AM Issues Interim Operating Procedures for the Dispute Resolution Service

The World Bank Accountability Mechanism on October 13 issued Interim Operating Procedures for its new Dispute Resolution Service, setting out the process to be followed if Requesters and borrowers choose that option to find a mutually acceptable solution to the issues raised in a Request for Inspection of a project. To read the Interim Operating Procedures, click here. To read a news release about the procedures, click here.

Inspection Panel Releases New Advisory Report 

The Inspection Panel on December 8 released the seventh report in its Emerging Lessons Series, this one on the topic of reprisals aimed at those involved in complaints. The report – titled “Right to be Heard: Intimidation and Reprisals in World Bank Inspection Panel Complaints” – was released at a virtual event that was moderated by World Bank Executive Director Armando Manuel and included opening remarks by Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. To watch a video of the event, click here.

CASE DEVELOPMENTS

UGANDA: Second Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project – Parties Agree to Dispute Resolution

World Bank Accountability Mechanism (AM) Secretary Orsolya Székely on December 2 informed the World Bank Board of Executive Directors, the Inspection Panel and Bank management that the parties involved in the case have agreed to voluntarily engage in a dispute resolution process to find a mutually acceptable solution to the issues raised in a Request for Inspection of the project. The case marks the first time since the Board approved the AM and updated Panel resolutions in September 2020 that the complainants and borrower involved in a Request to the Panel were offered the option of dispute resolution. More

NEPAL: Nepal-India Electricity Transmission and Trade Project and its Additional Financing – Inspection Panel Issues Notice of Registration

The Inspection Panel on November 30 issued a Notice of Registration for a Request for Inspection of the project. The Requesters state that a transmission line financed under the project was rerouted and is now passing through their densely populated community, which includes indigenous and non-indigenous residents. According to the Request, the transmission line and its towers cause different types of harm as they adversely affect community members’ homes, schools, cultural and religious sites, agricultural lands, environment and economic activities, and threaten their safety. More

UGANDA: Securing Uganda’s Natural Resource Base in Protected Areas Project – Inspection Panel Issues Notice of Non-Registration

The Inspection Panel on November 29 issued a Notice of Non-Registration for a Request for Inspection of the project. The Panel stated it did not register the Request due to the absence of a plausible link between the harm alleged in the Request and the project. The Panel also observed that the area where the project activities are planned has been disputed by the Requesters for many years and that there are on-going legal processes in relation to this matter. More

TOGO: West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project – Board Approves Panel Decision to Defer Investigation Recommendation

The World Bank Board on November 22 approved an Inspection Panel decision to defer for six months its recommendation on whether to investigate in response to a Request for Inspection of the project. The Requesters allege that the project will adversely affect the fisherfolk, residents, and property owners along the Togolese coast. In recommending the deferral, the Panel noted that Bank management has agreed to a list of actions to respond to the concerns raised in the Request and that those commitments are defined, measurable and timebound. More

UGANDA: North-Eastern Road-corridor Asset Management Program – Panel Conducts Investigation Visit

An Inspection Panel team visited Uganda in late November as the Panel continues with its investigation of the project. The Board on March 12, 2021, approved a Panel recommendation to investigate and the Panel published its investigation plan in April. The Request for Inspection was submitted on October 1, 2020, by 10 community members representing eight families from the project area. Among their claims, the Requesters allege a large rock in their community that the project planned to use as a stone quarry was not properly valued and that the resulting compensation is insufficient. They also argue that the land acquisition process in the surrounding buffer zone did not follow Bank policy. More

NEPAL: Nepal-India Regional Trade and Transport Project – Panel Preparing Eligibility Report

The Inspection Panel is preparing its recommendation for the Board on whether to investigate the project following a November 29-December 5 eligibility visit by a Panel team to Nepal. In September 2020, the Board had approved the Panel’s request to postpone the deadline for its recommendation. In making the request, the Panel cited its inability to conduct its eligibility visit to Nepal at that time due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and determined it could not make an informed decision without a field visit. More

INDIA: Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project for Low Income States – Panel Investigation Report Remains with the Board

The Inspection Panel Investigation Report remains with the Board. The Panel submitted the report in January 2020 and shared it with Requesters in February 2020 so they could be involved in the development of the Management Action Plan (MAP). Preparation of the MAP continues to be delayed because restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have affected Bank management’s ability to conduct in-person consultations with the affected communities. More

AM Welcomes New Team Members

The World Bank Accountability Mechanism (AM) recently welcomed two new team members – Scott Adams as senior dispute resolution officer and William Romans as senior adviser. Scott has over 27 years of diverse domestic and international experience in providing dispute resolution, management consulting, and training services. William joined the AM Secretariat as a consultant in August 2021 and brings professional experience working in staff positions with international organizations over the course of more than 20 years. More

Inspection Panel Chair Addresses ADB Gender Forum

Inspection Panel Chair Imrana Jalal on November 25 discussed the topic of how to address gender-based violence (GBV) in development projects as part of a gender forum sponsored by the Asian Development Bank. Speaking virtually, Ms. Jalal recounted the findings of two ground-breaking Panel investigations related to GBV – one in Uganda, the other in the Democratic Republic of Congo – and the institutional and operational changes that resulted at the World Bank, and discussed the human toll of GBV and how to identify GBV risk-mitigation measures. More

AM Takes Part in 18th Annual Meeting of the IAMs Network

The World Bank Accountability Mechanism in September took part in the 18th annual meeting of the Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs) Network. Session topics at the September 27-30 virtual meeting included access to remedy in an IAM process, retaliation against those who bring complaints to IAMs, and the IAMs’ work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Network is comprised of 19 IAMs at international financial institutions and is intended to foster collaboration, cooperation and knowledge sharing among its members. More


AM Takes Parts in Civil Society Workshops in Turkey, the Caribbean and Africa

The World Bank Accountability Mechanism (AM) recently joined other independent accountability mechanisms in explaining their mandates and operations to civil society and community representatives in Turkey, the Caribbean and central Africa. Separately, the AM also organized a workshop for non-governmental organizations in Benin. The AM continues to organize virtual outreach events during the COVID-19 pandemic. The workshops are intended to make the work of the Inspection Panel and Dispute Resolution Service known to people whose rights and interests may be affected by World Bank-financed projects.

ABOUT THE WORLD BANK ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM

The World Bank Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaints mechanism for people and communities who believe that they have been, or are likely to be, adversely affected by a World Bank-funded project. It aims to promote accountability at the World Bank by ensuring that project-affected people have access to an independent body to which they can express their concerns and seek recourse. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors created the mechanism in 2020. It houses both the Inspection Panel, which was created in 1993 as the first independent accountability mechanism at an international financial institution and carries out impartial compliance reviews, and the Dispute Resolution Service, which facilitates a voluntary and independent dispute resolution option for complainants and borrowers in the context of Requests for Inspection to the Inspection Panel. The Accountability Mechanism Secretary and Inspection Panel Members report directly to the Board.