CAO Advances Accountability Dialogue in Bangkok: IAMnet and IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings
CAO concluded a series of engagements in Bangkok during the 2026 IAMnet Annual Meeting and the World Bank Group and IMF Annual Meetings. In exchanges with accountability mechanisms, civil society, and World Bank Group stakeholders, CAO shared lessons from its work and heard perspectives on how accountability systems can better serve project-affected communities.
Learning and collaboration at IAMnet
Ahead of the Annual Meetings, CAO contributed to the 2026 IAMnet Annual Meeting, hosted by the World Bank Inspection Panel. CAO representatives joined sessions on policy reviews, IAM effectiveness, advisory practice, AI and technology, gender-based violence, and safeguarding accountability amid institutional change.
Drawing on experience across CAO’s work, the team shared lessons and good practices from policy reviews, applying IAM effectiveness criteria, increasing the impact of advisory work, using new technology responsibly, and responding to gender-based violence through a survivor-centered approach.
During the dedicated Civil Society Day, CAO representatives helped facilitate exchanges on the challenges facing IAMs and practical ways to support remedy. Discussions highlighted accessibility, meaningful participation, protection against reprisals, stronger monitoring, and sustained attention to closed and legacy projects. Throughout, CAO emphasized that cooperation and innovation should strengthen IAM independence, effectiveness, and responsiveness to communities.
Discussions at the World Bank Group/IMF Annual Meetings
During the World Bank Group and IMF Annual Meetings, CAO contributed to Civil Society Policy Forum discussions on turning lessons from accountability complaints into stronger policies, practices, and outcomes for communities and workers.
CAO Acting Director General Ibrahim Pam joined community representatives, civil society, and a World Bank Group Executive Director for “Making Development Accountability Work for Communities in Asia.” Reflecting on cases in the region and the integration of the World Bank Group’s accountability mechanisms, he emphasized that reforms should deliver what communities need: safe and straightforward access, clear options for raising concerns, credible independent oversight, and meaningful action when harm occurs.
Later that day, Irum Ahsan, Manager of CAO’s Advisory function, joined civil society and World Bank Group representatives for “Labor Rights and Accountability in IFC Projects.” Drawing on CAO’s advisory work on labor and working conditions, she highlighted recurring issues from CAO cases and practical recommendations for IFC to use its influence to address noncompliance, strengthen implementation, and improve outcomes for workers.
On October 15, Pam delivered closing remarks at the Counter Docket, a community-led forum on the impacts of World Bank Group and IMF policies and financing. He reflected on the role and limits of accountability mechanisms and stressed the need for accessible redress processes that respect communities’ lived experience and lead to meaningful responses to harm.
Together, these engagements reinforced that effective accountability depends on accessible and independent mechanisms, meaningful outcomes for affected people, and institutional learning that improves practice.
Continuing the dialogue
For CAO, the Bangkok meetings provided an important opportunity to listen, share experience, and deepen dialogue with the communities and organizations working to strengthen independent accountability. CAO will carry these insights forward to strengthen its work, promote institutional learning, and support fair, effective, and accessible pathways for addressing environmental and social concerns related to IFC and MIGA projects.
