Panel Participates in CSO Workshop in Bangkok

The Inspection Panel joined with two other independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) and five civil society organizations (CSOs) to organize a workshop for approximately 30 CSO representatives from nine Asian countries in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 6. Executive Secretary Dilek Barlas and Senior Executive Assistant Oriana Bolvaran represented the Panel at the workshop, which also included representatives from the World Bank Group’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman and the accountability mechanism of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The workshop included presentations on the mandates and operations of the IAMs, as well as discussions intended to help the CSO representatives better understand how to engage with the mechanisms as needed. CSO representatives from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, LAO PDR, Indonesia, Nepal and China took part in the workshop, which was co-sponsored by the International Accountability Project, the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, the Center for International Environmental Law, NGO Forum on ADB and International Rivers. The Panel’s next CSO workshop is scheduled for later this month in Guatemala.