Dear World Bank Group Board of Directors, 

We are writing concerning the recent announcement of the consolidation of the World Bank Group’s independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) - the Inspection Panel, Dispute Resolution Service, and the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO). As civil society organizations who support communities to advance their own development objectives and have used the WBG IAMs, we have followed this integration process closely. Now that the Board has decided to proceed with one integrated IAM, the next steps will be crucial to ensuring that the IAM provides an effective forum for communities to secure remedy for harms.

We note several commitments in the press release that announced the change as well as the June 10 email from the World Bank Group’s civil society team. Primary among these are the commitments to non-regression of the IAM policies and a “transparent and competitive” recruitment process for a Vice President/Director General to lead the new IAM. As the hiring of the VP/DG is being launched “immediately,” we write to ensure that the hiring process meets the principle of no regression.

We will consider any selection process that falls below the standard set by the CAO DG VP hiring process enshrined in the CAO’s policy and by past practice as a violation of your commitment to no regression. 

A strong hiring process for IAM leadership is crucial to the independence and legitimacy of an IAM. The participation of external stakeholders, particularly from civil society, is a standard component of IAM hiring practices, and the CAO DG VP hiring practice has included civil society on the selection committee for many years [1]. In light of this established practice and the Taskforce’s recommendation for civil society participation in the selection process, we strongly urge the Board to formally confirm that civil society representatives will have a structured role in the current recruitment process for the VP/Director General of the new IAM.

We also urge you to communicate transparently how that participation will be organized, noting that the details of the 2020 CAO DG VP selection process were publicly available [2]. A strong, transparent, and participatory selection process would be a concrete and immediate demonstration of your commitment to no regression and a strengthened mechanism, and serve as a cornerstone to build the trust of impacted communities in this new structure.

Sincerely,

1. Accountability Counsel – International
2. Arab Watch Coalition – United States
3. Bank Information Center – United States
4. Inclusive Development International – United States
5. Recourse – Netherlands
6. SynDev – Senegal
7. Urgewald – Germany

Endorsements

8. AbibiNsroma Foundation – Ghana
9. Africa Development Interchange Network (ADIN) – Cameroon
10. African Law Foundation ( AFRILAW) – Nigeria
11. AIDL International Foundation – Belgium
12. Alianza para la Conservación y el Desarrollo (ACD) – Panama
13. Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD) – Liberia
14. Alliance Sud – Switzerland
15. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) – Regional/Asia
16. Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad – Colombia
17. Asociación Unión de Talleres 11 de Septiembre – Bolivia
18. Association for Farmers Rights Defense, AFRD – Georgia
19. Bank Climate Advocates – United States
20. Bretton Woods Project – United Kingdom
21. Buliisa Initiative for Rural Development Organization (BIRUDO) – Uganda
22. CDES – Ecuador
23. CEE Bankwatch Network – Czech Republic
24. Centre for Financial Accountability – India
25. Centro de Derechos Económicos y Sociales CDES – Ecuador
26. COAST Foundation – Bangladesh
27. Equitable Cambodia – Cambodia
28. European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) – Belgium
29. Fundeps – Argentina
30. GAIA Asia Pacific – Philippines
31. Global Rights – Nigeria
32. Green Advocates International – Liberia
33. Green Leaf Advocacy and Empowerment Center – Nigeria
34. Inisiasi Masyarakat Adat (IMA) – Indonesia
35. Jamaa Resource Initiatives – Kenya
36. JUHUDI Community Support Center – Kenya
37. Lebanon Eco-Mouvement – Lebanon
38. Mano River Union Civil Society Natural Resources Rights and Governance Platform (MRU CSO Platform) – West Africa
39. MenaFem Movement for Economic, Development And Ecological Justice - SWANA/Morocco
40. Nash Vek PF – Kyrgyzstan
41. Natural Resources Women Platform( NRWP) – Liberia
42. Observatoire d’études et d’appui à la responsabilité sociale et environnementale –Democratic Republic of the Congo
43. Oxfam International – United States
44. Oyu Tolgoi Watch – Mongolia
45. Pakaid – Pakistan
46. Peace Point Development Foundation – Nigeria
47. Philippine Movement for Climate Justice – Philippines
48. Project on Organizing, Development, Education, and Research (PODER) – Mexico
49. Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe por Justicia económica, social y climática – LATINDADD – Regional
50. Rivers without Boundaries – Mongolia
51. Sinergia Animal – Brazil
52. Society for Women Rights and Development (SWoRD) – Pakistan
53. Surge Africa Organisation – Nigeria
54. Sustentarse – Chile
55. Trend Asia – Indonesia
56. Uzbek Forum for Human Rights – Germany/Uzbekistan
57. Witness Radio – Uganda
58. World Economy, Ecology & Development – WEED – Germany
59. Youth Climate Collective – Nigeria

Notes

[1] IFC CAO Policy paras. 15-17.
[2] See also Terms of Reference: Vice President, Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO).