IRM and SECU meet with South East Asian civil society organisations in Bangkok, Thailand

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are often involved in supporting communities to raise their concerns with financiers of projects. Recognising the important role of CSOs in accountability, the Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM) of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) regularly conduct outreach sessions for CSOs in areas where UNDP and GCF are active to raise awareness of their services in the region.

The accountability mechanisms of GCF and UNDP will join forces in Bangkok, Thailand from June 25th to 26th, 2018. As Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs), SECU and IRM will be organising an accountability and redress workshop, where they will meet with 20 representatives of CSOs from Thailand Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam. This workshop will provide an opportunity for IRM and SECU to look at how IAMs can provide information to civil society organisations who can act as intermediaries for people that are affected or potentially affected by projects and programmes funded by the UNDP and/or GCF.

This workshop aims to raise awareness among representatives of CSOs from Southeast Asia on the opportunities for accountability and redress at UNDP and GCF, and equip them with practical information and hands-on experience in finding project information, filing complaints, and understanding complaint handling processes, so they can support people potentially affected. It will also enable SECU and IRM to broaden their contacts with CSOs and project affected people from the region and learn about their experiences, challenges with project impacts and how these may be best addressed. Finally, it will provide the Independent Accountability Mechanisms and CSOs with an opportunity to exchange views on engagement and accountability issues related to development and climate change projects in Southeast Asia.