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As the world struggles to come to grips with a global health pandemic, we’re reminded every day of our vulnerability on Earth, and the dangers that threaten our livelihoods. While climate change doesn’t spread like a...

Our dear and beloved colleague Leonardo Paat Jr., Environment and Social Safeguards, Gender and Indigenous Peoples Manager at the Green Climate Fund (GCF), passed away on 5th August.  We at the Independent Redress...

In fulfilling their mandates, the staff members of international organisations have to travel on missions, including to participate in international meetings, conduct site visits, and engage in person with diverse...

The Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM) of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has developed and is piloting supporting operating procedures (SOPs) to efficiently and effectively implement the Terms of Reference (TOR) and the...

The pandemic has posed great challenges for individuals and organisations around the globe. Like many others, we have turned to technology to maneuver through the difficulties presented by Covid-19. After the success of...

The success of an advisor is best judged on how much of her advice is accepted and mainstreamed into the day to-day work of the person or institution receiving that advice.  By that measure, the 2020 Advisory report of...

Ahmed and his family were forcibly removed from their home to make way for a new rapid transit system. There are powerful supporters of the project and Ahmed and his family are concerned that something bad will happen...

Thabiti lives along Lake Naivasha in Kenya and is a subsistence fisher. He’s concerned about a wind farm development along the shore of the lake and the underground noise which he thinks will disturb fish stocks. He...

Asha is a fictional character used in a short video created by the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM) to explain the IRM’s complaints handling process. Asha’s livelihood depends on subsistence farming, and once a week...

Three staff members of the GCF’s IRM in South Korea realized that they were all keen on vegetarian food.  One of them started a WhatsApp group called “Vegefoods” and posted a recipe of a vegetarian dish made with local...

The Boards of five International Accredited Entities of the GCF have appointed new leaders to their Accountability Mechanisms (Grievance Redress Mechanisms – GRMs) over the last year.   Most recently, the Inter-...

Today, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board adopted a unique and novel set of guidelines to improve the management of the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM)’s cases. Thus, the GCF will provide a better response to people...

When the IRM receives a complaint but lacks expertise in a specialized issue area, how do we move forward? If a complaint proceeds to the problem solving phase, how can we mediate and help find a solution that suits all...

In our last blog about the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM)’s gender journey, we introduced a fictional character Bo, a woman who was facing adverse impacts from a project funded by an international financial...

Martina works for a financial intermediary of an international financial institution in a South American country. The institution where she works asked her to respond to complaints as part of its Grievance Redress...

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw Grievance Redress Mechanisms (GRMs) around the world, whether they be those of big financial institutions,...

If you were forced out of your family home to make way for a new development project and were not adequately compensated, what would you do? While there are many forums you could use to register your complaint, you...

In the early 2000s, members of local farming communities in Cajamarca, Peru raised a red flag over the nearby Yanacocha Gold Mine. The complainants alleged that as a result of the gold mine, the community’s health and...

Is there a difference between complaints and grievances in adaptation projects and mitigation projects? Should a different set of criteria be considered in designing grievance systems for climate adaptation and...

West African countries, in particular those in the Niger Basin, are some of the world’s most vulnerable to climate change due to high exposure to extreme weather events such as droughts, high dependence on ecosystem...

For the first time in history, the UN Human Rights Council has recognized the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a fundamental human right.  A decade ago, 149 out of 193 countries had included...