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The second week of November 2020 marks the first ever convention of “public development banks” concerned with the health and economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as with achieving sustainable development objectives. Called the Finance in Common Summit, the event is intended to coalesce the agendas of banks, governments, and other stakeholders to prioritize sustainable recovery measures and push finance toward a “future we want.” But who is included amongst “we”?

The World Bank Group is about to hire its first Accountability Mechanism Secretary to lead the new Accountability Mechanism, which was recently created as an outcome of reforms to the World Bank Inspection Panel.  It is critical that the Bank select someone who has (1) a demonstrated commitment to and experience with respecting communities’ rights and agency; (2) a demonstrated commitment to ensuring the independence of the Accountability Mechanism and Inspection Panel; and (3) prior dispute resolution experience; as well as (4) someone who embodies the World Bank’s commitment to diversity.

With the release of impact management that seek to align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), early October 2020 may very well be seen as a positive inflection point for accountability in private sector impact management. Recognizing the critical importance of hearing from communities impacted by investments, the new standards place an expectation on private equity funds in the impact investing space to demonstrate good governance and management through the availability and use of effective grievance mechanisms  

KATHMANDU, 8 October 2020 – Today, Indigenous communities affected by the 220 kV Marsyangdi Corridor transmission line in Nepal call on their government and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to seek their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) in accordance with a protocol they are releasing detailing the FPIC process.…

Gotu, Isiolo County Last week, I met with representatives from organizations in Northern Kenya that are working with communities to protect their land, natural resources, culture, and pastoral rights. Those organizations – from Isiolo, Marsabit, Garissa, Wajir – had expressed interest in learning more about using Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs)…

Last week, Accountability Counsel and 22 civil society organizations joined independent accountability mechanism representatives from 17 development finance institutions for a multifaceted and deep discussion of complaint eligibility issues that can hinder community access to justice. The International Advocates Working Group and the Independent Accountability Mechanisms Network coordinated the virtual roundtable event.

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.

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.

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.

The final report of the external review of environmental and social accountability at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) makes critical recommendations to enhance the transparency and sustainability of the IFC’s financial intermediary (FI) portfolio. The IFC invests billions of dollars into FI clients such as commercial banks, private equity funds…

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…

The process for replacing the Vice President of the International Financial Corporation’s (IFC) accountability office, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), is well underway, and the stakes for selecting the right candidate for the job have perhaps never been higher. At all times, the head of the CAO needs to be…

Accountability Counsel has joined with over 40 organizations to comment on the final report of an external review of environmental and social accountability at the International Finance Corporation and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which included an examination of their independent accountability mechanism, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman.

It has been nearly two years since Congress passed legislation to transform the U.S. government’s approach to development finance through the creation of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Last week, DFC’s board of directors took an important step in fulfilling a key Congressional mandate by officially establishing an…

Accountability Counsel, together with our case partners, PAJHRA, PAD and Nazdeek, made a submission to the World Bank Board of Directors following the External Review of the IFC/MIGA accountability system urging IFC to implement a recommendation without delay and take responsibility to provide remedy to communities living and working in…

Jerry’s life-long commitment to speaking truth to power included serving as a founding Board Member of Accountability Counsel. We are grateful to have been touched by his humanity.

Les mécanismes de redevabilité aident les investisseurs de projets de développement à savoir si leurs investissements ont atteint les objectifs visés. Pour cela, ils offrent aux personnes directement concernées par ces projets, une plateforme d’échange avec les décideurs sur les problèmes rencontrés sur place. Il est dès lors surprenant que…

Los mecanismos independientes de rendición de cuentas ayudan a los inversionistas a saber si las inversiones efectivamente han alcanzado los objetivos previstos, proporcionando a las personas impactadas por las inversiones un foro para compartir sus solicitudes con los responsables de la toma de decisiones en materia de inversiones. Es sorprendente, entonces, que…

AC Policy Fellow Rocío Trujillo Sosa discusses three cases studies, identified through the Accountability Console’s document search function, where impact investors learned of unintended impacts of their investments from communities providing feedback to DFI accountability offices. The case studies demonstrate that accountability offices help impact investors better understand their net impact by hearing from communities most impacted by their investments.

Today Accountability Counsel submitted comments on the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) draft Gender Policy. USAID provided very little time for public comment on the policy, and our submission called on USAID to extend the consultation to ensure that stakeholders can provide feedback on this important policy.