When the Sacred Is Bulldozed: Why Recognition of Cultural Heritage Harm Rarely Leads to Repair

Across IAMs, cultural heritage harm is often acknowledged but rarely repaired. This piece explores three cases, along with Console data, that illustrate this pattern — and what it will take to change it.

International financial institutions (IFIs) have enacted safeguard policies to protect cultural heritage in their operations. But when their accountability systems identify that harm to cultural heritage has occurred, the institutions rarely respond by delivering repair. These lapses reflect a key deficiency in the accountability system: cultural loss is often reduced to a procedural issue, with consultation mistaken for justice and action plans for remedy.

This piece draws on Accountability Console data and three emblematic case studies to show how institutions acknowledge cultural harm but routinely fail to remedy it.

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