Blog

Nearly a quarter of all complaints filed to accountability offices raise issues related to displacement. We explore examples of how community complaints raising displacement issues are addressed through IAM processes, and the different outcomes and challenges communities face as a result of IAM processes.

As the world focuses on how to reorient economies away from fossil fuels and toward solutions, there is a welcome, new focus on centering communities in climate solutions.

We are deeply concerned by the statement released by the government of Uganda last Friday announcing the suspension of 54 civil society organizations. The suspension order by the National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organisations affects organizations including environmental, human rights, religious and electoral advocacy groups. This move is the latest escalation in a rapidly worsening environment for civil society actors in Uganda over the past year.

This month, Accountability Counsel provided feedback to the European Investment Bank (EIB) as part of its public consultation process to review the Bank’s draft Environmental and Social Sustainability Framework (ESSF). Our concerns and recommendations to improve the draft ESSF were grounded in our support to communities in Nepal who have waged a long struggle for an EIB funded transmission line to respect their rights.

What are “unknown complaints,” and why are there so many of them? Research Associate Marisa Lenci explores why over two hundred complaints appear to have almost no information associated with them, where they come from, and what they mean for transparency and accountability.

Last year, Accountability Counsel reviewed the first set of disclosures from investors who signed onto the Operating Principles for Impact Investment to see who reported having an accountability mechanism to measure unintended investment impact. We’ve undertaken that analysis again this year and see an increase in the number of Signatories…

Over the past over 25 years, the options for communities seeking accountability and redress for negative impacts from internationally financed projects outside of the judicial system have steadily increased. There are now dozens of non-judicial grievance mechanisms housed at the institutions that finance these projects, and the number of these…

In July 2021, the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) adopted guidelines for how the Board responds to findings of its accountability office, the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM). By clarifying how the GCF Board engages with IRM findings, the guidelines affirm the importance of Board responsiveness and transparency in managing environmental and social issues.

This month, Accountability Counsel and partners published a civil society response to an evaluation of the Inter-American Development Bank’s independent accountability mechanism, the Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI). Our response focuses on how to best implement the evaluation’s recommendations so that communities harmed by IDB Group projects have an effective way to seek justice.

Community members in Kawaala Zone II in Kampala, Uganda have filed a complaint to the World Bank’s Inspection Panel following attempts to evict them from their homes and farmland without adequate compensation to make way for the Lubigi drainage channel expansion.

The International Finance Corporation’s and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency’s accountability mechanism, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, has a new policy that governs its process for addressing complaints from communities alleging harms caused by IFC and MIGA projects. The new policy is the first major outcome of a nearly year-long process to…

To support communities through the complaint process and as an ongoing knowledge sharing effort, the Accountability Console hosts information on all IAMs in a searchable database that links to complaints filed, IAM policy documents, projects about which complaints are filed, and other relevant information that communities and their advocates can use.

Milostène Castin has dedicated his life to the protection of smallholder Haitian farmers from exclusion, marginalization, and abuse. He was instrumental in bringing the concerns of hundreds of families displaced by the Caracol Industrial Park to international attention, supporting them to successfully demand remedy for the harm they experienced.

An analysis of complaints filed to all IAMs shows how even well-designed projects intending to alleviate poverty can lead to adverse impacts on the environment, biodiversity, access to water, and increased pollution. A critical way to understand and address unintended environmental harms is to hear from communities living near and working at project sites.

The Inter-American Development Bank’s Office of Evaluation recently published its evaluation report of the Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism, the bank’s independent accountability mechanism.

Part 1 of a series exploring the issues raised in community-driven complaints to Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs) as captured on the Console, with analysis of how to understand, interpret, and compare the data.

KATHMANDU, 23 April 2021 – Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Nepal are celebrating a hard-fought victory following a landmark investigation published yesterday, which found that the European Investment Bank (EIB) must take urgent steps to uphold their right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) in its funding of…

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development (UNSR), Mr. Saad Alfarargi, is currently preparing his 2021 report to the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council on the theme of Climate change-related policies and projects from a right to development perspective. Accountability Counsel has contributed to this forthcoming report by submitting a comment letter that highlights the important nexus between climate investment, accountability, and the right to development, and discusses how to ensure that projects aimed at fighting the climate crisis do not negatively impact vulnerable communities.

Why are investment flows in the Middle East and North Africa not being matched with commensurate community complaints? And what does this tell us about communities’ ability to access remedy in these “dark spots”?  

Understanding how policies and operating procedures vary at different IAMs is a critical component of accessing the mechanisms for communities, and of informing advocacy for best practices at IAMs. The IAM Benchmark Report feature allows users to view and compare policies across mechanisms, and provides insights into how particular policies influence complaint outcomes.