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Towards more inclusive, participatory, just and sustainable development |
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International Financial Institutions and a new social contract in MENA
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The popular rage across the MENA region between 2010 and 2011 (so-called Arab Spring) forced the IFIs to adopt a new rhetoric about the need to build a new social contract. Different IFIs developed new policies to achieve economic convergence by investing in human capital through improving education, expanding healthcare, strengthening social safety nets, etc. Ten years later, IFIs operations in the region have not yet fully demonstrated this new social contract.
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Global Austerity Alert: Looming Budget Cuts in 2021-25 and Alternatives
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Within the #EndAusterity ongoing campaign, a global study published by the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University, international trade unions and civil society organizations, sound the alarm of the upcoming austerity shock. Most of the governments are adopting severe budget cuts, whereas their countries and the people are in urgent need of public support .
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Call on the IMF to immediately stop promoting austerity around the world
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Over 500 organizations and academics around the world call on IMF to stop promoting austerity measures, especially in the COVID-19 recovery period. They urge the IMF to advocate, instead, for policies that advance gender justice, reduce inequality, and decisively put people and planet first.
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To what extent did the World Bank’s take into consideration Citizen Engagement throughout COVID-19?
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The COVID-19 pandemic has made Citizen Engagement even more pertinent for effective development processes. During the Civil Society Policy Forum, AWC addressed this issue in a session with the World Bank’s representatives. Drawing upon research conducted by AWC members , the dialogue flagged gaps related to inclusion, access to information and grievance mechanisms in the World Bank’s Covid-19 emergency response in five countries in the region. AWC is planning to ask for special meetings with the World Bank to discuss the findings and recommendations of each of those five studies in details..
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Does the EIB comply with the EU principle of openness?
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The European Investment Bank (EIB) was revising its Transparency Policy draft (TP) which will specify what information the EIB is giving access to it, in which format and timeframe. Against this initiative which appears to promising at first, this draft has been received with strong criticism from civil society. AWC among 53 CSOs submitted a joint review that examines the gaps in this new transparency policy and provide the EIB with key arguments and alternatives that the bank should take into consideration.
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What steps that the EU lending arm is taking towards Human Rights?
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AWC alongside 16 NGOs sent a letter to the EIB Directors, spelling out key recommendations to fundamentally reform the institution with more considerations to Human Rights. In this letter, civil society urges the EIB to develop effective standards for robust human rights due diligence in all of its operations, before the bank becomes the new centered EU Development bank.
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First development summit turns its back on CSOs
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The French Development Agency (AFD) convened the Finance in Common Summit, the first global summit of all Public Development Banks (PDBs) from around the world. The summit aimed at providing a collective response to global challenges, reconciling short-term responses to the Covid-19 crisis with sustainable recovery measures, and redirecting financial flows towards sustainable development objectives. In a letter addressed to the AFD, over 200 organizations around the world call for the principles of a human rights-based and community-led development approach to be included and prioritized both in the agenda and in the outcomes of the summit.
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To the World Bank : Cancel Yemen Debt !
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#CancelYemenDebt is an ongoing campaign launched by Yemeni civil society urging the World Bank to relieve Yemen’s debt and save the country and its people. In July, CSOs sent an appeal to the World Bank to take serious measures in this direction given the devastating humanitarian crisis that the country has been going through for the last 6 years.
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Will The IFC’s Accountability Be Summed Up To Washing Its Hands?
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Three complaints were submitted from Egypt to the IFC’s Compliance Advisor and Ombudsman (CAO) against Titan Cement company between 2015 and 2017. IFC’s quiet divestment from Titan, which occurred during the investigations and after significant damages had already been done to communities and workers, raises many questions about IFC accountability.
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Joint comments on the External Review report and recommendations to IFC/MIGA and CAO
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Specific comments drafted by different 44 NGOs together with AWC and members to build upon the External Review report to enhance the accountability framework for IFC/MIGA which is critical when it comes to the process and complaints redress. The report seems to be a transgressive step to reform the environmental and social accountability of IFC/MIGA. What remains at issue is a deliberate and inclusive implementation process.
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Arab Watch Coalition: Second General Assembly
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Arab Watch Coalition held its second general assembly in October 2020. The Coalition’s members discussed the most urgent issues in each of the countries they represent, as well as the interests and needs of the civil society groups to enable them to work on IFIs The discussion included also an informal midterm strategy review and guidance for the second term of the 2019-2022 strategy.
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[CSOs-WORKSHOPS] Accountability Mechanisms (AMs) | |
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AWC organized a series of workshops to introduce the international accountability mechanisms (IAMs) of different IFIs to civil society groups in the MENA region. The workshops were conducted by representatives of the IAMs in coordination with AWC. In these workshops the participants learned about the mandate of each mechanism, the illegibility requirements for the complaints, and the procedures those mechanisms follow to investigate each complaint. |
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This series included workshops with the following IAMs:
- The Independent Redress Mechanism of the Green Climate Fun (GCF)
- The Independent Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) of the EBRD
- The World Bank Inspection Panel
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AWC plan to organize workshops with the IAMs of the European Investment Bank, the African Development Bank, and the International Financial Institutions. |
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