Posts Tagged ‘implementation’
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21 May 2007
ADB Assesses Positives and Negatives of New Disclosure Policy
In a detailed report on the first year of its revised disclosure policy, the Asian Development Bank says the rollout has gone pretty well, despite a few gaps concerning project-related information. One weakness concerned a primary source of information about projects under consideration. The Project Information Documents (PIDs) for proposed private sector projects are supposed […]
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21 May 2007
International FOI Advocates Protest Draft Amendments that would Weaken Bulgarian Public Information Act
Today, members the International Freedom of Information Advocates Network sent a letter to the Bulgarian National Assembly opposing draft amendments to the Bulgarian access to information law accepted by the Assembly earlier this month. Sixty-eight organizations and individuals from 37 different countries joined the letter of protest, arguing that the proposed amendments would significantly weaken […]
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9 May 2007
China Adopts First Nationwide Open Government Information Regulations
By Jamie P. Horsley The Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information (OGI Regulations) published on April 24, 2007, and effective one year later on May 1, 2008, mark a turning point away from the deeply ingrained culture of government secrecy toward making Chinese government operations and information more transparent. (Note […]
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19 April 2007
IDB, Norway Launch $4.9 Million Transparency Fund
The Inter-American Development Bank has received $4.9 million from the government of Norway to conduct projects concerning transparency and anticorruption efforts. According to a Feb. 26 memorandum of understanding, the IDB will establish a new trust fund, the Anticorruption Activities Fund, "to strengthen IDB member countries’ institutional capacity in order to improve overall governance as […]
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19 April 2007
African Development Bank Behind on Disclosure Policy Review
The African Development Bank is a year behind in conducting a review of its disclosure policy, and on writing a staff handbook on disclosure policy. According to the AfDB policy approved in March 2004, the Tunis-based Bank was to assess its policy after two years. The policy states, "Two years after the effectiveness of this […]
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1 April 2007
EBRD Makes Modest Changes to Assist Requesters
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has modified some portions of its disclosure policy, largely making procedural changes that may make it easier to make requests for information. However, the Bank did not adopt a handful of other recommendations from civil society commenters, such as CEE Bankwatch and the Global Transparency Initiative. The changes […]
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1 March 2007
World Bank Developing Country-by-Country Database on Access Laws
The World Bank is well on its way to developing a country-by-country database “on various transparency and accountability institutions in developing countries,” freedominfo.org has learned. The project came to light in a document about implementation of the Bank’s anticorruption strategy, which lays a stress on improving governance and transparency. The new database, which may be […]
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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. If fully implemented, the changes could bring about improved transparency on proposed Bank projects and their […]
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22 September 2006
Access to Article IV Reports Remains Major IMF Disclosure Issue
The major disclosure issue at the International Monetary Fund remains access to its key reports about member countries, the so-called Article IV reports. Although more of these reports are now released–about 83 percent of them–there are still more than 30 countries that legally veto their disclosure. This core of resistance includes some larger countries, including […]
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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. While lacking in operational details, the “revised draft” of July 20, 2006, obtained by freedominfo.org, calls for a new stress […]
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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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16 November 2005
How to Measure Openness?
Towards an International Index Government transparency ranks as a fundamental human right and an essential element in developing effective democratic governance. Nonetheless, international freedom of information advocates face a daunting challenge in quantifying and evaluating government openness and access to information in different nations. A wide range of researchers have pioneered the development of indexes […]
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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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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
German Federal Data Protection Commissioner to become Freedom of Information Commissioner
Under the new German Freedom of Information Law, which will enter into force on January 1, 2006, the current Federal Data Protection Commissioner Peter Schaar will also assume the job of Federal Commissioner for Freedom of Information. Schaar has emphasized the importance of his new position to the successful implementation of the new law: Timeline: […]
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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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24 May 2005
Latest Analysis of India’s New Right to Information Law
"Good, Bad, and Ugly (maybe)" says Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative UPDATE – 25 JUNE 2005 CHRI Conference Report Effective Implementation: Preparing to Operationalise the Right to Information Act, 2005 After a number of false starts and even one Act which was on the books but never came into force, it is with much excitement that […]
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9 May 2005
REPORT: Article 19 on Freedom of Information in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
A report from London-based NGO Article 19 on freedom of information legislation and its impact on the news media in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, finds that problems with implementation, state secrets legislation, and a Soviet-style predilection for excessive secrecy have created "the environment for arbitrary refusals, manipulation of information, and, in extreme cases, even release […]
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7 April 2005
FOIA Law Discloses British Farm Subsidies
For the first time the British Freedom of Information Act forced the disclosure of the amounts and recipients of UK farm subsidies on March 22, revealing over £1,000,000 in payments to the British royal family. A request filed with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) by the Guardian newspaper produced a pair of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, […]
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21 February 2005
Information Commissioners Meet in Cancún
3rd Annual Conference Draws Attendees from 50 Countries Today, freedom of information advocates and government officials who implement access laws around the world gathered in Cancún, Mexico for the 3rd annual International Conference of Information Commissioners, hosted by Mexico’s own commission (IFAI – Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información Pública). The Mexican organizers reached […]