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
-
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.
-
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.
-
Complaints Tracked1,604
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
-
21 October, 2021Talking Accountability at the 2021 SOCAP Conference
Let’s zoom out a moment. Decisions about the rights and resources of local people continue to be made by officials and executives in world capitals, depriving communities of the agency and dignity they deserve. For farmers we have supported around the world, including the farmer pictured below in Liberia, a… -
20 October, 2021World Bank Accountability Mechanism Publishes Interim Procedures for Dispute Resolution
On October 13, 2021, the World Bank Accountability Mechanism issued Interim Operating Procedures for its new dispute resolution function, called the Dispute Resolution Service. The publication of procedures provides greater predictability to communities who avail themselves of the Accountability Mechanism to seek redress for environmental and social harm. A dispute… -
19 October, 2021As the Second Annual Finance in Common Convenes to Discuss the Future of Agribusiness, Banks Must Confront a History of Environmental and Social Harm
Public development banks are convening once again to discuss ways to “transform development finance” and meet the challenges of climate change and worsening global economic and social disparities. Building on the commitments of last year’s inaugural Finance in Common (FiC) Summit and a joint statement by several Latin American, African, and Asian banks focused on agriculture, this year’s FiC Summit will focus on the themes of agriculture, food security, and agribusiness. To make progress on sustainable agricultural solutions, FiC institutions must confront the history and ongoing status of agricultural investments causing harm to earnestly consider risk categorizations, and they must commit to building the necessary accountability frameworks to underpin new sustainability commitments. -
14 October, 2021Incorporating Accountability Counsel Feedback, Reporting on Effective Grievance Redress is Now a Feature of the Global Reporting Initiative’s Universal Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has released its updated Universal Standards for disclosure of sustainability impacts across business sectors. By reflecting principles of responsible business conduct and human rights due diligence as outlined by the OECD and the UN, the GRI Standards now include crucial stakeholder engagement and grievance redress disclosures for institutions that seek to contribute to sustainable development. Community stakeholders can look to the standards to understand sustainability reporting expectations, and they can utilize disclosures under the standards to assess how they have been or could be affected by organizational activities. -
13 October, 2021IAMs and CSOs Address COVID-19’s Impact on Communities’ Access to Justice
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges in all aspects and sectors of life, including in the handling of complaints of harm caused by internationally financed projects. Last month, representatives from 50 civil society organizations, including many members of the International Advocates’ Working Group, and the independent accountability mechanisms of 19 development finance institutions gathered for a virtual roundtable to discuss how to address these challenges as part of the 18th Annual Meeting of the Independent Accountability Mechanism Network.
