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Yemeni group files complaint with the World Bank’s Inspection Panel and now change might already be in the air?
It has only been slightly over a month since the Yemen Observatory for Human Rights (YOHR) submitted their official complaint to the World Bank’s Inspection Panel but we are already seeing progress with the case. YOHR’s complaint was based around the World Bank’s repeated refusal to translate into Arabic the Development Policy Loan (DPL) that was approved in December 2007 – a key program financed by the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank, which will have repercussions on practically all aspects of socio-economic life in Yemen.
Historically, there has tended to be an aura of secrecy around some of the World Bank country offices in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Moreover, it has been a trial to access MENA’s Executive Directors (EDs) who sit on the Board of the World Bank Group as representatives from the region. In light of this opaqueness, it is unfortunately not surprising that YOHR was unable to receive the information they requested, despite the fact that the second request they sent to the World Bank was signed by 25 Yemeni civil society organizations.
What is pleasantly surprising is the response that YOHR has received since filing their complaint with the Inspection Panel on April 13, 2009. On May 9th, Benson Ateng, Yemen’s Country Manager for the World Bank, sent a letter to YOHR inviting them to participate in a meeting with Merza Hasan, the ED who represents Yemen. This May 18th meeting was to be a ”forum to discuss the opportunities and major development challenges facing Yemen and the role of civil society organizations(CSOs) in overcoming these challenges. [Hasan] would also be interested in hearing CSOs assessment of the World Bank’s role in Yemen, how to strengthen that role, and the areas in which the Bank should consider enhancing its communications” (Extract from the meeting’s agenda). While the Inspection Panel case was not on the agenda, the timing of the invitation suggests that the case may have acted as a catalyst for this meeting where CSOs strongly expressed the need for the Bank to improve communication with them and be more forthcoming with information.
Then, on May 18th, Benson Ateng sent yet another letter to YOHR, personally inviting them for a private meeting to discuss the matter of the Inspection Panel Case. In this letter, Ateng, who arrived in Sana’a in October 2008 and therefore was not Country Manager at the time YOHR’s translation requests were denied, wrote “[I] am trying to further strengthen our outreach to civil society and other stakeholders. In this context I would be glad to have the opportunity to hear your views as to how we could further strengthen our partnership with Yemeni constituencies.”
These letters and meetings might sound trivial to some, but this response from the Yemeni office is a very positive step and the words seem encouraging of greater participation from civil society, which will give rise to the opportunity for better development outcomes in the long run. Of course, time will tell if these words are mere rhetoric or if they are genuine, but this is definitely a bud of hope for change in the World Bank’s dealings with CSOs in the MENA region.
With the Inspection Panel currently assessing the need for an ‘eligibility visit’ to Yemen to gather information for their report to the Board about this case, it seems that the case has already created some ripple effects around the Bank. At the Bank’s recent civil society consultation around their Information Disclosure Policy, when BIC’s MENA Program Manager brought up the issue of document translation in the context of transparency, the World Bank panelists gave a knowing smile and mentioned that they were aware of the Inspection Panel case from Yemen. They also suggested that, partly as a result of this case, the issue of translation will be covered in the new disclosure policy. What we are seeing then, is that this case is being talked about in a variety of settings in the World Bank, from the Inspection Panel, to the Yemen country office, to the ED offices, and most interestingly, it is being discussed in the key context of World Bank transparency.
Timeline
- Dec 6 2007: World Bank Executive Board approves DPL
- Jan 16 2008: YOHR submits request for translation of DPL
- Jan 20 2008: Yemen Country Manager, Mustafa Rouis, denies request
- Jan 30 2008: YOHR submits 2nd request this time with 25 signatures from Yemeni CSOs (receive no response from the World Bank)
- Apr 13 2009: YOHR submit formal complaint to Inspection Panel (after finding out that the Panel exists and that this might be a channel to express their grievance)
- Apr 20 2009: Inspection Panel registers complaint on their website, and sends notification to Executive Directors, and specific notification to Merza Hasan, the ED who represents Yemen.
- May 9 2009: Benson Ateng (new Yemen Country Manager) sends invitation to CSOs (among them YOHR) and government officials to take part in a meeting with Merza Hasan
- May 18 2009: Meeting takes place with Merza Hasan
- May 18 2009: Benson Ateng sends invitation to YOHR to discuss Inspection Panel case
- May 30 2009: Meeting between Ateng and YOHR at YOHR office
Resources
Yemen Observatory for Human Rights websiteInspection Panel website
Yemeni group says lack of translation inhibited transparency, by Rebecca Harris, April 22, 2009 (BIC website)