Japan – Development finance institutions

By Daniel Morris | 3. June 2021

Chapter 2. Action Plan

2. Areas of the NAP

(2) Measures of the Government as an Actor regarding State Duty to Protect Human Rights

B. Development Cooperation and Development Finance

(Existing framework/Measures taken）

The Development Cooperation Charter adopted by the Cabinet in 2015 promotes human security, including fundamental human rights, as one of the basic policies for development cooperation. In addition, the Charter requires that sufficient attention is being paid to the protection of fundamental human rights in recipient countries to ensure the appropriateness of development cooperation, and that efforts are being made to ensure appropriate operation. When engaging in development cooperation projects, internationally established human rights standards, including the international human rights treaties, have been respected. Particular attention has been paid to human rights of socially vulnerable groups, such as women, indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and minorities. Nevertheless, further efforts are required in this regard.

JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) and NEXI  (Nippon Export and Investment Insurance) have introduced guidelines for environmental and social considerations. Along with them, necessary information disclosure procedures and related grievance procedures have been introduced to consider the impact of projects on human rights, the environment, and society. As a contract requirement, the Standard Instruction to Bidders and Form of Bid used for JICA’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loans and Grants contains a contract clause to comply with labour related laws and regulations of the recipient countries that include respect for human rights.

The JBIC Guidelines for Confirmation of Environmental and Social Considerations examine not only the impact of JBIC projects on human health, safety, and the natural environment but also social concerns, including respect for human rights as environmental and social considerations required for the projects. JBIC has been encouraging borrowers and related parties to take into account environmental and social considerations through loan agreements as necessary.

 

(Future measures planned)

Implement effective measures regarding environmental and social consideration in the fields of development cooperation and development financing

  • JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) has established the Guidelines for Environmental and Social Considerations. It intends to continue to respect internationally recognized human rights and environmental and social considerations when engaging in development cooperation projects. This is to be done by not only complying with the laws, regulations and standards of the recipient countries but also confirming that they do not differ significantly with the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Safeguard Policies and other initiatives. In particular, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) intends to engage in considerable discussions with stakeholders such as local communities after disclosing information to ensure that an agreement can be reached on the projects through methods that are socially appropriate. When doing so, it will continue to pay attention to ensuring that due consideration is given for the socially vulnerable. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
  • JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) has established the Guidelines for Confirmation of Environmental and Social Considerations on the basis of, among others, following discussions:

– discussions within the international frameworks on environmental and social considerations and human rights; and

– discussions at the OECD, such as the Recommendation of the Council on Common Approaches 　 for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence, which 　 requires consistency between public export credit policies and environmental conservation 　 policies. [Ministry of Finance]

 

  • The review of the aforementioned JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) Guidelines is conducted by taking the progress of the above discussions into consideration and seeking opinions from the Japanese government and the governments of developing countries, Japanese companies, experts, and NGOs, while maintaining transparency in the process. [Ministry of Finance]
  • In light of the clear inclusion of respect for human rights in the scope of environmental and social considerations in the revised version of the Guidelines on Environmental and Social Considerations in Trade Insurance in 2015, NEXI (Nippon Export and Investment Insurance) continuously endeavors to confirm appropriate environmental and social considerations in accordance with the Guidelines and review the Guidelines where necessary. [Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry]
  • Continue to promote efforts to incorporate respect for human rights into all aspects of the procurement process, including procurement requirements, screening and selection, and contract terms. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance]
  • From gender perspectives, “IV. Humanitarian and Recovery Assistance” initiatives, including the area of development cooperation in the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, fall under the context of business and human rights. The Government continues to incorporate gender perspectives in the implementation of Japan’s assistance when collaborating with companies for JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and UN projects. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

 

(4) Measures regarding Access to Remedy

Judicial and Non-Judicial Remedy

(Future measures planned)

(…)

 

(h) Continue the provision of grievance redress services in development cooperation and development financing

  • To ensure compliance with the Guidelines for Environmental and Social Considerations, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) has established and continues to provide a system where affected residents can file objections to non-compliance with the guidelines. In case an objection is filed, Examiners for the Guidelines, who are independent of departments responsible for specific projects, will investigate the facts concerning compliance/non-compliance, encourage dialogues between the parties concerned for resolution of disputes, report the results directly to the President of JICA, and disclose the result on JICA’s website. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
  • To ensure compliance with the Guidelines for Confirmation of Environmental and Social Considerations, JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) has established and continues to provide a procedure for raising objections to non-compliance with the guidelines. The request to raise objections can be submitted by the country’s residents to be affected by the project, and an Examiner for Environmental Guidelines as an organ independent of departments responsible for lending or investment operations will make a determination, with the result to be disclosed publicly. [Ministry of Finance]
  • JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) are to continue enhancing effectiveness through operational improvement. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance]