Tag Archive for: Inspection Panel

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

 

Last Wednesday, August 30, at the annual meeting of the Network of Independent Accountability Mechanisms(IAMNet) held this year in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, a roundtable discussion between representatives of the mechanisms and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on accountability agendas, including FUNDEPS. At the same time, a public outreach event was held to present the work of the IAMNet Network and the characteristics and mandates of the main accountability mechanisms of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), Inspection of the World Bank, the MICI of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Group) or the CAO of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), among others.

For their part, the CSOs that participated in the event addressed opportunities and challenges in accountability in the IFIs and the work that has been done from civil society in accountability.

At the round table, a technical discussion was held around a key question regarding the function of this type of mechanism: “Can Dispute Resolution be compatible with Rights?”. Recall that most of the IFIs’ independent accountability mechanisms have a dispute resolution function for complaints from communities affected by projects funded by these financial institutions. In that regard, the current problems of the dispute resolution process were discussed in the way it is currently being developed; and sought to address what an effective rights-based dispute resolution process should be, and what their outcomes should be.

On the other hand, in the days leading up to and after the aforementioned event, strategic meetings of two working groups were held that address issues and agendas related to our work at Fundeps. On 28 and 29 August the annual meeting of the EuroIFI network was held and on 31 August a strategic meeting of the IAWG (International Advocates Working Group) working group, of which we are part. The EuroIFI Network is an informal network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that focus their work on IFIs such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Monetary Fund, among others. The IAWG is a network of NGOs around the world that share information, lessons learned, best practices and strategies around accountability mechanisms; and supports communities that complain to these mechanisms.

Our participation in these three events has been very useful, not only because we were able to share information and experiences in terms of accountability with key players in this agenda, but also because it has enabled us to know and acquire more information regarding specific cases of presentation of complaints to this kind of mechanisms. Moreover, in view of our work on accountability mechanisms, and in particular in relation to the ICIM and the advice we are giving to communities in Córdoba and Bolivia regarding the possible submission of complaints to the ICIM.

More information

– Network of Independent Accountability Mechanisms

– Video on the IAMnet network

– MICI website

– Inspection Panel website

– CAO website

– Glass Half Full. The state of accountability in development finance – Enero de 2016

Contact

Gonzalo Roza / Coordinador del Área de Gobernabilidad Global

gon.roza@fundeps.org

On December 5, the Workshop on Mechanisms for Accountability and Civil Society was held in Bogotá. The workshop was jointly organized by the Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs) of the Inter-American Development Bank (Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism / MICI) and the World Bank Group (Inspection Panel and Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman CAO), in collaboration with civil society organizations (CSOs), Environment and Society Association, and the Regional Group on Financing and Infrastructure (GREFI).

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

 

Independent accountability mechanisms were established to address the grievances of people affected by environmental and social impacts of development projects funded by multilateral institutions. Since CSOs sometimes work to support affected communities through capacity-building efforts and support in access resources, IAMs carry out proactive public outreach in collaboration with CSOs throughout Latin America to publicize Their services with civil society networks and that both sides can broaden their perspectives.

In this sense, the three main objectives of the event were:

– Allow Colombian CSOs to become more familiar with the IAMs and the conflict resolution and enforcement services they provide;

– To allow IAMs to expand their relationship with CSOs in Colombia, especially with local organizations and communities that are in populations potentially affected by projects; Y

– Provide a space for dialogue between IAMs and CSOs, in order to exchange experiences, reflections and points of view on accountability issues related to public and private sector development projects in Colombia.

The one-day workshop included presentations by the different IAMs about their services and examples of their work; CSO presentations on their experiences with the activation of the mechanisms, as well as tools to access project information; Small discussion groups related to the access and work of the IAMs and a broader discussion on the trends of accountability in Colombia.

Source: Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad

Contact

Juan Carballo, <juanmcarballo@fundeps.org>

Eleven civil society organizations and our organization presented a research report called: Glass Half Full? This report talks about the obstacles of communities to access to accountability tools when a specific project concerns them.

Glass Half Full?: The State of Accountability in Development Finance” (¿El Vaso Medio Lleno? El Estado de Rendición de Cuentas en la Financiación del Desarrollo) es un informe que documenta los obstáculos que deben superar las comunidades y trabajadores para recurrir a los mecanismos de rendición de cuentas de las instituciones financieras internacionales cuando son afectados por proyectos de desarrollo. Si bien la estructura y procedimientos de estos mecanismos varían, sus actividades principales consisten en reunir a los reclamantes y a la institución que apoyo financieramente el proyecto en cuestión, a los fines para resolver el conflicto. En ese contexto, se lleva a cabo una investigación para determinar si las políticas ambientales y sociales de las instituciones financieras internacionales han sido transgredidas.

Los mecanismos de rendición de cuentas son a menudo la única opción disponible para las comunidades, y en la actualidad la única vía para que los bancos de desarrollo rindan cuentas sobre al cumplimiento de la normativa ambiental y social. Desde el Panel de Inspección (el primer mecanismo de rendición de cuentas independiente del Banco Mundial, creado en 1994) se han registrado 758 denuncias presentadas a la empresa por 11 diferentes instituciones.

Este informe evalúa el grado en que los bancos de desarrollo y sus mecanismos de rendición de cuentas están preparados para manejar las quejas de las personas afectadas. El informe también contiene anexos que analizan en detalle los mecanismos de denuncia de las diferentes instituciones financieras y ofrecen recomendaciones sobre posibles vías de mejora.

 

Más información:

Glass Half Full?: The State of Accountability in Development Finance

 Glass Half Full?. Annex 11: The Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism of the Inter-American 

Contacto:

Juan Carballo – Director Ejecutivo

juanmcarballo@fundeps.org

 

As a part of the Financing and Infrastructure Regional Group (GREFI), FUNDEPS organizes a workshop on Accountability Mechanisms and Civil Society in Lima.

Este evento se organiza en el marco de las Reuniones Anuales del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) y del Grupo del Banco Mundial, que tienen lugar en Lima del 6 al 12 de octubre del presente año.

Los mecanismos de queja independientes (MQI) de las bancas multilaterales se crearon con el objetivo de resolver reclamos presentados por comunidades afectadas por los impactos sociales y ambientales generados por la ejecución de proyectos de desarrollo con financiamiento proveniente de estos organismos.

La experiencia muestra que uno de los obstáculos para activar dichos mecanismos es el escaso conocimiento que existe por parte de la sociedad civil sobre éstos y su funcionamiento, de tal manera que puedan ser integrados a estrategias integrales de defensa de derechos frente a proyectos de desarrollo.

En este contexto, el taller tiene como objetivo promover el diálogo con los encargados de diferentes mecanismos de queja y representantes de la sociedad civil, con el fin de dar a conocer distintos MQIs presentes en la región; su funcionamiento; y fomentar un intercambio de experiencias y perspectivas relacionadas a los mecanismos.

El taller contará con la presencia de representantes del Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) de la Corporación Financiera y el Panel de Inspección (PI) del Banco Mundial, del Mecanismo de Queja del Banco de Inversión Europea y del Mecanismo Independiente de Consulta e Investigación (MICI) del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. Asimismo, participan diferentes representantes de organizaciones de sociedad civil y de movimientos sociales de la región.

 

Más información:

 

Contacto: