IFTI Watch
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17 July 2006
UNDP Seminar Spotlights Complexity of Expanding Right to Know
By Toby McIntosh Fostering the right to know in developing countries requires multi-faceted, flexible strategies, according to the minutes of a May 2006 seminar sponsored by the United Nations Development Program. The 31 seminar participants, with practical experience in many parts of the world, reviewed the impediments to improving government transparency and shared insights on […]
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9 May 2006
EIB Adopts New Disclosure Policy
The European Investment bank has released its new disclosure policy, making a variety of improvements while sticking to secrecy in several areas. The changes were “welcomed’ as “a step in the right direction” by the CEE Bankwatch Network, a nongovernmental organization that monitors the EIB. Toby Mendel, from Article 19, commented: “We are pleased to […]
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13 April 2006
Wolfowitz Stresses Media and FOI as Anticorruption Tools
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on April 11 put “the media and freedom of information” at the heart of his anti-corruption agenda, raising intriguing, if yet unanswered, questions about the specifics of his plans. “I will be asking my staff in high-risk countries to develop a strategy to mobilize all World Bank instruments — loans, […]
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22 March 2006
Freedom of Information Laws Added to the Development Agenda
By Toby McIntosh Riding a wave of transparency, the idea of encouraging Freedom of Information (FOI) laws as part of the development agenda is gaining currency, but slowly. With research and case studies increasingly identifying transparency as a key tool in fighting corruption and facilitating development, more attention is being paid to the development of […]
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22 March 2006
EBRD Seeks Comment on Draft of New Disclosure Policy
At the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the board recently released a proposal to modify its disclosure policies, with comments due April 14. The EBRD included in its announcement a number of new provisions. First, two new categories of information would be disclosed: General Institutional Information and Accountability and Governance. Second, the EBRD […]
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20 January 2006
New Steps Toward IFI Transparency: The Use of Domestic Remedies
Mexico established a landmark precedent for the application of national freedom of information laws to the activities of international institutions when its Information Commission on Nov. 16, 2005 ordered the disclosure of documents related to a $108 million World Bank loan to the state of Guanajuato, México. The decision by the Federal Institute for Access […]
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30 November 2005
EU Parliamentary Committee Rejects EIB Effort to Dodge Aarhus Rules
A committee of the European Union Parliament Nov. 22 rejected an effort by the European Investment Bank to be exempted from rules implementing the Aarhus Convention, the EU agreement that governs transparency policies for environmental-related activities. Approval of an amendment by the Environment Committee to include the EIB came despite campaigning by EIB officials to […]
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16 November 2005
IFC, EIB, IIC Make Few Concessions on Disclosure About Private Sector Projects
Three of the major international lenders with a mandate to finance private sector projects with public interest benefits are making few concessions to transparency. Pro-disclosure campaigns are underway to achieve better outcomes in ongoing disclosure policy reviews being conducted by the European Investment Bank and the World Bank’s private sector lending arm, the International Finance […]
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6 October 2005
IMF Modifies Disclosure Policy to Address Deletions, Delay
The International Monetary Fund has taken steps that may reduce the number of deletions made in the publicly disclosed versions of its key reports about member countries, including the significant Article IV reports. The moves come after an internal report found that more than one-third of the published reports “incorporate substantive changes” as a result […]
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14 September 2005
Documents Spur Public Debate about World Bank Involvement in Awarding Contract for Delhi Water Deal
World Bank and Indian Anti-corruption Group Trade Charges about Bidding Process Documents released recently under Delhi’s freedom of information law raised a major public controversy over World Bank involvement in contract bidding and fueled a public debate over possible privatization of the Delhi water system. On July 28, Indian anti-corruption group Parivartan, citing internal documents […]
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12 September 2005
Best Practices on Transparency Among IFIs
The Asian Development Bank has pulled markedly ahead of other international financial institutions in its standards for disclosure and civic participation, but like its sister international organizations the ADB continues make slow progress when measured against the increasingly refined transparency agenda of critics. In recent years several international finance institutions have adopted improved transparency policies, […]
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18 August 2005
WTO Offers 400 Audience Slots to Public for First Open Panel Hearings Next Month
Reproduced with permission from Daily Report for Executives, No. 156, pp. A-2 – A-3 (Aug. 15, 2005). Copyright 2005 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) GENEVA – The World Trade Organization announced Aug. 12 that it will allocate 400 places, on a first-come, first-served basis, for the public to observe the global trade […]
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9 August 2005
EIB Declines to Release Ukranian Framework Agreement
The European Investment Bank has declined to release the text of a framework agreement recently signed with Ukrainian leaders. Although the EIB a year ago promised the release of framework agreements (with a few caveats), officials replying to a freedominfo.org request said those caveats mean that disclosure will not occur until after the agreement is […]
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9 August 2005
Pakistan Newspaper Reports on Nonpublic World Bank Document
A newspaper in Pakistan has written about a nonpublic World Bank report evaluating ten years of World Bank activities in Pakistan and shedding light on the process of preparing such major evaluations. The evaluation report is generally unfavorable to the World Bank, according to the Business Recorder, which wrote about the conclusions in a July […]
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21 July 2005
EIB Announces Second Round for Transparency Policy Review
The European Investment Bank has committed to writing a second draft proposal on disclosure policy-expanding and extending its process for consultation and review after the first draft, and the process, came under criticism. According to a July 21 announcement, "the Bank feels it appropriate to launch a second round of consultation on the basis of […]
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1 June 2005
Sen. Lugar Stresses Transparency in MDB Replenishment Legislation
The Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar (R-Ind), has made transparency reforms the central focus of legislation that also would authorize U.S. contributions to five multilateral development banks. Lugar’s bill contains instructions to the U.S. representatives at the five institutions, including the World Bank, and tells them to support several […]
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18 March 2005
World Bank to Release Board Minutes, Make Other Modest Reforms
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors on March 8 approved the release of its minutes, but pulled back substantially from several other disclosure reforms that have been under discussion for months. By joining the Inter-American Development Bank in releasing board minutes, the World Bank may help foster a trend among international financial institutions. Whatever […]
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18 January 2005
ADB Board Getting Briefed on Disclosure Policy Proposals
The executive directors of the Asian Development Bank on Jan. 21 will discuss a “working paper” outlining plans to revamp the ADB disclosure policy that critics say remains deficient. The closed session is not intended as a decision-making meeting, but after months of drafting, the briefing signals that the policy rewrite is nearing completion. Pro-transparency […]
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21 December 2004
European Investment Bank Plans Disclosure Policy Review
The European Investment Bank Dec. 14 announced plans to conduct a review of its Public Information Policy, and requested public comment on its existing policy. The consultative process will be launched in the first quarter of 2005. The EIB did not offer proposal for change, asking instead that comments focus on the EIB’s existing public […]
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21 December 2004
IFC Provides freedominfo.org With Draft Confidentiality Agreement
The World Bank’s private lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, uses confidentiality agreements with its clients to protect business information from disclosure, but treats such information as confidential with or without such agreements, according to an IFC explanation provided to freedominfo.org. How the IFC should handle business information is one of several main issues being […]