In April 2021, the Office of Evaluations and Oversight (“OVE”) at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) published the Evaluation of the Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) (“OVE’s Evaluation”). The evaluation aimed to determine whether MICI was effective and efficient in three areas: (1) the resolution of complaints; (2) the promotion of institutional learning; and (3) MICI’s accessibility, independence objectively, impartiality, and transparency.
In OVE’s Evaluation, OVE made five overarching recommendations for how the Board, the Bank, and MICI could better uphold the Bank’s environmental and social safeguards. The Evaluation identified impediments to the effective functioning of MICI, including accessibility barriers, unnecessary limitations on its independence, and a systemic lack of remedy taken by the IDB Group when projects were not in compliance with safeguards. After the publication of the report, Bank management and MICI published responses. We, as civil society organizations working in partnership with communities who have been harmed by IDB and IDB Invest projects and who have sought redress through MICI, have decided to also publish a response. In the following brief, CIEL and civil society organizations respond to OVE’s recommendations and provide advice on implementation.
Published November 2021.