Ibrahim James Pam Assumes Chairperson Role of World Bank Inspection Panel
The World Bank Inspection Panel is pleased to announce that Ibrahim James Pam has assumed the role of Chairperson of the World Bank Inspection Panel starting November 17, 2024. Mr. Pam, who has been a distinguished Member of the Inspection Panel since January 1, 2023, will succeed Mark Goldsmith, whose term concluded on November 16, 2024.
Mr. Pam, a Nigerian national, brings over three-and-a-half decades of extensive experience in international law and development, climate finance integrity, and environmental and social accountability. He is an accomplished international lawyer, analyst and investigator, with strong leadership experience and specialization in the investigation of mass crimes, human rights abuses, as well as fraud and financial crimes, and with expertise in internal oversight and accountability of international institutions. His previous roles include as Head ad interim of the Independent Redress Mechanism, and Head of the Independent Integrity Unit at the Green Climate Fund from 2016 to 2023.
Ibrahim holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB. Hons.) degree from the University of Jos, and a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Criminal Justice Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He previously worked as an Analyst and Investigator in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), 2005-2012, as the Chief Investigator in the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Department of the African Development Bank (AfDB), 2012-2015. He was Team Leader and Resident Investigator at the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), with concurrent responsibility for the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), and additional assignments to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), 2015-2016.
As Chairperson, Mr. Pam will lead the Panel in its mission to provide a forum for affected communities to voice their concerns and seek redress and promote accountability at the World Bank. His leadership is expected to further strengthen the Panel's effectiveness in promoting accountability and transparency within the World Bank operations and achieve better development outcomes. “I am deeply honored to serve in this role and uphold the legacy of over thirty-one years of the existence of the Inspection Panel”, Mr. Pam said in a statement.
“The work of the Inspection Panel is vital to ensuring that individuals and communities who are adversely affected by World Bank-financed projects have the opportunity to have their harms redressed. In that sense, the Panel offers non-judicial remedies for the harmful impacts of projects that the World Bank finances, in the understanding that inadvertent harm could result from even the most desirable development projects. I look forward to working with communities, the World Bank Board of Directors, Bank Management, civil society organizations, and accountability mechanisms in peer institutions, while upholding highest standards in accountability at the World Bank.”
―Ibrahim Pam, Chairperson, The Inspection Panel
The World Bank Inspection Panel, established in 1993, serves as an independent accountability mechanism that addresses complaints from people who believe they have been, or are likely to be, adversely affected by a World Bank-funded project. Learn more about the Inspection Panel here.