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Is AIIB’s complaint mechanism failing affected communities?
Indigenous Sasak residents of Lombok say a tourism and infrastructure project co-financed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) took their land and damaged their livelihoods. They filed a complaint with the bank in late September, but it is not yet clear whether it will qualify for an independent investigation. The case has renewed questions about whether communities can use the AIIB’s grievance process effectively.
The AIIB says people should first raise concerns with project teams locally, and reports that 12 complaints were resolved at project level and one through domestic courts. Critics say the Project Complaints Mechanism is difficult to access because complainants may have to identify standards allegedly breached, while project information can be late or incomplete. Urgewald found that 11 of 16 AIIB projects it examined for 2024 lacked complete environmental and social impact assessments; the bank says its complaint form is simpler, available in 12 languages, and can be submitted online, by phone or email.
In short
- Sasak residents have complained over land impacts from an AIIB-backed project.
- None of 45 listed complaints had passed eligibility assessment by mid-September.
- Critics cite access barriers and gaps in project information.
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The case for
The AIIB’s complaint process is intended to resolve problems close to the project, where project teams or domestic courts may be able to address them quickly, while reserving independent investigation for cases that meet its criteria. The bank points to complaints resolved through these channels and says people can submit concerns in several languages and by phone, email or online, suggesting the process is accessible and offers more than one route to remedy.
The case against
A grievance process is only effective if affected communities can use it with enough information to make their case and obtain an independent review when needed. Critics argue that requiring complainants to identify alleged policy breaches creates a high barrier, especially when project assessments and other information are incomplete or delayed; the reported land and livelihood harms, and uncertainty over whether the Lombok complaint qualifies for investigation, sharpen those concerns.
Explained simply
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral bank that lends money to infrastructure projects, sometimes alongside other funders. Its rules require projects to consider their effects on people and the environment.
The Sasak are an Indigenous people of Lombok, an Indonesian island. Residents say a tourism and infrastructure project backed by the AIIB took land and harmed livelihoods; the bank has a process for communities to raise concerns about projects it funds.
That process, called the Project Complaints Mechanism, is meant to give affected people a way to seek review. How accessible it is matters because communities may need information about a project and its rules to explain their concerns.