Panel to Co-Host Session on Development and Accountability Challenges in FCV Countries at World Bank Annual Meetings;
Panel Open House Scheduled for October 17

The Inspection Panel and Oxfam International will co-host a session titled “Development and Accountability Challenges in FCV Countries” at the Civil Society Policy Forum during the upcoming World Bank Group Annual Meetings. The session is scheduled from 9-10:30 a.m. on Friday, October 18 in room 220 of the World Bank’s I Building.

The Panel will also host its biannual open house during the Annual Meetings. The open house is scheduled for Thursday, October 17 from 5-7:30 p.m. in the Panel’s offices, MC 10-507. Please join us for food, drink and spirited conversation.

Panel Publishes Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report

The Inspection Panel published its fiscal year 2019 annual report in late September. The report provides summaries of cases the Panel processed from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, and also includes a message from the Panel, highlights of the Panel’s year including the commemoration of the Panel’s 25th anniversary, the Panel budget, biographical information on each Panel member and the Panel executive secretary, and graphs detailing the Panel’s casework since it began operations.

The report is now available on the Panel’s website. It also can be found here.

CASE DEVELOPMENTS

INDIA: Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project – Board Approves Panel's Updated Recommendation Not to Investigate After Government Withdraws Request for Bank Financing

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors on July 23, 2019, approved the Inspection Panel’s updated recommendation not to investigate the project. The Panel on March 29, 2019, had recommended carrying out an investigation into potential non-compliance with the livelihood restoration requirements of the Bank’s Involuntary Resettlement Policy. However, on July 16, 2019, a day after Bank management informed the Board that the Government of India had withdrawn its request for project financing, the Panel updated its recommendation that no investigation be undertaken because the project was no longer under consideration by the Bank. The Panel had received a Request for Inspection in May 2017 from landowners from the area proposed for the construction of the Amaravati capital city. They alleged harm from a land pooling scheme used to assemble the land for the city. 
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KENYA: Nairobi Metropolitan Services Improvement Project – Board Approves Panel Recommendation Not to Investigate

The Board on July 30, 2019, approved the Panel’s recommendation not to investigate the project. The Panel had received a Request for Inspection of the project on April 12, 2019, from three residents of the Muthurwa area of Nairobi. Among other things, the Requesters alleged that plans to redevelop the area would result in the evictions of community members. In making its recommendation, the Panel observed that the Requesters’ concerns around immediate evictions were not related to the project. The Panel further took note of Bank management’s commitment to have the Strategic Environmental Assessment prepared under the project include the Muthurwa area and to conduct community consultations for that purpose. More

UGANDA: Water Management and Development Project and Energy for Rural Transformation Phase III Project – Board Meeting Expected in Coming Weeks

The Board is expected to consider the Panel’s Investigation Report and discuss the Management Report and Recommendation together with the Management Action Plan in response to the Panel’s findings in the coming weeks. The Panel submitted the report to the Board on May 2, 2019, in response to two Requests for Inspection of the project. Management submitted its Report and Recommendation responding to the Panel’s findings on July 3, 2019. The Requesters raise concerns about potential harm caused by the construction of the Isimba Dam and the consequent flooding of a part of the Kalagala Offset Area (KOA) in Uganda. Although the World Bank is not financing the construction of the dam, the Requesters claim environmental and social harm from the flooding of the KOA, which was established as a requirement of the earlier Uganda Private Power Generation Project. More 

INDIA: Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project for Low Income States – Panel Preparing Investigation Report

The Panel is preparing its Investigation Report in response to two Requests for Inspection of the project and expects to submit the report to the Board this fall. The Requests were submitted by tribal community members who raised concerns, respectively, about a water treatment plant (WTP) and an elevated storage reservoir (ESR), both of which are part of water schemes financed by the project. The Requesters claim the WTP and the ESR are being built on land that has historical and cultural significance to their tribal communities. They raise concerns about losing access to community resources, as well as about the environmental and economic impact of the schemes. More

LEBANON: Water Supply Augmentation Project and the Greater Beirut Water Supply Project and Additional Financing – Panel Issues Notice of Non-Registration

The Panel on September 4, 2019, issued a Notice of Non-Registration for the Request for the Inspection of the projects. The June 2019 Request alleged harm from construction of the Bisri Dam. The complaint referred to an earlier Request regarding the same projects, for which the Panel recommended not to conduct an investigation The Requesters explained they were not satisfied with the Panel’s earlier response and, based on new evidence and circumstances, they submitted the new Request. In issuing the Notice of Non-Registration, the Panel noted that under its procedures if a Request raises similar matters as a previous Request for which the Panel has made a recommendation, the new complaint must present new evidence or circumstances. The Panel stated that in its judgment the new information presented in this case did not constitute new evidence or circumstances warranting registration of the Request. More

POLAND: Odra-Vistula Flood Management Project – Panel Issues Notices of Registration

The Panel on September 17 and 26, 2019, issued Notices of Registration for eight Requests for Inspection of the project. The first five Requests are similar in nature and allege that project activities cause potential harm to biodiversity, increase flood risks and have transboundary impact on Germany. The sixth Request adds concerns about hydro-engineering works on the Vistula River and claims that the project will undermine and destroy Natura 2000 habitats and sites, and lead to economic losses. The seventh Request concerns environmental issues relating to the project’s dry basins in the Klodzko Valley. The eighth Request raises concerns about the project’s impact on biodiversity in protected areas in Poland and in the transboundary Odra region. The Panel will process the Requests jointly. More

BRAZIL: Teresina Enhancing Municipal Governance and Quality of Life Project and Additional Financing – Panel Issues Notice of Registration

The Inspection Panel on September 19, 2019, issued a Notice of Registration for a Request for Inspection of the project. The Panel received the Request on August 23, 2019, from 202 families who live in the Afonso Mafrense and São Joaquim neighborhoods of Teresina. While the Requesters are supportive of the project, they oppose their resettlement and claim there are other possible project designs that would enable them to stay in their current location. They contend that community members have been living in this location for several decades and the project will cause cultural, social and economic harm. They also raise concerns about lack of both consultation with affected communities and disclosure of information.  The Panel received letters from the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Piauí and from the Federal Public Defender´s Office in Piauí in support of the Request for Inspection. More

OUTREACH

Panel Takes Part in Workshop, VC With Civil Society in South Asia, Africa

The Panel on September 26-27, 2019, joined civil society organizations (CSOs) and other independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) to organize a workshop in Bangladesh for community representatives from several South Asian nations on the mandate and operations of the IAMs. Panel Member Ramanie Kunanayagam and Senior Executive Assistant Oriana Bolvaran represented the Panel at the workshop, which featured sessions on how to find project information, CSO experiences engaging with the IAMs, and how to file a complaint with an IAM. Earlier in the month, Senior Operations Officer Serge Selwan and Senior Communications Officer Rob Doherty spoke via video to explain the workings of the Panel to a conference sponsored by the Bank Information Center for civil society representatives from four African nations. The Panel's next workshop will be with civil society representatives from Sri Lanka. It is being organized in partnership with Environmental Foundation Limited and is scheduled for October 15 in Colombo. More

Panel Organizes Discussion on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in DRC

The Inspection Panel on July 16, 2019, organized a discussion titled “The Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Case Study” at a side event of the Twelfth Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Geneva, Switzerland. Inspection Panel Senior Operations Officer Serge Selwan led the discussion, which also included Willy Loyombo, who founded two journals that promote the knowledge and expertise of indigenous peoples. Mr. Loyombo and Adrien Sinafasi, who represents the indigenous peoples of the DRC in international fora, partnered on a 2017 book titled “The Indigenous Peoples of the DRC: Story of a Partnership.” More

Panel Participates in 16th Annual Meeting of the IAM Network in Côte d'Ivoire

Inspection Panel Chair Imrana Jalal, Panel Members Jan Mattsson and Ramanie Kunanayagam, Executive Secretary Dilek Barlas and Senior Communications Officer Rob Doherty represented the Panel at the 16th Annual Meeting of the Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAM) Network hosted by the African Development Bank’s Compliance Review and Mediation Unit from June 24-28, 2019, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The Network is comprised of 20 IAMs at international development institutions and is intended to foster collaboration, cooperation and knowledge sharing among its members. More

ABOUT THE INSPECTION PANEL 

The Inspection Panel is an independent complaints mechanism for people and communities who believe that they have been, or are likely to be, adversely affected by a World Bank-funded project. The Board of Executive Directors created the Inspection Panel in 1993 to ensure that people have access to an independent body to which to express their concerns and seek recourse. The Panel is an impartial fact-finding body, independent from the World Bank management and staff, reporting directly to the Board. The Inspection Panel process aims to promote accountability at the World Bank, give affected people a greater voice in activities supported by the World Bank that affect their rights and interests, and foster redress when warranted.