"AC and Partners Submit Comments on OPIC’s Draft Environmental and Social Policy Statement," 30 Nov 2016

…Accountability Counsel and 17 partner organizations submitted comments to improve the practices of…Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)…The comments, which are part of a review of OPIC’s draft Environmental and Social Policy Statement (ESPS), follow on recommendations made in the aftermath of OPIC’s investment in the failed Buchanan Renewables biomass project in Liberia…While the draft ESPS does reflect an increased commitment to human rights principles, it still fails to include the necessary processes for the proper assessment and monitoring of environmental, social, and human rights impacts. Our joint comments outline major gaps in the following areas:

• Inadequate and unclear human rights due diligence procedures;
• Little assessment and monitoring of development outcomes;
• Insufficient monitoring procedures; and
• Incomplete access to…remedy.

…OPIC must use this ESPS revision process to resolve the weaknesses identified in our joint submissions…Without those changes, OPIC risks repeating the mistakes it made in Liberia and again leaving vulnerable communities worse off as a result of its investments…