Reprisal Risk Management

This note explains what is meant by the term reprisals and explores who victims and perpetrators may be in the context of development finance projects. It also outlines key IDB requirements relating to identifying, preventing, and addressing risks of reprisals against project affected peoples and communities. It explores national legal and policy frameworks that similarly focus on the prevention and appropriate responses to retaliation. This note includes a review of some of the key contextual risk factors that make retaliation more likely and situations that merit due diligence to prevent or reduce the likelihood that such risks materialize. The author provides several baseline measures for the preparation and implementation of stakeholder engagement plans in a way that does not expose project-affected people to risks for expressing their views. The final section provides guidance on how to respond to allegations of reprisals.