On 6 February 2026, AIPNEE, Defenders in Development campaign and others submitted their recommendations to the draft rules of procedure for KfW Development Bank’s Complaint Mechanism, based on the concerns that emerged in the analysis “KfW: Irresponsible Banking” (September 2025). The submission highlights serious concerns about the lack of independence, effectiveness, and accessibility of KfW Development Bank’s proposed Complaint Mechanism.
At its core, the draft rules fail to establish a structurally and operationally independent accountability mechanism: the Complaints Office remains embedded within KfW management, staffed by internal employees, reporting to a member of the Executive Board, and dependent on management-controlled budgets. The signatories recommend that the mechanism be fully independent from management, report directly to the Board of Supervisory Directors or another external body, be staffed by external experts, and operate with a separate, independently approved budget.
Another major recommendation is related to the inadequate measures to address reprisals. The draft policy does not adequately recognize the risks faced by defenders and marginalised groups, and the chilling effect of reprisals on the wider community. We recommend mandatory reprisal risk assessments for all complaints, proactive engagement with complainants on safety and confidentiality, clearer definitions and examples of reprisals, stronger informed-consent requirements, and a concrete menu of prevention and response measures developed in consultation with affected people.
In this submission, we also call for stronger complainant rights and procedural fairness, including: broader access to information, extended time limits for filing complaints, guaranteed resumption of complaints once information is provided, inclusion of inadmissible complaints in public registries, and giving complainants—not the Complaints Office—the final say on which procedure is used.
We also recommend empowering the mechanism to make remedial recommendations, strengthen dispute resolution powers, and ensure affected communities (particularly Indigenous Peoples) meaningfully participate in remedy design in line with Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
Submitted on behalf of: Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE), Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ), Defenders in Development Campaign (DiD Campaign) and Protection International Mesoamerica (PI).
Download and read full recommendations here
