Anna Brandt
Chairperson, Committee on Development Effectiveness
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW; Mail Stop MC 13-1314
Washington, DC 20433 U.S.A.
Dear Ms. Brandt,
We, the undersigned members of civil society organizations from around the world, are writing to request that you extend a formal invitation to the Inspection Panel to participate in the World Bank’s review of its safeguard policies. With almost twenty years of experience working with communities affected by World Bank-financed projects and assessing compliance with Bank policies, the Inspection Panel is well placed to provide insights and recommendations to the Bank in its review of the safeguards.
We support the Bank drawing on all available resources, both internal and external, in developing the next generation of safeguards. The Bank’s Approach Paper to the safeguard review identifies the IEG evaluation as a valuable resource and commits to seeking IEG’s input in the review process. The Panel’s investigations provide an equally valuable resource for the safeguard review. Management’s consideration of the Panel’s case reports is not sufficient to capture the wealth of the Panel’s experience. The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, the independent recourse mechanism for the IFC, played a very active, useful, and constructive role during the IFC’s review of its Policy and Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability. We believe the Inspection Panel should play a similar role in the safeguards review.
Grievance mechanisms, at their best, not only help resolve conflict but also provide an invaluable feedback loop to allow institutions to learn from their mistakes. The safeguard review provides a unique opportunity for the Bank to incorporate the lessons learned from the Panel’s twenty years of experience. We strongly urge that the Bank seek the Inspection Panel’s views throughout the safeguard review and on important documents produced by the process.
Sincerely,
Accountability Counsel, USA
All India Forum of Forest Movements, India
Amnesty International, UK
Bank Information Center, USA
Both ENDS, The Netherlands
Bretton Woods Project, UK
Center for Human Rights and Environment, Argentina
Center for International Environmental Law, USA
CNCD-11.11.11, Belgium
Derecho Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Peru
Diakonia, Sweden
Forest Peoples Programme, UK
Forum Syd, Sweden
Gapafot, Central African Republic
Heinrich Boell Foundation, North America
Humanitywatch, Bangladesh
Human Rights Watch, USA
IBIS, Denmark
Inclusive Development International, USA
International Accountability Project, USA
Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya
Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society, Japan
Natural Justice: Lawyers for Communities and the Environment, South Africa
Norwegian Forum for Environment and Development, Norway
Norwegian Church Aid, Norway
Norwegian Coalition for Debt Cancellation, Norway
Oxfam International
Pacific Environment, USA
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan
SOMO, The Netherlands
Ulu Foundation, USA
Urgewald, Germany
VOICE, Bangladesh
11.11.11- the Coalition of the Flemish North-South Movement, Belgium
cc: Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank Group
