Accountability in international organizations

The chapter describes the emergence of a discourse on the accountability of international organizations (IOs) within international law that raised awareness of the expanding public authority of IOs, how the exercise thereof could result in adverse effects for the environment, communities and individuals, and argued that IOs should be held accountable for preventing and remedying such harm. IO accountability and responsibility (for breaching an international legal obligation attributed to them) are not used interchangeably in international law. The chapter analyzes the main reasons behind the shift to the broader, interdisciplinary concept of ‘accountability’ – as opposed to a strictly international legal regime of ‘IO responsibility’. Focusing on its operationalization, the chapter conceptualizes IO accountability in legal-interdisciplinary terms, encompassing multiple forms and dimensions, and applies this conceptualization to the ‘transnational development context’, referring to a specific category of IOs: multilateral development banks and their development finance operations. The analysis presented here suggests a mixed bag, especially regarding the realization of remedial outcomes for affected people. Nevertheless, much has been accomplished that is of significance for international law and beyond the discipline. Particularly, the IO accountability discourse has sparked an evolving ‘Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) normative space’ in transnational governance, which also contributes towards realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.