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Global Transparency Initiative launches final consultation on draft Transparency Charter

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a press release of the Global Transparency Initiative, of which ARTICLE 19 is a member:

Global Transparency Initiative Launches Final Consultation on Draft Transparency Charter

The Global Transparency Initiative (GTI) is a network of civil society organisations promoting openness at the International Financial Institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Investment Bank and Regional Development Banks. The GTI believes that people have a right to information held by public institutions and a right to participate in the development policies and projects that affect their lives. IFIs exercise significant influence and yet access to critical information from these institutions remains difficult. Despite some encouraging moves towards greater openness, the IFIs are still unacceptably secretive.

The GTI is drafting an IFI Transparency Charter, a founding document of the GTI movement, setting out the standards and norms that we believe should govern IFI disclosure policy, and the principles that should guide its practice. As such, it is essential that the Charter reflect widespread consensus among the broader community of groups and individuals who believe in IFI openness.

We are currently in the process of finalising the Charter and today, 28 September 2005, Right to Know Day, we are launching a final round of consultations on this key document. We encourage all those who support the movement for greater openness at the IFIs to comment on the draft Charter and also to encourage feedback from a wider range of individuals and groups. The initial set of principles are the Charter itself, while the rest of the document provides commentary on these core principles.

Comments are being sought until 28 November 2005¸after which point we will finalise the Charter. The draft Charter is available at: http://www.article19.org/pdfs/submissions/transparency-charter.pdf.French and Russian versions of the draft Charter are also available, respectively, at http://www.article19.org/pdfs/submissions/transparency-charter-spanish.pdfand http://www.article19.org/pdfs/submissions/transparency-charter-russian-.pdfand a Spanish version is available upon request and will be uploaded shortly.

Thanks for your assistance.