WASHINGTON, March 11, 2011 — The World Bank Group signed a Negotiated Resolution Agreement with Progynist, a small Ethiopian non-governmental organization (NGO) that provided training under a social accountability program. The NGO received a letter of reprimand indicating that it will be conditionally non-debarred pending the development and implementation of a compliance program.
This is an innovative outcome as it is the first settlement with an NGO from a developing country and the first time the World Bank has used a sanction of conditional non-debarment combined with a letter of reprimand in a settlement which entails full cooperation with the Integrity Vice Presidency by the entity under investigation. The proposed sanction was approved by the Office of Evaluation and Suspension on March 9, 2011.
