Opening the IAMnet Annual Meetings in early October, Asian Development Bank President Masatsugu Asakawa indicated that independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) must be cognizant of the expanding mandate of international financial institutions. “As we look to the future, it is essential that our Independent Accountability Mechanisms align with new realities,” he told the more than 60 participants gathered at ADB Headquarters in Manila. “Harmonizing our approaches will also be vital, especially as we increase co-financing.”

The 21st edition of the Annual Meetings was certainly future-oriented. Across four days, participants got down to the brass tacks of compliance review and dispute resolution alongside the core challenges of remedy and responsible exit. But sessions also focused on emerging topics, such as IAM collaboration in complaint handling and mutual reliance in the context of co-financing. With development projects increasingly funded by more than one bank, complaints stemming from potential harm are likely to require the simultaneous engagement of multiple IAMs on the same project. A session on IAM collaboration delved into the challenges and opportunities presented in harmonizing the approaches of IAMs in a way that serves the needs of complainants and other stakeholders.

This year, six IAMs are participating in reviews of their policies. One thought-provoking session provided IAMs with the opportunity to share their unique experiences, prompting a discussion on the commonalities and differences among these reviews. In so doing, IAMs identified the need to develop guidance for best practice in policy reviews, as well as data to guide decision making on topics that emerge frequently, such as whether IAMs should be able to self-initiate complaints.

IAMnet 2024 also zeroed in on the biggest existential crisis humanity has ever faced: climate change. As Mark Goldsmith of the Inspection Panel observed, “With 45% of the World Bank’s finance being targeted at climate change-related finance, there has never been a better time for the IAMnet to be considering the new challenges to accountability that arise in this area.” In a session moderated by Goldsmith, participants discussed challenges and opportunities in addressing both mitigation and adaptation projects, as well as more conventional infrastructure projects with climate impacts. While there are many shortcomings in the design, implementation, and monitoring of such projects, IAMs need to keep up with the science and innovate in order to serve communities better and address the shared climate threat.

Sessions on AI and outreach pointed toward a future of innovations to be embraced by IAMs looking to improve accessibility for complainants. Meanwhile, a session moderated by Andrea Repetto Vargas, Director of the IDB Group’s Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism, focused on indigenous people’s involvement in IAM cases. UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples Francisco Calí Tzay, a panelist in the session, spoke about the importance of respecting the individual perspectives of all indigenous peoples, particularly regarding land development projects. “Many indigenous peoples still believe you cannot buy land,” he said. “You cannot own land because you belong to the land.”  
 

One of the highlights of the Annual Meetings is the Civil Society Day, in which civil society organizations set their own agenda of interactions with IAMs. The interactions between civil society and IAMs build on the work of years past while identifying areas for improvement and inspiring new directions for collaboration. Accountability Counsel made a presentation on case outcomes, based on its analysis of data across IAMs, and participants engaged on IAM policy reviews, protocols, and good practice for responding to threats and reprisals, among other topics. The day also brought the opportunity to strengthen relationships—and forge new ones.

The World Bank has had the privilege of holding the IAMnet Secretariat for the last two years. In that time, we helped to organize two successful IAMnet Annual Meetings, including co-hosting the 20th Annual Meetings in London with the team of the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We launched and managed an IAMnet webpage, along with a new IAMnet account on LinkedIn. We promoted the good work of our IAMnet colleagues and civil society partners in our quarterly Accountability Matters newsletter. We supported the IAMnet’s thematic working groups, which now meet regularly. The working group on outreach contributed to the success of joint outreach activities like the massive open outreach seminars for the Asia and Middle East regions. All this work was possible through the efforts of our staff, one of whom was hired to provide dedicated support to IAMnet.

We would like to thank the Asian Development Bank Accountability Mechanism, which now takes on the mantle of the Secretariat, and the Independent Redress Mechanism of the Green Climate Fund, for hosting an excellent four days of discussions on how IAMs can contribute to making international financial institutions more accountable to the people they are meant to serve.