On July 3, 2024, the Independent External Review Team (ERT) released its Draft Report and Recommendations on the 2018 and 2020 Reforms to the Inspection Panel Toolkit and the Creation of the World Bank Accountability Mechanism (AM). We are pleased that the World Bank Executive Board of Directors commissioned this external review of the AM, and we commend the ERT for thoroughly evaluating the AM's performance. On July 31, 2024, BIC joined others in civil society in providing feedback on the draft report. Our comments are guided by the principle that communities harmed by World Bank projects must be able to seek accountability and remedy. Further, communities must be able to freely choose whether to undergo a dispute resolution process or compliance investigation.
Since the creation of the AM, which houses both the dispute resolution (DR) and compliance functions, there has been a lack of clarity on the roles and responsibilities of each function, weakening the AM as a whole and undermining the ability of complainants to seek accountability. The ERT draft report presents options to clarify the structure of the AM. Our comments emphasize the need to preserve the independence of the Inspection Panel to investigate when World Bank projects cause harm and improve the independence and function of the Dispute Resolution Service to mediate issues between communities and borrowers.
The ERT draft report also discusses options to allow the Inspection Panel to independently verify the implementation of remedial actions by the Bank and client, how complainants choose to proceed through DR or a compliance process, reducing redundancies, and addressing conflict of interest issues. Our comments address all these issues and present several additional points that we encourage the ERT to consider and address in the report, including:
- Allow communities to select their representation in all cases
- Remove the requirement for prior engagement with management prior to filing a complaint
- Allow the Inspection Panel to make recommendations for remedial actions
- While potentially challenging, explore options to allow communities to pursue DR and an IPN compliance investigation in any order or even simultaneously
After the ERT finalizes its report, the Board should act quickly to decide which AM structure to put in place, prioritizing the needs of complainants and the capacity of the AM to facilitate remedy in doing so. The Inspection Panel and the Dispute Resolution Service should then implement the remaining recommendations within the next six months. We expect the Board and World Bank management to be transparent in their response to this review and a robust public consultation period on any new procedures stemming from it.