A tragedy of juridification in international development finance

Figures & data

Table 1. ES policies and accountability mechanisms of selected DFIs.

DFI	Distinct ES policy	Accountability mechanism (AM)	AM created	Independent organ (a)
Global and regional with strong international presence
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Development Association (the World Bank)	Y	Inspection Panel	1993	Y
Inter – American Development Bank	Y	Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism	1994	Y
International Finance Corporation (IFC)	Y	Compliance Advisory Ombudsman	1998	Y
Asian Development Bank (ADB)	Y	Accountability Mechanism	2003	Y
African Development Bank	Y	Independent Review Mechanism	2004	Y
European Investment Bank	Y	Complaints Mechanism; European Ombudsman	2008(b)	Y
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)	Y	Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM)	2009	Y
Green Climate Fund	Y	Independent Redress Mechanism	2014	Y
New Development Bank	Y	Compliance procedure	n/a	N
United Nations Development Programme	Y	Social and Environmental Compliance Unit and Stakeholder Response Mechanism	2014	Y
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)	Y	Project-affected People’s Mechanism	2018	N
Regional and sub-regional
Black Sea Trade and Development	Y	Independent Accountability Mechanism	2009	Y
Caribbean Development Bank	Y	Office of Integrity, Compliance and Accountability	2015	Y
Development Bank of Latin America	N	n/a	n/a
Central American Bank for Economic Integration	Y	Environmental and Social Corporate Responsibility System	n/a	N
East African Development Bank	N	n/a	n/a
Islamic Development Bank	N	n/a	n/a
Pacific Islands Development Bank	N	n/a	n/a
West African Development Bank	Y	Policy and Grievance procedure	n/a	N
Trade and Development Bank of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa	Y	Grievance procedure	n/a	N
Eurasian Development Bank	N	n/a	n/a
National
Japan International Cooperation Agency and Japan Bank for International Cooperation	Y	Examiners for the Environmental Guidelines	2003	Y
US Overseas Private Investment Corporation	Y	The Office of Accountability	2005	Y
Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG)	Y	Independent Complaints Mechanism (c)	2014	Y
Department for International Development (UK)	N	Complaints procedure	n/a	N
USAID	Y	Administrative Grievance Procedure	n/a	N

Sources: official websites of each institution.

(a) Intended as a separate specialist organ (with its own institutional structure or composed of independent experts). This organ functions outside the general administrative processes within an institution in order to ensure its relative independence.

(b) The date of signing MoU between the EIB and European Ombudsman aimed to “improve stakeholder protection” in the activities of the EIB.

(c) A joint mechanism of FMO (Netherlands) and Proparco (France)

Table 2. Number of complaints received and resolved by accountability mechanisms (sample).

Institution	Accountability mechanism	Complaints received	Resolved cases
African Development Bank	Independent Review Mechanism	15	5
Asian Development Bank (ADB)	Accountability Mechanism	89	12
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)	Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM)	72	9
European Investment Bank	Complaints Mechanism; European Ombudsman	81	9
Inter - American Development Bank	Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism	84	9
International Finance Corporation (IFC)	Compliance Advisory Ombudsman	211	46
The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development)	Inspection Panel	91	30
US Overseas Private Investment Corporation	The Office of Accountability	12	4
Deutsche Investitions - und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG)	Independent Complaints Mechanism	4	1
Japan International Cooperation Agency and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)	Examiners for the Environmental Guidelines	1	1
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)	Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises	360^a	45

Source: CIEL et al. 2016.

^a Based on OECD 2016.

CIEL [Center of International Environmental Law] et al. 2016. Glass Half Full? The State of Accountability in Development Finance — Human Rights & Grievance Mechanisms. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IAM_DEF_WEB.pdf.

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OECD. 2016. Implementing the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises: The National Contact Points from 2000 to 2015. http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/15-Years-of-the-National-Contact-Points-Highlights.pdf.

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