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Accountability Matters

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

Newsletter | March 2023

Welcome to Accountability Matters! In this issue, we have three stories that we hope you’ll enjoy. We begin by asking seven people committed to accountability about their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of dispute resolution between governments and communities. Then we take a closer look at a CAO advisory note on the important ways in which dispute resolution can result in a remedy supported by all parties. And our final story involves some fun and games – a board game put together by the Independent Redress Mechanism that takes players through the various stages of what happens to a complaint submitted by a community.

We’d also like to highlight two important events in the next two weeks: a celebration of the Inspection Panel’s 30th anniversary on April 6 at American University in Washington, DC (register here), and the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings, held April 10-16. It’s wonderful that there’s so much happening in the field of accountability, and this newsletter aims to keep you up to date! Let us know what you think we should be covering in future editions at accountability@worldbank.org.

Orsolya Székely
Accountability Mechanism Secretary

STORIES

Mediating disputes between communities and governments

Interview

Mar 29, 2023

Experts from the field of accountability weigh in on the challenges and opportunities for dispute resolution in the public sector

Let’s talk: Dispute resolution’s role in remedy

Feature Story

Mar 29, 2023

A new advisory note from the CAO explores approaches that all parties can embrace for better resolutions of cases

Game time: Climbing the ladder to accountability

Outreach

Mar 29, 2023

The Independent Redress Mechanism’s new board game demonstrates how complaints are handled

News

MICI has released its Annual Report. One important fact: It managed a record number of cases in a single year -- 33.
ADB’s Annual Report of the Board Compliance Review Committee has been released. Access it here.
AM Secretary Orsolya Székely talks about her career and says that she has met ‘only strong women.’
The World Bank’s Board discussed a Management Action Plan for an Indian water and sanitation project.

Events

The World Bank Inspection Panel is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and that milestone will be the focus of this April 6 event. The Inspection Panel is the oldest independent accountability mechanism for development banks. Don’t miss the discussion at American University from 2.00 to 5.30 p.m. on April 6. Registration is required.
The World Bank Spring Meetings will be held April 10-16. The Civil Society Policy Forum is being held April 11-14.
The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) will hold its 2023 conference in Malaysia, May 8-11. The conference’s main objective is to create a path to resilience through impact assessment and leadership.
Looking much farther ahead, mark your calendars for the World Bank Annual Meetings, October 9-15, in Morocco. Check out this virtual tour!

Job Openings

The AIIB’s Project-affected People’s Mechanism is looking to expand its roster of consultants for dispute resolution and compliance review. All interested should send their resume with a cover letter to ceiu@aiib.org, ccing shama.stoor@gmail.com.

Please send news, events, and jobs in the accountability field to obolvaran@worldbank.org.

Accountability Matters Editorial Team

Oriana Karina Bolvaran, John Donnelly, Yoshiko Ogushi, and Rabi Thapa

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The World Bank Accountability Mechanism houses the Inspection Panel and the Dispute Resolution Service.

The content of this newsletter is copyrighted. Requests to reproduce the newsletter, in whole or in part, should be addressed to accountability@worldbank.org. Your feedback is also welcome!