Is AIIB's complaint mechanism failing affected communities?

AIIB accountability: Are affected communities being ignored?

For members of the Indigenous Sasak community on the Indonesian island of Lombok, the conflict over their land is not over.

For them, a tourism and infrastructure project co-financed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a source of frustration, as they believe it has led to the expropriation of their land and destruction of their livelihoods.

In late September, they officially filed a complaint with the bank . It remains unclear whether this complaint will lead to an independent investigation.

The AIIB, which finances major infrastructure projects across Asia, has a mechanism in place to deal with such complaints.

Individuals who suffer adverse effects from the bank-financed projects may, under certain conditions, file a complaint with the institution.

However, access to this process — known as the Project Complaints Mechanism (PPM) — remains controversial.

According to a report by The Diplomat , a magazine that covers political and economic developments in Asia, none of the 45 complaints listed on the AIIB's website had been deemed admissible as of mid-September.

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