Blog

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.

The public can now see and comment on important recommendations regarding the accountability framework of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).  On August 11, the World Bank Group shared a report by external experts that evaluates the environmental and social accountability landscape at the IFC…

Despite the promise of a new era of collaborative development, the premise of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives actually bringing communities to the table for cooperative dialogue has remained questionable. As the UNDP looks to implement certifiable standards for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in the impact investing field, will it heed the call for greater stakeholder engagement and much needed accountability?  

Development institutions aim to finance projects that will lift vulnerable communities out of poverty. However, if not designed, implemented, or monitored properly, these projects can instead result in harm to communities and not achieve their development goals. This month, Accountability Counsel, Friends of the Earth, and several international partners submitted comments on the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s (DFC) new system of measuring development impacts – the Impact Quotient.

Yesterday, Accountability Counsel and 40 global partners submitted a joint letter to the Executive Directors of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), requesting the immediate disclosure of the long-awaited report of the external review of the IFC and MIGA’s accountability framework and for a subsequent…