Bogotá: Workshop on Mechanisms for Accountability and Civil Society
On December 5, the Workshop on Mechanisms for Accountability and Civil Society was held in Bogotá. The workshop was jointly organized by the Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs) of the Inter-American Development Bank (Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism / MICI) and the World Bank Group (Inspection Panel and Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman CAO), in collaboration with civil society organizations (CSOs), Environment and Society Association, and the Regional Group on Financing and Infrastructure (GREFI).
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Independent accountability mechanisms were established to address the grievances of people affected by environmental and social impacts of development projects funded by multilateral institutions. Since CSOs sometimes work to support affected communities through capacity-building efforts and support in access resources, IAMs carry out proactive public outreach in collaboration with CSOs throughout Latin America to publicize Their services with civil society networks and that both sides can broaden their perspectives.
In this sense, the three main objectives of the event were:
– Allow Colombian CSOs to become more familiar with the IAMs and the conflict resolution and enforcement services they provide;
– To allow IAMs to expand their relationship with CSOs in Colombia, especially with local organizations and communities that are in populations potentially affected by projects; Y
– Provide a space for dialogue between IAMs and CSOs, in order to exchange experiences, reflections and points of view on accountability issues related to public and private sector development projects in Colombia.
The one-day workshop included presentations by the different IAMs about their services and examples of their work; CSO presentations on their experiences with the activation of the mechanisms, as well as tools to access project information; Small discussion groups related to the access and work of the IAMs and a broader discussion on the trends of accountability in Colombia.
Source: Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad
Contact
Juan Carballo, <juanmcarballo@fundeps.org>
