Asian Development Bank (ADB) | Accountability Mechanism (AM)
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Overview
Accountability Counsel advocates for the ADB’s Accountability Mechanism (AM) to be as effective as possible, meaning that it must be independent, fair, transparent, predictable, and accessible.
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Created In: 1966
Headquarters: Manila, The Philippines
Member Countries: 67
Largest Shareholders: Japan and the United States
Mission: The Asian Development Bank aims for an Asia and Pacific free from poverty. Its mission is to help developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people.
The Accountability Office: Accountability Mechanism (AM)
Established in: 2003
Functions: Compliance Review, Problem Solving
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a multilateral development financial institution (or regional development bank). The ADB works to reduce poverty in developing member countries through loans, technical assistance, grants, guarantees (insurance), and investments.
Between 2010-2012, Accountability Counsel submitted recommendations for the Accountability Mechanism Revision process. Following the ADB’s release of its Revised Accountability Mechanism Policy, Accountability Counsel has continued to collaborate with regional partners — including the NGO Forum on ADB — to advocate for strengthening of the Accountability Mechanism.
While preparing for a future review of the Accountability Mechanism policy, Accountability Counsel has worked to strengthen accountability for financial intermediary (FI) clients of the ADB. Since 2018, the ADB has convened a series of workshops on accountability for FI operations.
Accountability Counsel has participated in these workshops, presenting on our work and making the case for accountability. We also provided recommendations on a draft version of the Accountability Mechanism Framework (AMF), which the ADB produced in conjunction with its workshops and provides FIs with a template for establishing their own accountability mechanisms. A number of our recommendations, including clearer filing requirements and more expansive disclosure of accountability documents, were incorporated in the final AMF, enhancing accessibility and transparency.
Accountability Counsel is now pushing for FI clients to establish accountability mechanisms following the AMF or comparably strong models. This work also dovetails with our work on Chinese financing, as Chinese financial institutions were one of the main targets of the AMF work.
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Our Advocacy
In collaboration with regional partners, including the NGO Forum on ADB, Accountability Counsel actively advocates for the strengthening of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Accountability Mechanism.
2021-2022 Safeguard Policy Review and Update
In March 2022, Accountability Counsel participated in public consultations to inform ADB’s new safeguards policy, which will guide the Bank’s management of environmental and social risks in its projects. We submitted comments recommending that the safeguards include provisions to: more effectively incorporate lessons from ADB’s accountability mechanism (AM), enable meaningful remedy to communities for social and environmental harms, and improve ADB management’s constructive engagement with the AM. In addition, we recommended that the safeguards include a requirement for both clients and sub-clients to inform project-affected people about the availability of the AM. We urged ADB to think ahead to the forthcoming AM policy review and ensure that the new safeguards set a strong foundation for improving the mechanism’s effectiveness.
We also contributed to a letter sent to ADB in September 2022 amplifying the recommendations of communities who have experienced threats and retaliation after voicing concern about ADB-financed projects. The letter urges the new safeguards to include robust provisions on preventing and addressing such reprisals.
ADB will publish a draft safeguards policy in late 2022 or early 2023. We will continue to engage in the consultations process by providing comments on the draft aimed at strengthening ADB’s accountability to local communities.
Independence Through a More Inclusive Hiring Process
In December 2018, Accountability Counsel and its partners sent a letter to the ADB calling on it to enhance its Compliance Review Panel (CRP) hiring process by conducting formal consultations with external stakeholders. The letter noted that external stakeholder involvement in the hiring process is key to ensuring the independence of accountability mechanism staff and is a best practice adhered to by numerous development finance institutions. The letter called for this more inclusive approach to be utilized for the hiring of the next CRP Chair, which was due to begin in June 2019. In November 2019, the new CRP chair was hired with the participation of a CSO observer, an important step forward for a more inclusive hiring process and independence of the CRP. In July 2022, Accountability Counsel and its partners sent a letter encouraging the ADB to again follow this positive hiring practice for the new Special Project Facilitator (SPF).
Accountability for Financial Intermediary Financing
On 31 October and 1 November 2018, Accountability Counsel participated in an ADB workshop in New Delhi on environmental and social safeguards and accountability for financial intermediaries. The workshop was attended by staff from numerous and varied financial institutions operating throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Accountability Counsel gave a presentation detailing our work assisting project-affected communities in Asia and illustrating the importance of robust accountability mechanisms for both communities and financial institutions. Accountability Counsel participated in an additional workshop in New York on 8 November and an outreach meeting in Washington, D.C. on 16 November, where we continued to provide best practice insights on financial intermediary accountability, as well as on project-level grievance mechanisms.
2017 and 2018 ADB Annual Meetings
Accountability Counsel participated in the 2017 and 2018 ADB Annual Meetings, held in Yokohama, Japan and Manilla, Philippines, respectively. In meetings and events with stakeholders from the ADB, Accountability Counsel and partners stressed needed reforms to ensure that the ADB’s accountability mechanism effectively provides remedy for affected individuals and communities. Accountability Counsel continued to advocate for enhanced accountability at the ADB’s Accountability Mechanism Expert Meeting in London on 17 January 2019. While several aspects of the Accountability Mechanism, comprised of the Special Project Facilitator (SPF) and the Compliance Review Panel (CRP), improved in accessibility and predictability after the 2010 – 2012 policy review, major gaps remain in the mechanism’s operations.
These gaps, highlighted in Glass Half Full? The State of Accountability in Development Finance, include the lack of external stakeholder participation in the selection of Accountability Mechanism staff, and the inability of the CRP to make recommendations to address non-compliance. Additionally, the mechanism currently faces potential conflicts of interest, as it is advised by the ADB’s general counsel. The mechanism’s independence could be improved by having its own legal counsel. Independence would be further promoted by preventing the ADB’s board and board committees from reviewing or approving the CRP’s proposed Terms of Reference or draft compliance reports. Accountability Counsel will continue to work with regional partners to address these gaps and ensure that those harmed by the ADB’s investments have an effective avenue for accountability and redress.
Please see Past Advocacy to learn more about Accountability Counsel’s past policy initiatives, including advocacy concerning the 2012 ADB results-based financing review and the 2010 – 2012 ADB Accountability Mechanism review.
See here for more information on Accountability Counsel’s advocacy to the ADB.
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Past Advocacy
Examples of Past Advocacy Campaigns
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Resources
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Created In: 1966
Headquarters: Manila, The Philippines
Member Countries: 67
Largest Shareholders: Japan and the United States
Mission: The Asian Development Bank aims for an Asia and Pacific free from poverty. Its mission is to help developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people.
The Accountability Office: Accountability Mechanism (AM)
Established in: 2003
Functions: Compliance Review, Problem Solving
Projects funded by the ADB must follow the ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement. The ADB also has an Access to Information Policy, which requires the bank to make certain types of documents publicly available.
The Accountability Office
The Asian Development Bank’s Accountability Mechanism provides a forum for people negatively affected by ADB projects to voice concerns and seek solutions. The 2012 Accountability Mechanism Policy directs the work of the mechanism.
The Accountability Mechanism has two separate functions:
- The Problem-Solving Function – The problem-solving function is run by the Special Project Facilitator (SPF) and responds to the concerns of project-affected people through consensus-based problem-solving methods.
- The Compliance Review Function – The compliance review function is run by the Compliance Review Panel (CRP) and allows project-affected people to file requests for investigation and review of compliance with the ADB’s operational policies and procedures.
Submit a complaint to the ADB Accountability Mechanism if:
- You and at least one other person have been directly, materially, and adversely harmed or are likely to be harmed by an ADB-supported project.
- It has been less than two years from when the grant or loan was closed.
The Complaints Receiving Officer receives and acknowledges your complaint and forwards it to the function you choose (the CRP or the SPF). The SPF determines eligibility of your complaint, attempts to facilitate an agreement between the parties involved and monitors the implementation of this agreement. You can walk away from this process at any time and request a Compliance Review.
The CRP determines eligibility, conducts an investigation, and analyzes whether the ADB has complied with its own policies and procedures. The CRP presents its findings to the ADB board, which decides the proper action. Once you begin the Compliance Review process, you cannot then use the Problem-Solving function for the same issues, unless the CRP finds your complaint ineligible.
For more information, see our brochure on the ABD’s Accountability Mechanism (with SOMO), our Accountability Resource Guide, or visit the Accountability Mechanism’s website.
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Documents
Institutional Documents
2012 ADB Revised Accountability Mechanism Policy
Key Documents by Release Date
Feb-Mar 2023 – Accountability Counsel participated in consultations for the draft Guidance Note on Large Hydropower Plants and along with partners submitted a letter calling for stronger due diligence and accountability provisions for large hydropower projects.
Sep 2022 – Accountability Counsel supported a letter from communities facing retaliation, urging ADB to include robust provisions on preventing and addressing reprisals in its new safeguards policy.
Jul 2022 – Accountability Counsel and partners sent a letter calling for the ADB to include civil society participation in its SPF hiring process.
Jan-March 2022 – Accountability Counsel participated in consultations as a part of the review of the ADB’s safeguards policy and submitted written recommendations highlighting our lessons from the accountability mechanism.
Dec 2018 – Accountability Counsel and partners sent a letter calling for the ADB to enhance its CRP hiring process by conducting formal consultations with external stakeholders.
Aug 2012 – ADB released a Working Paper on its proposed Results-Based Financing scheme, which would link ADB disbursements directly to results achieved on a project.
Jul 2012 – Accountability Counsel submitted comments to the ADB about its proposed Results-Based Financing scheme.
Feb 2012 – ADB released its 2012 ADB Revised Accountability Mechanism Policy.
Sep 2011 – The ADB released a Second Working Paper with final recommendations for revisions on the Accountability Mechanism.
May 2011 – Accountability Counsel submitted follow up comments to the ADB on its April Working Paper.
Apr 2011 – ADB released a Working Paper on their Draft Revised Accountability Mechanism Policy.
Mar 2011 – Accountability Counsel, and 13 other civil society organizations, provided comments on the ADB’s Draft Revised Accountability Mechanism Policy.
Feb 2011 – ADB released a Draft Revised Accountability Mechanism Policy.
Nov 2010 – Accountability Counsel provided comments to the ADB regarding their existing Accountability Mechanism.