News & Visuals

Chairperson Highlights Panel’s 30th Anniversary and Invites the Public to Attend Commemoration Event in Washington, DC on April 6th  

On March 21, 2023, Inspection Panel Chairperson Ramanie Kunanayagam issued a statement on the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the World Bank Inspection Panel. Ms. Kunanayagam reflected on the history of the Panel and the impact of its work.  In her statement, Ms. Kunanayagam highlighted the important role the Panel has played in promoting accountability, transparency, and good governance in World Bank operations.

In its three decades of existence, the Panel has carried out scores of independent investigations, generating a rich collection of institutional learnings. Investigation findings have helped ensure that actual or potential harm to communities from Bank-financed projects on which the Panel has received complaints is adequately mitigated, or compensated, and that the rights, livelihoods, and environments of communities are protected.

Ms. Kunanayagam announced that this significant milestone in the Panel’s operations will be celebrated with a variety of events and actions, including at the World Bank’s Spring and Annual Meetings. The first such public event is being jointly organized with the Centre for Advancement of Scholarship at the University of Pretoria, and American University’s Washington College of Law, in Washington, DC on April 6, 2023. It will feature talks by a range of experts on public governance, transparency and redress in international development. 

The program, which will be hosted at Washington College of Law,  will begin at 2:00 PM and comprises three sessions, preceded by a welcome and introductory remarks by the Chairperson, Prof Danny Bradlow from University of Pretoria and David Hunter, Professor, Washington School of Law. The afternoon sessions will explore lessons learned during the first three decades of the Panel’s operations, as well as the future of compliance and the search for remedy. The evening session, beginning at 5:30 PM, will consist of a moderated fireside chat on accountability in international development with two prominent speakers, Kate O’Regan, Prof of Human Rights Law, Oxford University and former Justice of the Constitutional Court, S Africa and Smita Singh, former Chief Strategy Officer of the Open Society Foundation. It will be facilitated by Professor Daniel Bradlow, Professor and Senior Fellow at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Advancement of Scholarship. The anniversary commemoration will conclude with a reception, 6:30-8:00 PM

The Panel invites the public to attend the event, which will be held in person at the Washington College of Law. The full schedule and registration links can be found here:

Afternoon Sessions(2pm-5.30pm) Agenda - Click here to register.

Evening Sessions (5.30pm-8.00pm) Agenda - Click here to register.  

Registered participants also have the option of attending online.