Statement: CSOs call on the IFC to provide remedy for harm

Civil society groups have today written to the World Bank‘s Committee on Development Effectiveness which is meeting to discuss the IFC‘s draft Remedy and Responsible Exit Framework, which is intended to outline how the institution will deliver remedy to communities harmed by projects it finances.

This would be the first policy to address remedy since the bank’s founding 80 years ago. In that time, countless communities around the world have been negatively impacted by bank-funded development projects, yet denied access to remedy for the harm they suffer. Many are still awaiting remedy.

The statement says that the IFC must finally approve a clear Remedy and Responsible Exit Framework that upholds its mandate and responsibilities under international human rights law in order to resolve and respond to the harms communities have experienced as a result of bank-financed projects.

It calls upon the IFC to make the framework publicly available before it is finalised so that the bank’s most important shareholders — affected communities and the public — can see the results of last year’s consultation process and provide feedback on the updated draft.

The statement also says that full transparency is essential to getting remedy right and rebuilding trust. Once the framework is publicly disclosed, CSOs expect the IFC to implement it transparently and call on the IFC not to repeat its approach to piloting the Responsible Exit Principles, which lacked disclosure of whether, or how, the principles were being applied to IFC projects. The statement continues that, without transparency, implementation of the Remedy and Responsible Exit Framework will be entirely unpredictable, impossible to monitor or evaluate, and devoid of credibility with IFC’s stakeholders.

The statement calls on the IFC to report publicly on the implementation of the remedy pilot, including, at minimum:

• Regular reporting on how the framework has been implemented, including a list of every project considered under the pilot, the decisions made regarding remedial actions, impact of the decision, and lessons learned;
• Regular reporting on every project where exit was decided, or where exit occurred, and how the IFC evaluated environmental and social impacts of each exit; and
• Publicly providing any evidence that harm to communities has in fact been remediated over the course of the pilot period and whether affected communities are satisfied with that remedy.

The statement concludes, for the Remedy and Responsible Exit Framework to be most effective, the IFC should also publish all loan agreements so that all stakeholders know the terms of the investment, extent of leverage of all parties, and commitments made. There should also be a board-governed external review of the pilot period halfway through its implementation and at the conclusion of the pilot phase.

The statement is endorsed by the following CSOs:

Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Arab Watch Coalition
Recourse
Oxfam International
CEE Bankwatch Network
Environment in Development (FED)
Green Advocates International (Liberia)
Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (AIDA)
Bank Information Center (BIC)
Accountability Counsel (AC)
Gender Action
Plataforma Internacional Contra la Impunidad
Fundación Víctimas Vulnerables Mujeres Afro Independientes (FUNVIMUFROIN)
Inclusive Development International (IDI)
Global Labor Justice
Cohesión Comunitaria e Innovación Social A.C. (CCIS) – _México
Protection International Guatemala