A/HRC/36/40 B. Inspection Panel 69. In 1993, the World Bank Executive Board established an Inspection Panel 97 as an independent complaints mechanism for persons who believe they have been, or are likely to be, harmed by a Bank-funded project. Over the past 24 years, the Panel has taken steps to maintain and improve accountability in the Bank and assist management to implement transformational projects. Composed of three members who respond directly to the Bank’s Executive Board and remain independent of the Bank’s management, the Panel’s mission is to ensure accountability for the Bank’s human rights and environmental obligations. All reports that are prepared by the Panel, including the initial complaint, are made public, but the identities of the complainants remain confidential, if they so wish. 70. The Inspection Panel has jurisdiction over projects financed by IBRD and IDA. Complaints about IFC and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency-supported projects are dealt with by the Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman. 98 71. Owing to its ability to conduct compliance investigations, the Inspection Panel has growing potential to redress injustices associated with the Bank’s loans. The kind of dispute resolution provided can address core concerns of affected communities through negotiation and provide an opportunity to remedy abuses. In that regard, the Panel has investigated the alleged harm to people’s livelihoods or environmental degradation resulting from infrastructure projects. The Panel has also considered projects affecting the rights of indigenous peoples, including land rights and sacred sites, projects affecting natural habitats, stress on water sources, adverse impacts on wetlands, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, or projects involving forced relocation, owing, for example, to the building of a dam, road, pipeline, landfill or power plant. The Panel’s mandate, however, does not extend to issues relating to the procurement of goods or services, suspected fraud or corruption. The latter can be reported to the World Bank’s Integrity Vice Presidency. 99 72. In 2013, 20 years after the creation of the Inspection Panel, the Panel introduced its Pilot for Early Solutions programme as a second chance deferral process that entails putting an investigation on hold while allowing World Bank management time to resolve community complaints. Whereas the Pilot’s second implementation in Paraguay seems to have worked well, experience elsewhere has shown that removal of a complaint from the Panel’s transparent process may perpetuate the power imbalance, leaving the communities to negotiate directly with the same Bank staff and government officials responsible for the problems.100 Thus, the Pilot programme should be reformed or terminated. 73. In response to the Human Rights Watch report on reprisals, several international financial institution accountability mechanisms are developing guidelines to prevent, monitor and respond to reprisals. For example, on 30 March 2016, the Inspection Panel published guidelines to reduce retaliation risks and respond to retaliation during the Panel process. 101 The Panel also collaborates with other complaints mechanisms, such as the European Investment Bank, with whom it completed a joint investigation in Kenya in 2015, adopting a mediation process. According to the Panel’s 2015/2016 Annual Report, 102 the Panel carried out investigations in cases concerning Kenya and Uganda, and Kosovo, 103 and is engaged in pending cases in Armenia, Colombia, Mongolia and Uganda. 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 See www.inspectionpanel.org and the Panel’s 2015/2016 Annual Report, available from http://ewebapps.worldbank.org/apps/ip/Pages/Annual-Reports-2016.aspx. See www.cao-ombudsman.org. See www.worldbank.org/en/about/unit/integrity-vice-presidency/report-an-allegation. Bretton Woods Observer, Autumn 2016, p. 5. Available from www.brettonwoodsproject.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/09/Observer_Sept_16_online.pdf. See http://ewebapps.worldbank.org/apps/ip/PanelMandateDocuments/2016%20Retaliation%20 Guidelines.pdf. See http://ewebapps.worldbank.org/apps/ip/Pages/Annual-Reports-2016.aspx. All references to Kosovo in the present document should be understood to be in compliance with Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). 17