ejustice July 2009
Hemantha Withanage
Right to information is a world accepted norm. Yet access to information is difficult in many parts of the world. Southern Transport Development Project in Sri Lanka, Chasma Right Bank Irrigation Project in Pakistan, Melamchi Water Project in Nepal are some local cases for testing the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) new Public Communications Policy (PCP) which is now open for external review. Similar stories can be heard from the communities and activists in Pulbari Coal Mine Project in Bangladesh, Highway 1 project in Cambodia, and many projects in Central Asia. With the above experiences we can conclude that the current Public Communication Policy does not ensure access to information for affected communities.
ADB, PCP is a good piece of policy compared to other International Financial Institutions. However, as we have learned some ADB staff complains that it is not easy to comply with the PCP.
According to the Assessment of the Implementation of the Public Communications Policy for the period September 2006–December 2007 dated March 2008, the implementation is quite successful. However, the most crucial documents are which even the PCP cannot assess the status. While Project Administration Memoranda have only 58% compliance, PCP is not in a position to assess the status of the Consultant Reports and Social and Environmental Monitoring Reports.
The ADB passes much of the responsibility for disclosing information on to the borrowing government or private sector sponsors which does not happen most of the times. Recently Centre for Environmental Justice requested ADB Resident Mission and the Road Development Authority for a number of documents on STDP which are categorized as public documents. While the ADB Resident Mission referred us to the RDA, RDA did not respond us to date.
The governments are the members of the ADB. They are much powerful than the affected poor communities. In most cases those governments are totally biased on the projects. In many countries successful and adequate laws are not available to ensure access to information. As multilateral institutions that use public funds people expects justice from them equally.
For the democratization of decision making and good governance, right to information is a crucial factor for the local communities. While information is crucial for everybody, affected communities, who are also less powerful, can only make decisions if they have the right information at the right time.
Further Right to information should go hand in hand with participation. But in many projects, we have seen that public participation does not exist except in the EIA stage. If the information is not available at that time, there is no use of such documents.
Many documents, although mentioned as “publicly available” are available only on the ADB website. As we have advocated many times poor communities, access to internet facility remains a luxury.
Everyone has the right to information. It should not be discriminatory due to nationality, class, ethnicity, religion, social segmentation, and gender etc. Most of the time there are no translations for the local people to understand the issues.
It should be understood that Information and Communication policies be treated as a global common good, and not biased towards any actor in the public domain.
Current PCP is not for meeting the objectives of providing information for informed decision by the parties but use as a propaganda material. PCP also provides for a long list of exceptions although many of them do not cause serious harm even if they are available to public. Although some countries provide whistleblower protection there is no such provision in the current PCP.
Further, there is no independent appeals mechanism. As we know The Public Disclosure Advisory Committee (PDAC) is not an independent body. One cannot expect an independent decision from PDAC.
“The General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.”
Article 19 of the declaration states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Article 19 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states:
“Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”
In the fifth report by the UN Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr. Abid Hussain (India) stated that “the right to seek and receive information is not simply a converse of the right to freedom of opinion and expression but a freedom on its own.”
The current PCP is lacking in many aspects in recognizing the applicability to it of the right to information. PCP adheres only to a policy-based approach to access to information, and its adherence to any known rights–based standards remains discretionary on its part.
The agencies, such as ADB, should consider PCP as a right to information. The Global Transparency Charter signed by many people around the world bring nine principles that should be available in any access to information policy and charter.
Our right to information is an undeniable right. It is crucial for exercising other rights, such as the right to participation, women’s rights, social environmental rights, and economic rights. We expect ADB will upgrade the current PCP to a better policy by giving real access to information to the local communities.
Right to information is a world accepted norm. Yet access to information is difficult in many parts of the world. Southern Transport Development Project in Sri Lanka, Chasma Right Bank Irrigation Project in Pakistan, Melamchi Water Project in Nepal are some local cases for testing the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) new Public Communications Policy (PCP) which is now open for external review. Similar stories can be heard from the communities and activists in Pulbari Coal Mine Project in Bangladesh, Highway 1 project in Cambodia, and many projects in Central Asia. With the above experiences we can conclude that the current Public Communication Policy does not ensure access to information for affected communities.
ADB, PCP is a good piece of policy compared to other International Financial Institutions. However, as we have learned some ADB staff complains that it is not easy to comply with the PCP.
According to the Assessment of the Implementation of the Public Communications Policy for the period September 2006–December 2007 dated March 2008, the implementation is quite successful. However, the most crucial documents are which even the PCP cannot assess the status. While Project Administration Memoranda have only 58% compliance, PCP is not in a position to assess the status of the Consultant Reports and Social and Environmental Monitoring Reports.
The ADB passes much of the responsibility for disclosing information on to the borrowing government or private sector sponsors which does not happen most of the times. Recently Centre for Environmental Justice requested ADB Resident Mission and the Road Development Authority for a number of documents on STDP which are categorized as public documents. While the ADB Resident Mission referred us to the RDA, RDA did not respond us to date.
The governments are the members of the ADB. They are much powerful than the affected poor communities. In most cases those governments are totally biased on the projects. In many countries successful and adequate laws are not available to ensure access to information. As multilateral institutions that use public funds people expects justice from them equally.
For the democratization of decision making and good governance, right to information is a crucial factor for the local communities. While information is crucial for everybody, affected communities, who are also less powerful, can only make decisions if they have the right information at the right time.
Further Right to information should go hand in hand with participation. But in many projects, we have seen that public participation does not exist except in the EIA stage. If the information is not available at that time, there is no use of such documents.
Many documents, although mentioned as “publicly available” are available only on the ADB website. As we have advocated many times poor communities, access to internet facility remains a luxury.
Everyone has the right to information. It should not be discriminatory due to nationality, class, ethnicity, religion, social segmentation, and gender etc. Most of the time there are no translations for the local people to understand the issues.
It should be understood that Information and Communication policies be treated as a global common good, and not biased towards any actor in the public domain.
Current PCP is not for meeting the objectives of providing information for informed decision by the parties but use as a propaganda material. PCP also provides for a long list of exceptions although many of them do not cause serious harm even if they are available to public. Although some countries provide whistleblower protection there is no such provision in the current PCP.
Further, there is no independent appeals mechanism. As we know The Public Disclosure Advisory Committee (PDAC) is not an independent body. One cannot expect an independent decision from PDAC.
“The General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.”
Article 19 of the declaration states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Article 19 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states:
“Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”
In the fifth report by the UN Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr. Abid Hussain (India) stated that “the right to seek and receive information is not simply a converse of the right to freedom of opinion and expression but a freedom on its own.”
The current PCP is lacking in many aspects in recognizing the applicability to it of the right to information. PCP adheres only to a policy-based approach to access to information, and its adherence to any known rights–based standards remains discretionary on its part.
The agencies, such as ADB, should consider PCP as a right to information. The Global Transparency Charter signed by many people around the world bring nine principles that should be available in any access to information policy and charter.
Our right to information is an undeniable right. It is crucial for exercising other rights, such as the right to participation, women’s rights, social environmental rights, and economic rights. We expect ADB will upgrade the current PCP to a better policy by giving real access to information to the local communities.
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