On September 11, 2020, BIC submitted joint comments on the external review of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Environmental and Social (E&S) Accountability to the World Bank Group’s Board of Directors as part of the public consultation on strengthening E&S accountability at the institutions. Prepared with partners Accountability Counsel, Center for International Environmental Law, Inclusive Development International, and the Arab Watch Coalition, our submission proposes recommendations for reforms that will strengthen accountability and provide remedy for communities adversely affected by IFC/MIGA projects.
BIC previously advocated for the IFC to publish the report and recommended the IFC implement the reforms openly and transparently to address shortcomings. In this more in-depth submission, we make specific recommendations regarding the review’s findings, reiterating the need for IFC/MIGA to adopt these reforms. We emphasize the importance of focusing remedy on the needs of project-affected communities and designing response systems that are flexible enough to address those specific needs and project circumstances.
We also urge the IFC to establish a framework for effective remediation when its projects cause harm. Our submission lays out several options for realizing this recommendation, which would secure long-term resources that would remain available even after IFC/MIGA ends financial support for the project. We also join the review team in calling for the creation of an IFC/MIGA-financed remedial fund to support project-affected communities where the project sponsor is not willing or able to remediate or compensate for the harm, and/or where it has been demonstrated that the harm was caused by IFC/MIGA’s non-compliance with its policies.
Along with our partners, we urge the IFC/MIGA Board to endorse the recommendations by the external review team and ask the Board to instruct IFC/MIGA to propose an implementation plan for public review and input. Read our full submission and comments here.