CAO Ombudsman
The Ombudsman 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. The aim is to identify
problems, recommend practical remedial actions and address systemic
issues that have contributed to the problems, rather than to
find fault.
When a complaint is received, the CAO appraises
it against basic criteria, including whether the complaint and
complainant are genuine, whether the project in question is
sponsored by IFC or MIGA, and whether the complaint is substantive
and specific.
If the complaint is accepted, it is fully assessed;
the project team is notified and given clear guidance on the
issues to which it should respond by a specified deadline. When
the assessment phase has concluded, the CAO responds to the
complainant with suggestions on how to move forward. The complainant
may choose to accept or reject these suggestions. If the complainant
does not wish to further engage the CAO, the office prepares
a report to the World Bank Group president. Once the report
is received by the president, the CAO sends copies to IFC or
MIGA management and project teams.
CAO's Operational Guidelines provide information on how to submit a complaint, as
well as a breakdown of each step into the complaint process,
and timeframe for CAO action at each step.
There is also a section on this website on How
to Submit a Complaint, which includes a model complaint
letter.
If you need more information, please contact
the Office of the CAO at:
cao-compliance@ifc.org
tel: 202 458 1973
fax: 202 522 7400
Last updated: 07/21/2008
