CAO Comments on the Draft Report of the Task Force on Integration of World Bank Group Independent Accountability Mechanisms

The Boards of the World Bank Group (WBG)—the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)— established an independent Task Force to develop options and recommendations regarding potential integration of the WBG’s Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs):  the IFC/MIGA Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) and World Bank Accountability Mechanism (comprised of the Inspection Panel (IPN) and Dispute Resolution Service (DRS)).

On March 26, 2026, the Task Force issued a Draft Report for public consultation and comment from project-affected people, civil society organizations, public and private sector clients, and other stakeholders. During the consultation phase, CAO submitted comments to help inform the Task Force’s final report.

CAO welcomes the attention and consideration the Draft Report gives to the core principles established by the Boards to guide the Task Force, particularly non-regression of IAM mandates and policies, safeguarding IAM independence, and improved effectiveness of IAMs for project-affected communities, borrowers/clients, and the WBG. CAO notes positive proposals such as an integrated web portal to enhance IAM accessibility for project-affected people. At the same time, CAO cautions that policy harmonization should be pursued as “upward” harmonization consistent with these principles and that pairing harmonization with major structural change could increase risks of regression, operational disruption, and case backlogs. CAO supports practical steps that streamline intake and strengthen collaboration with minimal disruption, while flagging significant governance and operational concerns with a dual-headed model that could fragment services and weaken the Advisory Function.

Read CAO’s full comments here.

Learn more about the Task Force on IAM Integration here.