Feb 20, 2023 by Coalition

Open Letter From Civil Society Organizations to IDB President Ilan Goldfajn

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More than twenty organizations from Latin America and the United States addressed a letter to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Ilan Goldfajn. They ask that the Bank strengthens its work by ensuring respect for human rights and the protection of the environment and by creating spaces for greater articulation with civil society.

The organizations, members and allies of the Coalition for Human Rights in Development,  alluded in the letter to the commitment assumed by Goldfajn in his inaugural speech as president of the Bank, to “seize all opportunities for dialogue” and collaboration with governments, the private sector, and civil society to tackle problems in the region.

In order to improve coordination with civil society, the organizations urged the Bank to open a space for dialogue with civil society at its Annual Meetings, not only because it is a good practice implemented by other multilateral organizations but also because it is a unique opportunity to include the communities affected by the projects.

Since 2017, the group of signatory organizations of the letter has been monitoring and enriching the Bank’s policies and projects that it hopes to continue carrying out. The organizations have contributed to the IDB Environmental and Social Policy Framework, updates to the Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism policy, and the Bank’s Access to Information Policy review process.

The organizations seek that the IDB ensures in its practices and operations the promotion and respect of human rights, particularly the rights of indigenous peoples, and the protection of key ecosystems in the fight against climate change

The next Annual Meeting of the Boards of Governors of the IDB and IDB Invest will be held in Panama from March 16 to 19.

Signatory organizations:

  1. Accountability Counsel
  2. AMATE (El Salvador)
  3. Articulación Salvadoreña de Sociedad Salvadoreña de Sociedad Civil para la Incidencia en las Instituciones Financieras Internacionales (ASIFI)
  4. Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad (Environment and Society Association)
  5. Interamerican Association for the Defense of the Environment (AIDA)
  6. International Accountability Project
  7. Bank Information Center
  8. Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
  9. Coalition for Human Rights In Development
  10. Cohesión Comunitaria e Innovación Social A.C. (Mexico)
  11. Conectas Direitos Humanos
  12. Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR, Perú)
  13. Ecoa – Ecology and Action
  14. Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (Fundeps)
  15. CAUCE Foundation: Environmental Culture – Causa Ecologista (Argentina) 
  16. Gender Action
  17. International Rivers 
  18. Mesa de Discapacidad y Derechos (Perú)
  19. International Platform against Impunity
  20. Protection International Mesoamerica
  21. Sociedad y Discapacidad – SODIS (Perú)
  22. Sustentarse (Chile)
  23. Wetlands International / Fundacion Humedales (Argentina) 

Read the full letter here:

Letter to IDB President