As the independent recourse mechanism for IFC and MIGA, CAO helps address the concerns of communities who believe they are affected by IFC/MIGA projects with the aim of improving social and environmental outcomes on the ground.
CAO's mandate
The Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent recourse mechanism for projects supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)--the private sector lending arms of the World Bank Group. CAO was established in 1999 and reports directly to the President of the World Bank Group.
CAO works to:
- Address the concerns of individuals or communities affected by IFC/MIGA projects
- Enhance the social and environmental outcomes of IFC/MIGA projects; and
- Foster greater public accountabilty of IFC and MIGA
The Office of the CAO is based in Washington, DC.
CAO Operational Guidelines
CAO's Operational Guidelines explain how CAO carries out its mandate and helps project-affected people gain access to its services. Specifically, the guidelines provide a predictable procedural framework to guide complainants and other stakeholders through CAO's complaint-handling process. The guidelines are available in the seven official languages of the World Bank Group:
Operational Guidelines - English (Arabic) المبادئ التوجيهية التشغيلية -- العربية
Directive opérationelles - Français
Diretrizes operacionais - Portugues
Directrices operacionales - Español
Оперативное руководство - русский (Russian)
Terms of Reference
CAO's mandate is articulated in its Terms of Reference (TOR), which have been endorsed by the President of the World Bank Group.
Members of the World Bank Group