Joint Civil Society Statement on IFC’s Draft Sustainability Framework

The document argues that the IFC's draft Sustainability Framework fails to adequately protect human rights, noting that references to human rights were removed from previous drafts. The signatories call for mandatory human rights due diligence for both the IFC and its clients, alignment with the UN 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' framework, and specific safeguards regarding water rights, gender impacts, forced evictions, and environmental damage.

• The draft Sustainability Framework is criticized for removing references to human rights that appeared in earlier versions, creating the impression that the IFC may prioritize investment over human rights.
• The signatories argue that the IFC's approach is inconsistent with the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights' 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' framework, particularly regarding the necessity of a human rights due diligence framework for corporate actors.
• The document identifies a failure to mandate human rights due diligence, noting that the IFC relies on voluntary assessments for high-risk activities and incorrectly assumes that social and environmental due diligence covers all human rights impacts.
• There is significant concern regarding the lack of transparency for Financial Intermediary (FI) sub-projects, which account for nearly half of IFC investments, as the draft proposes limiting disclosure to 'high risk' projects on a periodic basis.
• The framework is found lacking in specific human rights protections: it does not require assessments of the right to water, fails to mandate specific assessments for the rights of women and girls, and does not explicitly require that evictions comply with international human rights law rather than just national law.
• The signatories claim the IFC fails to address the causal link between environmental damage and human rights violations, specifically regarding the rights to food, water, housing, and health.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2011). Joint Civil Society Statement on IFC’s Draft Sustainability Framework. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/IFC_2Mar11.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Joint Civil Society Statement on IFC’s Draft Sustainability Framework. 2011. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/IFC_2Mar11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Joint Civil Society Statement on IFC’s Draft Sustainability Framework |date=March 2011 |url=https://www.ciel.org/Publications/IFC_2Mar11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2011joint, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Joint Civil Society Statement on IFC’s Draft Sustainability Framework}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2011}, month = mar, url = {https://www.ciel.org/Publications/IFC_2Mar11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }