Posts Tagged ‘international development’
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21 February 2011
Implementation of FOI Law Found Lacking in Indonesia
More than two years after passage of the Indonesian Freedom of Information Act, a new study says that implementation efforts are lacking.
The study of one province, Nusa Tenggara Timur, was conducted through Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Daerah (BAPPEDA) in collaboration… -
24 December 2010
IFC Issues Redrafted Disclosure Policy Proposal
The World Bank’s private sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation, has issued a new proposal on access to information that continues to be more restrictive than the World Bank’s own new policy.
During “Phase III” of its consultations, the… -
23 December 2010
EBRD Beginning Review of Public Information Policy
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced plans to review its Public Information Policy (PIP).
The Bank indicated that it is requesting comments on its existing policy by the end of January and later will conduct a… -
10 September 2010
FOI Notes: Blair on FOI, World Bank on Land
Blair’s Actions on FOI Exposed: An article by Maurice Frankel, published by the Campaign for Freedom of Information, discusses former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s obstruction of freedom of information, as disclosed in his just-published memoir.
Although Blair says his… -
9 September 2010
Legal Impediments Seen to Accessing Government Data
Legal challenges face the burgeoning efforts to make government data more available, according to a draft report by Access Info Europe and the Open Knowledge Foundation.
The 97-page report comprehensively surveys the accelerating “open data” movement and describes related weaknesses… -
3 September 2010
Lebanese CSOs React to Disclosure of Strategy
It’s still early days for the World Bank’s new policy of disclosing certain documents in advance of Executive Board meetings, so lessons about it are just trickling in.
The policy gives interested parties a last chance to comment on upcoming… -
1 April 2010
IDB Governors Raise Bar for New Transparency Policy
The Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank on March 21 made several commitments to improve transparency at the IDB. The Board’s statements go slightly beyond those contained in a recently proposed outline of potential changes to the disclosure policy. Just before the Board meeting in Cancun, Mexico, the IDB released a “Policy Profile” that …
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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.
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20 October 2009
New Report on Aid Transparency: Not Available! Not Accessible!
Madrid, Spain — Transparency NGO Access Info Europe released a report on October 20 entitled “Not Available! Not Accessible!” to coincide with the opening of the International Aid Transparency Initiative’s conference of donors and recipient governments in the Hague. The report shows…
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17 March 2009
International Donors Engage Vietnam on Press Freedom
International donors are encouraging the Vietnamese government to improve the environment for the media there after a widely condemned year of repression.
Whether the unusual behind-the-scenes pressure makes a difference remains to be seen, but the coordinated action may be… -
24 September 2008
Bank Report Relates Media and Development
Broadcasting, Voice, and Accountability: A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law, and Regulation, a World Bank project, is a multi-author, book-length treatment that examines the relationship of the media to governance and development. The report also explores “the enabling environment…
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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… -
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… -
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.… -
21 July 2004
ADB Holds Consultation in Washington
The deadline for the Asian Development Bank to rewrite its disclosure has been pushed back for a second time, with completion now targeted for March 2004.
This was one bit of news from ADB officials during a June 21 consultation… -
9 June 2004
ADB at Midway Point in Consultations on Disclosure Policy
The Asian Development Bank is now about midway through its consultations concerning its proposals to change its disclosure policies.
In a second report on the consultations, freedominfo.org covered the May 13 and 14 sessions in Hanoi. The story highlights a… -
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.
Such a "pilot project" would… -
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.
Derived by the… -
31 January 2003
World Bank Denies Access to Documents on Laos Dam Project
The World Bank has rejected requests to disclose several key documents concerning the controversial $1.1 billion Nam Theun 2 hydropower project in Laos.
The documents — the "power purchase agreement" and the "concession agreement" — must stay private, the Bank… -
1 October 2002
Disclosure or Deception? Multilateral Development Banks and Access to Information
By Shalmali Guttal, Focus on the Global South, October 2002
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…