Our Mandate
The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent recourse mechanism for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The CAO responds to complaints from project-affected communities with the goal of enhancing social and environmental outcomes on the ground. Learn More
Case Update
Colombia: CAO Avianca Investigation Report Finalized
July 22, 2014 - CAO finalized its Investigation Report into IFC's investments in Avianca on July 21. The report has been submitted to IFC senior management for official response.
Learn more about the case
India: CAO Assessment Report of Lafarge Complaint
July 14, 2014 - CAO has released its Assessment Report for the complaint regarding IFC's investment in Lafarge in India. During the assessment, CAO found no agreement among the key parties to proceed with a dispute resolution under CAO auspices. The case will now be handled by the CAO's Compliance function for appraisal per CAO Operational Guidelines. To learn more about the case see link below: Learn more about the case
New CAO Vice President, Osvaldo L. Gratacós assumes office
July 10, 2014 - CAO is pleased to announce that its new Vice President (VP) Osvaldo L. Gratacós has officially assumed office. Mr. Gratacós brings more than 14 years of experience as a fair, independent counsel for various organizations. His career includes roles across the private sector such as Motorola, Inc. and public sector such as US Agency for International Development and the Export-Import Bank of the United States that will enable Mr. Gratacós to bring a balance of authority, experience and flexibility to the office. Mr. Gratacós takes over from Meg Taylor who set up the CAO and served as CAO VP for 15 years. Through her leadership, CAO gained international recognition for its work in addressing corporate-community conflict in over 40 countries, with a model which other multilateral institutions have sought to replicate. Ms. Taylor will be staying on as a Senior Advisor until the end of her term in August 2014.
To read more about the new VP see link below: Learn more about new CAO VP
Indonesia: CAO Compliance investigation of IFC's investment in Delta-Wilmar
July 02, 2014 - On June 25, 2014 CAO decided to conduct a compliance investigation of IFC's investment in Delta-Wilmar. The investigation will focus on whether IFC assured itself that the E&S conditions of disbursement of its loans to Delta-Wilmar were met prior to disbursement in January 2010 and whether the investment was supervised in accordance with applicable IFC policies, procedures and standards. CAO's appraisal report and Terms of Reference for the Compliance Investigation are available through the link below: Learn more about the case
Indonesia: CAO concludes the monitoring of Wilmar-01 case
July 02, 2014 - CAO has concluded its monitoring of the implementation of agreements relating to the Wilmar-01 case. A final Conclusion Report has been released and the case has been closed. English and Bahasa versions of the report are available at the link below.Learn more about this case
Summary of CAO Cases: July 2014
July 1, 2014 - CAO's 6-weekly summary of cases in assessment, dispute resolution, and compliance is available at the link below.CAO Case Summary July 2014
Cameroon: AES Sonel case closed after Compliance Appraisal
June 30, 2014 - CAO has completed its compliance appraisal of IFC with regard to the AES-Sonel Project. CAO has determined that an investigation is not merited and has closed the case. CAO's Appraisal report and full details about the case are available at the link below. Learn more about this case
Mozambique: Investigation of IFC with regard to Mozal closed
June 30, 2014 - CAO has released a Compliance Monitoring report of its investigation of IFC with regard to Mozal. As IFC’s investment in Mozal is no longer active and the CAO investigation did not identify project level compliance issues which require remedy, CAO has decided to close this compliance case. CAO's Compliance Monitoring report is available through the link below. Learn more about this case
Honduras: CAO finalizes Banco Ficohsa Investigation Report
June 18, 2014 - CAO finalized its Investigation Report into IFC's investments in Banco Fiochsa on June 13. The report has been submitted to IFC senior management for official response.Learn more about this case
Chad: Progress Report on Dispute Resolution Process with regard to Chad-Cameroon Complaint
June 8, 2014 - CAO has posted a Progress Report on the dispute resolution process in Chad to address a complaint regarding the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline. The report and update is available at the link below.Learn more about this case
Uganda: Agreement Reached between Kiboga Affected Community and New Forests Company in CAO Mediation
June 5, 2014 - A CAO mediation in Uganda has resulted in a signed agreement between the Kiboga Affected Community and New Forests Company (NFC) to resolve a complaint regarding evictions from land for commercial forestry projects. The Agreement represents full and final settlement between the parties on the complaint following a two year mediation process. CAO will now monitor implementation of the agreement to ensure its sustainability and success. A full summary of the case, and Progress Report, is available at the link below.Learn more about this case
Mexico: CAO Assessment of Eighth Harmon Hall Complaint
June 04, 2014 - CAO has released its Assessment Report of the 8th complaint received regarding IFC's investment in Harmon Hall. The parties did not agreed to enter a dispute resolution process and the complaint is now being appraised by CAO's Compliance function. CAO's Assessment report is available through the link below.Learn more about the case here
Armenia: Complaint regarding IFC's Lydian Intl 3 Project
May 29, 2014 - CAO has accepted a complaint regarding IFC's investment in Lydian International Limited, a junior mining company sponsoring the exploration of the Amulsar gold project in Armenia. CAO has commenced an initial assessment of the issues raised in the complaint with the relevant parties. A CAO communique about the case is available in English.
Learn more about this case here
Cambodia: CAO Assessment of IFC's VEIL II Project
May 12, 2014 - CAO has released its Assessment Report of the complaint received regarding IFC supported VEIL II project. The parties have agreed to work with CAO's Dispute Resolution function to try to resolve the issues. CAO's Assessment report, and IFC's response, is available at the link below.
Learn more about the case here
Uganda: Implementation of agreement between Mubende community and New Forests Company
May 7, 2014 - Progress is being made on implementation of the agreement reached through mediation between the Mubende affected community and New Forests Company in Uganda. Read CAO's brief about case outcomes to date. A description of the case is available at the link below.Learn more about this case
Peru: New complaint regarding IFC's Yanacocha Project
April 21, 2014 - CAO has accepted a new complaint from a local family who raise concerns about IFC-supported Minera Yanacocha’s land acquisition and compensation process related to Minas Conga. Learn more about this case
Peru: CAO finalizes Quellaveco Investigation Report
May 1, 2014 - CAO finalized its Investigation Report into IFC's investment in Quellaveco on April 23. The report has been submitted to IFC senior management for official response.Learn more about this case
Guatemala: Complaint Regarding IFC's TCQ Project
April 16, 2014 - CAO has accepted a new complaint regarding IFC's TCQ project in Guatemala. An assessment of the issues raised in the complaint is underway with the relevant parties.
Learn more about case here
Ukraine: Complaint Regarding IFC's Axzon Project
April 11, 2014 - CAO has accepted a new complaint regarding IFC's Axzon project in Ukraine. An assessment of the issues raised in the complaint is underway with the relevant parties. Learn more about the case here
Honduras: IFC Consultation Draft: Dinant Enhanced Action Plan
April 08, 2014 - IFC has provided CAO with an enhanced Action Plan in response to CAO's Audit of IFC's investment in Dinant. This action plan has been posted on IFC's website here and is available under the View Documents tab from the link belowLink to case file and Dinant Enhanced Action Plan
Uganda: Oxfam says Mubende community moves forward with implementation of agreement with New Forests Company
April 3, 2014 - News from Oxfam on progress in Uganda as implementation of the agreement reached through the CAO mediation process between the Mubende affected community and New Forests Company, moves forward. Learn more about the CAO case here. Oxfam: Mubende community moves forward, April 3, 2014
Peru: New Complaint Regarding IFC's Yanacocha Project
March 26, 2014- A former employee of IFC supported mining Company, Minera Yanacocha S.R.L. has lodged a complaint with CAO. The complaint has been found eligible and CAO has commenced the assessment of the issues with the relevant parties. Learn more about this case here
Albania: CAO Compliance Appraisal of Albania Hydros
March 24, 2014 - CAO has released its Compliance Appraisal report of IFC advisory services project in Albania Hydros. Having considered the issues raised in the complaint and available information on the potential adverse environmental and social impact of the project, CAO finds that this complaint does not warrant further investigation. As such, CAO has decided to close the case.Learn more about this case here
India: CAO completes appraisal of IFC Investment in Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited and issues Terms of Reference for Compliance Investigation
February 11, 2014 - CAO has completed its appraisal of IFC's investment in Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited. CAO concludes that IFC's environmental and social performance with regard to this project merits further enquiry. CAO has issued Terms of Reference for a Compliance Investigation. Full details about the case are available at the link below.Learn more about this case
Honduras: CAO issues Terms of Reference for Compliance Investigation into IFC's investments in Banco Ficohsa
January 27, 2014 - In line with its Operational Guidelines, CAO has issued Terms of Reference for a Compliance Investigation of IFC’s investments in Banco Ficohsa. Full details about the case are available at the link below.Learn more about this case
Honduras: CAO Audit of IFC Investment in Corporación Dinant
January 10, 2014 - CAO's Audit Report of IFC's investment in Dinant, Honduras has been released following clearance by the World Bank Group President. A summary of CAO's findings, together with the full audit report and IFC's response, are available at the link below. See Summary of CAO Audit Findings.Learn more about this case
President Kim Responds to Civil Society’s Concerns on Private Sector Investments
December 10, 2013 - Yesterday, World Bank Group President released a statement responding to civil society concerns on private sector investments. See the link below for the full statement.Link to President Kim's statement
IFC's Action Plan in Response to CAO's Financial Intermediary Audit
September 30, 2013 - IFC have provided CAO with its Action Plan in response to the CAO Audit of a Sample of IFC Investments in Third-Party Financial Intermediaries. Where relevant, IFC's Action Plan will inform CAO's monitoring of this audit however, CAO will monitor to the findings of the audit and not exclusively to IFC's Action Plan. The Action Plan can be found through the link below. Learn more about this case.IFC's FI Action Plan
What's New
CAO holds third mediator workshop in Africa
January 2014 - As part of its ongoing strategy to grow the CAO network of mediators globally, CAO hosted its third African workshop in Dakar, Senegal in December 2013.Learn more about the workshop
CAO Annual Report 2013
October 31, 2013 - CAO has released its 2013 Annual Report which provides a full account of CAO's activities from July 2012 to June 2013 (Fiscal Year 2013). The report is available in English and Spanish at the link below. CAO Annual Report 2013
Members of the World Bank Group