Welcome to the Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent recourse mechanism for:

 

• International Finance Corporation (IFC)- the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group; and

• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)- the multilateral risk mitigation arm of the World Bank Group.

 

If you believe you are negatively affected by an IFC or MIGA project, you can raise your concern with the Office of the CAO. This website provides you with the information you need to lodge a complaint.

The status of active ombudsman complaints and compliance audits can be tracked on their individual webpages. All CAO public documents for both current and past audits, advisory projects, and accepted complaints are located in the archive.

The CAO is an independent office that reports directly to the President of the World Bank Group regarding IFC and MIGA projects. The CAO does not intervene in Board or Project processes but has the independence to make recommendations that will be helpful in resolving disputes. The reports and recommendations of the CAO are public. Ultimately, the Office of the President is responsible for their implementation or otherwise.  

The three functions of the CAO office are:

 

Compliance (audits) role is to independently assess whether IFC and MIGA have complied with their environmental and social Safeguard Policies, guidelines and procedures, in investing in (IFC) or providing political risk insurance to (MIGA) projects.

 

Advisor (advisory projects) role has the objective to provide independent, timely, and objective advice to the president of the World Bank Group and management of the IFC and MIGA. This advice relates only to broader environmental and social policies, guidelines, procedures, resources, and systems.

 

Ombudsman (complaint resolution) role is the central role of the CAO. As ombudsman, the CAO's major objective is to provide an accessible and effective mechanism for handling complaints from persons who are affected (or are likely to be affected) by the social and environmental impacts of IFC- or MIGA-sponsored projects.

 

If you are affected by an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or International Development Association (IDA) project, you may contact the Inspection Panel.

 

cao-compliance@ifc.org
Tel: 202 458 1973
Fax: 202 522 7400

Annual Report 2004-2005
English/pdf

This page last updated: 9/01/2006