The Independent Review Mechanism Hosted a Virtual Outreach With Civil Society Organizations

17 June 2020
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)

The Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (BCRM), the Secretariat of the Bank's Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), organized an information webinar for civil society organizations (CSOs) on "Handling Complaints from People Affected by Projects Financed by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)" on Wednesday, 10 June 2020.

The session brought together 61 participants from civil society organizations representing 8 countries in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal); 3 in Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana and Eswatini); two Central African countries (Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo); two East African countries (Kenya and Uganda); 3 North African countries (Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia); and the United States of America and 5 European countries (Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands).

The participants became acquainted with the IRM through the presentations delivered focusing on the IRM mandate, roles, and procedures for handling complaints through problem-solving and compliance review.

Following the presentations, a panel of three Representatives of CSOs shared their experiences with the IRM in handling of cases, and also informed the participants how they conduct outreach activities with affected communities. Finally, BCRM updated the participants on the ongoing third review of the IRM. BCRM encouraged the participants to submit their views and comments once the draft report is published in the Bank website for public consultation in coming months. The session provided an opportunity for participants to discuss and highlight the challenges and impacts of the IRM work on communities affected by projects financed by the AfDB and in helping the Bank achieve its sustainable development objectives.

The webinar was organized in partnership with three (3) CSOs: Accountability Counsel in the USA, Lumiere Synergie pour le Developpement (LSD) in Senegal and the Centre pour le Developpement de la Region de Tensift (CDRT in Morocco with the support of the Bank's Civil Society and Community Engagement Division.

Contact:

Romaric Ollo HIEN, Département de la communication et des relations extérieures, Banque africaine de développement, courriel : O.HIEN@afdb.org

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).

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