian Communities Support Recommendations for Strengthened IFC Accountability
The people most directly affected by the eventual outcomes of the external review of environmental and social accountability at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are the people on the ground: the communities whose health, livelihoods and environment are exposed to the risks and impacts of the projects in which the…
