A consortium of civil society groups March 8 urged the IFC to be more responsive to environmental and social concerns, and also suggested a variety of disclosure policy reforms. More >>
14 JANUARY 2010 Inspection Panel Case Plants Seeds of Cultural Change at World Bank
A complaint brought by a Yemeni organization to the World Bank’s Inspection Panel has produced some positive and unexpected results: a much delayed translation of a key program document that had sparked the original complaint, and an ambitious action plan, drawn up by the Bank’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) management, which aims to further develop the Bank’s relationship with civil society in the region. Meanwhile, we’ll have to wait a few more months before hearing the Inspection Panel’s final recommendation on whether to investigate further into the case or not. More >>
24 DECEMBER 2009 World Bank Announces New Disclosure Policy, Again
The World Bank December 23 announced a new disclosure policy that makes a significant conceptual jump that the Bank calls “radical.” The new policy presumes that documents will be disclosed unless confidentiality is justified by established exceptions. More >>
2 DECEMBER 2009 World Bank Cautious on Media Development
The goal of strengthening the media as one way to fight corruption was adopted by the World Bank in 2006, but the promise has gone virtually unfulfilled, according to research by freedominfo.org.
More >>
18 NOVEMBER 2009 World Bank Board Broadens Access in New Disclosure Policy
The World Bank’s executive directors November 17 approved a new policy on access to information that will mean significantly more transparency about Bank decision making and operations. More >>
4 NOVEMBER 2009 GTI Praises, Criticizes World Bank Disclosure Proposal
The World Bank’s proposed disclosure policy falls well short of its potential, but it still will bring greater transparency to the Bank, according to the Global Transparency Initiative, an international nongovernmental organization. More >>
11 SEPTEMBER 2009 Rep. Frank Urges World Bank to Make Transparency Reforms
US Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said September 10 that the World Bank should improve its disclosure policy and remove the anti-labor bias from its “Doing Business” report or else risk reduced US funding. More >>
11 SEPTEMBER 2009 IFC Announces Plans to Review Disclosure Policy
The World Bank’s private sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, announced a review of its disclosure policy on September 8, a 15-month process to be done in conjunction with a review of its environmental and social policies. More >>
9 SEPTEMBER 2009 World Bank May Disclose Documents Going to the Board
The World Bank may be moving toward major breakthroughs in transparency for its Executive Board, according to informed sources. One change being contemplated would provide for the public release of key staff recommendations at the same time they are sent to the decision-making board. More >>
19 JUNE 2009 World Bank Internal Evaluation Group Posts Disclosure Policy
On June 18, the World Bank’s Internal Evaluation Group (IEG) posted its 2004 disclosure policy for the first time. The absence of the policy came to light because of indications that IEG plans to rewrite its policy after the Bank completes a rewrite of its disclosure policy, an effort now under way. Freedominfo.org recently reported on IEG’s plans and the nondisclosure of the five-year-old policy, a gap IEG officials said they would remedy. More >>
1 JUNE 2009 World Bank Evaluation Body Keeps Disclosure Policy Secret The World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) is considering rewriting its policy on disclosure, but is keeping its five-year-old existing policy under wraps. The IEG’s disclosure policy was written in 2004. An IEG official offered no explanation for not disclosing the disclosure policy, and said May 18 that posting it is under consideration. Calls to IEG for further comment May 28 and 29 were not returned. More >>
28 MAY 2009 Global Transparency Initiative (GTI) Comments on World Bank Disclosure Proposal, Offers Model Policy The Global Transparency Initiative (GTI) has filed comments critical of World Bank’s preliminary proposal to rewrite its disclosure policy and also suggested a "model policy" alternative. Despite praising the Bank’s movement toward a system more like good national right-to-know statutes, the GTI identified "a number of shortcomings" in the "approach paper" advanced by the Bank. The GTI is a network of civil society organizations promoting openness at the international financial institutions. More >>
26 MAY 2009 Summaries of World Bank Meetings Illuminate Proceedings The “minutes” of the World Bank’s executive board meetings, released publicly, are brief notations of the official action, usually one paragraph. They reveal almost nothing about what transpired during the closed deliberations. The “summaries,” by contrast, describe the key points of discussion. They condense, without names, the comments made by the Executive Directors (ED). The summaries for a typical hour-long meeting run a half-dozen single-spaced pages in length. Recently, freedominfo.org reviewed the summaries for seven board meetings held in early 2009, from February 3 to April 7. More >>
30 APRIL 2009 World Bank Disclosure Proposal Assessed at Consultation
The World Bank’s proposals to alter its disclosure policy were praised for moving in the right direction but criticized for not going far enough at a three-hour consultation held April 25 in Washington, DC. More >>
21 APRIL 2009 Transparency Violations Common Theme for World Bank Inspection Panel
Many of the cases brought to the World Bank’s Inspection Panel (IP) for review concern allegations of a lack of transparency, according to the Inspection Panel’s latest annual report, released this month. Alleged violation of the Bank’s disclosure policy was raised in 22 of the 52 cases, which equates to 42 percent of all cases brought to the panel since its 1994 inception, according to a summary chart in the report. More >>
21 APRIL 2009 Yemeni Group Says Lack of Translation Inhibited Transparency
On April 13, 2009, the Yemen Observatory for Human Rights, a civil society organization based in Sana'a, officially submitted their case regarding the World Bank’s translation framework to the World Bank Inspection Panel. More >>
16 MARCH 2009 World Bank Kicks Off Review of Disclosure Policy The World Bank March 13 announced plans to review its disclosure policy, unveiling an "Approach Paper" that moves in the direction of more transparency. More >>
22 DECEMBER 2008 World Bank, Others to Support CSOs with New Funds A new “Global Partnership Facility” holds the promise of new resources for civil society groups working on governance and anticorruption issues, including freedom of information and media development.More >>
22 DECEMBER 2008 World Bank Emphasizes Demand Side in Cambodian Project
Shifting strategic emphasis, the World Bank is taking a new approach to its work with Cambodia, one that among other things will mean funneling money to civil society organizations in an effort to stimulate demand for better governance.More >>
24 SEPTEMBER 2008 Three New Reports Highlight Need for Right to Know Laws The value of having legal environments supportive of the right to know, free expression and an independent media is highlighted in several reports, one by the World Bank, another funded by the U.S. State Department, and a third by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. More >>
16 MAY 2008 Canadian Government Reports on IFI Activity Get Good Grade
The Canadian government's annual reporting on its activities at international financial institutions is getting better, according to the authors, and to a Canadian civil society group which recently gave the latest report its best grade ever. More >>
12 DECEMBER 2007 World Bank Grants Access to Database on Loan Conditionality The World Bank has granted researchers access to an internal database used to track the conditions placed on Bank loans, an action that bodes well for similar transparency requests. More
>>
28
AUGUST 2007 World Bank
Issues Implementation Plan for Anticorruption Strategy The
World Bank has released its long-awaited "implementation
plan" for its governance and anticorruption strategy,
a document much shorter and less specific that the guiding
Bank "strategy" set in March. More
>>
12
APRIL 2007 World Bank Hires Washington
Law Firm to Probe Leaks Almost
10 weeks after announcing plans to investigate leaks of
internal documents to Fox News, the World Bank has hired
a Washington, D.C., law firm to conduct the probe, according
to an announcement made internally April 9. More
>>
15
MARCH 2007 World Bank
Seeking Outside Counsel to Conduct Leak Probe The
World Bank has decided to seek outside help to track down
who leaked minutes of a January 2007 board meeting to Fox
News, a senior World Bank official has told freedominfo.org.
More >>
9
FEBRUARY 2007 Wolfowitz
Launches Probe Into Leak of Board Meeting Minutes World
Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has launched an internal investigation
into who provided Fox News with the "raw" minutes
of a World Bank board meeting in January, a document that
transparency advocates say should routinely be made public. More
>>
13
NOVEMBER 2006 World
Bank Anticorruption Strategy May Spark Changes in Disclosure
Policy Adoption
of a new anticorruption strategy at the World Bank may lead
to changes in the Bank's disclosure policy. The broad suggestions
of such changes must still be converted into specific proposals,
however--a process that has only just begun. More
>>
22
SEPTEMBER 2006 World Bank Disclosure Polices Change
Slowly Notwithstanding periodic reviews and modest advances,
the World Bank's disclosure policies continue to shield
many important documents from disclosure. More
>>
4
AUGUST 2006 World
Bank Continues Work on Anticorruption Strategy Liberally
sprinkled with references to "transparency," the
latest internal World Bank draft anticorruption strategy
appears to follow through on President Paul Wolfowitz's
pledge to increase investment in the areas of media and
freedom of information. More
>>
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. More
>>
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. More >>
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. More
>>
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. More
>>
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. More
>>
21
DECEMBER 2004 World Bank Pulling Back on Transparency
Pilot Project The
World Bank's board of executive directors is resisting pro-transparency
reforms recommended by Bank president James Wolfensohn,
cutting back particularly on his proposals to experiment
with the release of "draft" materials. More
>>
21
DECEMBER 2004
IFC Reformulates Draft Disclosure Policy, Slightly The
International Finance Corporation, having previously described
its proposals for disclosure of information in a "concept
paper" has now reformulated its thinking in a "working
draft." More >>
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.
More >>
30
SEPTEMBER 2004 Parliamentarians Seek Larger Role
in IFI Decision-Making Parliamentarians around the world are intensifying their
request to be "systematically involved in formulating
and monitoring development policies related to IMF and World
Bank operations within their own countries." More
>>
30
SEPTEMBER 2004 Activists Criticize IFC Consultations;
IFC Expands Consultations The International Finance Corporation has increased the
number of consultations it will hold on proposed disclosure
and safeguard policy revisions after the outreach process
came under criticism by activists as inadequate and rushed.More >>
7
SEPTEMBER 2004 IFC Issues Broad Guidelines for New
Disclosure Policy The
International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's private
sector lending arm, has issued a "concept paper"
on disclosure policy, outlining "principles,"
"objectives," and "frameworks," but
providing few specifics and making few changes in current
policies.More >>
6
AUGUST 2004 World Bank Backs More Transparency
for Oil Revenues While deciding to continue investing in oil, gas and mining
ventures, against the advice of an internal report, the
World Bank Board of Directors Aug. 3 said it would insist
on greater transparency about the revenues from such projects.More >>
6
AUGUST 2004 IFC Discusses "Concept Paper"
on Disclosure Policy The International Finance Corporation, having announced
plans to review its six-year-old disclosure policy, appears
to be starting with a very general statement of concepts
likely to disappoint transparency advocates.More
>>
28
MAY 2004 World Bank Board Poised for Breakthrough
on Disclosing Draft Documents The
World Bank Executive Board is poised to consider three significant
improvements in its disclosure policy, including the experimental
release of certain key staff documents at the same time
they are sent to the board.More
>>
10
MARCH 2004 World Bank Staff Backs More Disclosure
by Extractive Industries The
World Bank Group should begin requiring that extractive
industries receiving Bank loans disclose what payments they
make to governments, according to an internal Bank document
obtained by freedominfo.org. More
>>
24
FEBRUARY 2004 Parliamentarians Flex Growing Organization,
Make Request of Bank The
chairman of an international group of parliamentarians has
asked the World Bank to help assure a larger role for legislatures
in setting the poverty-fighting strategies within their
countries. More >>
10
FEBRUARY 2004 World Bank Board to Meet in March
on Disclosure Policy The World Bank Executive Board will return to the topic
of disclosure policy at a meeting in March 2004, to again
address whether to disclose more draft documents and board
minutes. More >>
10
FEBRUARY 2004 World Bank Divided on Disclosure
of Country Performance Ratings The World Bank is considering making a small step toward
disclosing more information about its "country performance
ratings" for the 81 poorest borrowing countries, but
a minority of executive directors appears to have successfully
resisted full disclosure. More
>>
10
FEBRUARY 2004 IFC Announces Disclosure Policy
Review, Seeks Comments The International Finance Corporation, the private sector
lending wing of the World Bank, said in mid-January that
it would accept comments on its current disclosure policy
until March 12. More >>
10
FEBRUARY 2004 IFC Rejects Request to Translate
Document into Hindi The International Finance Corporation recently rejected
a request by an Indian group to translate an environmental
report about a hydropower project into the local language,
Hindi. More >>
JULY
2003 World Bank Disclosure Report Makes
Recommendations for Change The
World Bank has encountered some difficulties implementing
its disclosure policy, according to a Bank progress report
published June 6, but overall the experience has been "generally
good." More >>
JULY
2003 World Bank Reviews Disclosure Policy,
Postpones Action on U.S. Reform Ideas The World Bank's Executive Board has asked its staff to
examine several transparency issues raised by the United
States and other members, including the possibility of releasing
draft documents prior to board discussions and disclosure
of board minutes, according to informed sources. More
>>
MAY
2003 World Bank Report Urges Disclosure
of Oil Revenues Multinational
corporations should be required to disclose more about payments
they make to countries for extracting natural resources,
according to a new World Bank report. More
>>
JANUARY
2003 Release of Secret Loan Document
in Uruguay Fuels Public Debate The
leak of a usually secret document describing the terms of
a recent World Bank loan to Uruguay has stoked public anger
at conditions attached to the loan, according to activists
and journalists there. The release also showed how much
crucial information was being withheld from the public.
More >>
22
NOVEMBER 2002 Ugandan Judge Orders Release of
Key Document on Bujagali Dam Relying
on the open government clause of the Ugandan constitution,
a top Ugandan judge Nov. 12 ordered the release of a key
document about a controversial dam project that the Ugandan
government and the World Bank declined to disclose. More
>>
NOVEMBER
2002 Environmental Group Analysis PPA The International Rivers Network (IRN) commissioned the
Prayas Energy Group, a policy analysis organization based
in Pune, India, to review the PPA. More
>>
17
OCTOBER 2002 Top World Bank Official Supports
More Disclosure of Oil Revenue Payments Oil,
gas and mineral companies should fully disclose their payments
to governments of developing nations, the head of the World
Bank's private sector lending arm said recently, adding
another voice to a steadily growing campaign for such disclosures. More
>>
OCTOBER
2002 Disclosure or Deception?
Multilateral Development Banks and Access to Information
Multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development
Band (ADB) and the World Bank pride themselves on their
information disclosure policies. Especially since the Asian
economic crisis, they have held their policies up as evidence
of their commitment to transparency, accountability and
participation. More >>
JUNE
2002 World Bank Begins Pilot Programs
on Disclosure Some
20 countries are about to embark on pilot programs with
the World Bank in which they will disclose and disseminate
more information than they have in the past - that is, more
than what Bank policy currently requires.More
>>
JUNE
2002 Angola Oil Revenues: A Hidden Report It
doesn't look as though the World Bank will be releasing
a $2-million "diagnostic" study by the KPMG accounting
firm about where Angolan oil revenues have gone. The Bank
shouldered 30 percent of the cost of the report, but it
says the study is an Angolan government document, which
means that disclosure of the findings is all up to authorities
in Luanda.More >>
ABOUT
IFTI WATCH In
this column, Washington, D.C.-based journalist Toby
J. McIntosh reports on the latest developments
in information disclosure in International Financial
and Trade Institutions (IFTI).
Contact: tmcintosh@bna.com or
1-(703) 341-5815
