Accountability Counsel amplifies the voices of communities around the world to protect their human rights and environment. As advocates for people harmed by internationally financed projects, we employ community driven and policy level strategies to access justice.
Impact
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Communities Supported142
Our impact includes redesigned projects that now reflect community needs, harm stopped and prevented to defend water resources, and agreements resulting in compensation.
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Institutions Influenced162
We advocate for investors to create accountability offices that are independent, transparent, fair, and effective. We have improved policy and practice at development institutions, commercial banks, UN agencies, and within the OECD.
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Complaints Tracked2,000+
We created and maintain the Accountability Console, a comprehensive database of community complaints filed with independent accountability mechanisms about the impacts of internationally financed projects.
News
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1 April, 2025When IAMs fail women: Gendered harm needs gendered justice
IAMs aim to deliver justice for communities harmed by development projects – but too often fail to address gendered harm. This article explores why survivor-centered, gender-sensitive reforms are essential to meaningful remedy. -
25 March, 2025Lesotho Dam Project Sparks Backlash as Communities Demand Justice Amid Broken Promises
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project has become emblematic of the collision between grand development ambitions and grassroots suffering. -
18 March, 2025The EIB still has a massive problem with its complaint procedure
As the United States pulls back from global leadership, the recent European Investment Bank (EIB) group forum in Luxembourg came at a crucial time. As the world’s largest multilateral development bank, the EIB now has a chance to become a responsible development actor — but if and only if the institution properly addresses long-standing deficiencies of its Complaints Mechanism and commitment to accountability. -
13 March, 2025One year on: No remedy or accountability for survivors of sexual abuse at World Bank Group funded schools in Kenya
(March 13, 2025) – One year ago today, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga apologized to survivors of child sexual abuse at Bridge International Academies, acknowledging “the trauma they experienced” at the World Bank Group-funded schools and committed to supporting them. At the same time, he announced an “external review” of allegations that IFC staff and Bridge management (aka NewGlobe) colluded to obstruct and delay CAO’s work. -
4 March, 2025Against the wind: Resistance, rights, and reckoning in Mexico’s Isthmus
A personal reflection tracing the long-term impact of a 2012 complaint against a major wind farm project, examining both its institutional legacy and its effects on local communities in Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
