Without timely access to information, individuals are unable to participate in decisions that may affect their lives and livelihoods. Without public access, communities are unable to hold decision makers accountable. The right to access information is a fundamental prerequisite to meaningful participation and democratic accountability.
The right to access information held by public bodies is a fundamental human right. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, in part, that everyone has the right “to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” This right is enshrined in national constitutions and international legal agreements. To date approximately 80 countries have adopted national access to information legislation.
The World Bank is a public, intergovernmental organization that serves as a banker and advisor to governments. Governments join the Bank as shareholders and oversee the Bank by serving on its Board of Executive Directors, which approves all Bank projects and policies. The public arms of the World Bank Group – the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) – finance initiatives that are developed in conjunction with borrower governments. The World Bank has enormous influence and is a vast producer and storehouse of public information.
In the 1980s and 1990s, civil society groups targeted the World Bank for financing environmentally and socially destructive projects. These campaigns discovered that the Bank withheld vital information from affected communities, denying them the right to participate in decisions regarding the purpose, design, and implementation of projects. Under pressure, the Bank in 1985 adopted its first disclosure rules. In 1991, civil society groups pushed the Bank to release environmental assessments prior to project approval. In 1993, faced with further civil society pressure – and a threat to withhold funds by the United States Congress – the Bank adopted a formal information disclosure policy that introduced Project Information Documents (PIDs, released before approval) and expanded access to project appraisals once approved. In 2001, the Bank revised its policy and for the first time released documents related to structural adjustment loans (though only after approval), completion reports, and the Board calendar. In 2005, the Bank was pushed to finally release abridged minutes of Board meetings, though without attribution to specific Executive Directors.
Despite these gains, the Bank's current Policy on Disclosure of Information limits public access in a number of critical ways (see Concerns section).
The Review
The 2009 review was an opportunity for civil society groups to address their concerns regarding access to information issues at the World Bank. The Bank is prepared an “Approach Paper” for a revised policy and launched broad stakeholder consultations from March through June, first online, followed by in-person consultations at both the regional and the global level. A draft policy titled "Toward Greater Transparency through Access to Information" was posted online on October 2, and revised October 16, then finally approved by the Board on November 17. The Bank's summaries of the consultations can be found here (World Bank website). Throughout this process, BIC and GTI assisted and advised both the World Bank and civil society groups on how to best proceed.
On November 17th, the World Bank's Board of Directors approved a policy framework with several revisions to be streamlined, approved, and released to the public before the new year. From there, seven working groups will put together the details of how the policy will function. These groups are:
- IT Systems
- Classification (of documents)
- Handbook (for detailed operation of the policy)
- Communications (both external and internal, to ensure that everyone who should know of the new policy does know)
- Training (this will include Bank staff and staff of other organizations who may want to access information under the new policy)
- Translations
- Public Information (the implications for public information centers, staff and systems).
The new policy officially began on July 1, 2010. BIC continues to follow the implementation closely.