Each year, international financial institutions (IFIs) provide governments and companies billions of dollars to undertake development projects. Ostensibly, the projects are aimed at improving the welfare of community members through better education and roads, improved health care and governance, and greater access to water and energy. Some projects are also responsible for severe environmental degradation and egregious human rights violations. Many of the largest institutions—the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American, Asian and Africa Development Banks, and the United States’ Overseas Private Investment Corporation—have created accountability mechanisms to ensure that the projects are developed and implemented in accordance with environmental, labor, and human rights policy. The clinic has worked with partners in a variety of contexts to hold corporations to account when their activities threaten the human rights of local communities.
Study on Community Participation in CAO Dispute Resolution and Audit Procedures.
The Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the most prominent and influential of the accountability mechanisms established by IFIs. CAO is the independent recourse mechanism for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the private investment arm of the World Bank.
In 2012, the clinic undertook a study of the CAO to understand how affected individuals participate in CAO’s dispute resolution and audit procedures. Clinic students compiled data on CAO’s projects for statistical analysis, selected sample projects, and drafted background memos. In 2013, students conducted in-depth interviews of various stakeholders involved in CAO procedures, including CAO staff, World Bank officials, project company representatives, NGO representatives, and members of affected communities about projects undertaken in various countries in Latin American, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. The clinic’s final report, which includes policy recommendation for promoting effective community participation is forthcoming.