Tag Archive for: Transparency

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The IDB updates its access to information policy in 2020

The Executive Board of the IDB approved on November 4 the beginning of the process for the revision of its policy of access to information, whose last update was in 2011. This process will be open to virtual and face-to-face public consultation, and will be extended until May 2020.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

In 2018, the private sector investment arm of the Inter-American Development Bank, the IDB Invest, carried out an update of its access to information policy; in 2020, it will be the IDB’s turn, in charge of financing the public sector. According to the Bank, this update will be carried out in two phases of public consultations: the first one, started last November 13, will last 45 days and at the end a document called “Profile of Access to Information Policy” will be prepared. The second phase will have 120 days for review where comments on the consultations will be incorporated and a “Policy Draft” will be prepared. After the deadline, said document will be submitted for the consideration and approval of the Board of Directors scheduled for July 2020.

The consultations are open and free for anyone who wants to participate virtually by answering the questions presented by the IDB here or for an open participation by sending an email to consultapai@iadb.org

On the other hand, face-to-face participations will only be by invitation at the Bank Headquarters in Washington DC and for the second phase it is expected to hold meetings in borrowing member countries during the months of February and March 2020, but they have not yet been confirmed.

With respect to the Bank’s performance in terms of its policy of access to information and transparency, according to the index published annually by the Publish What You Fund called “Aid Transparency Index”, the IDB is in the highest category. However, it is evident that he has been in the same position since 2015, so there have been no improvements since that year. This is disturbing considering that in the period 2011-2015 the IDB climbed from the 14th position in the ranking to the 9th position, stalling in the 7th position from 2015 to the present.

It is considered that the last revision of the policy carried out by the Bank in 2011 resulted in the approval of a policy with high standards of access to information and transparency, although subsequently the implementation of said policy has not been effective. This new update in 2020 opens a door for the IDB not only to strengthen and improve the 2011 policy, but also to make progress in its better implementation. However, there is also a risk that the update will result in a weakening and / or dilution of current policy standards, something that the IDB should seek to avoid.

Taking into account the role played by International Financial Institutions such as the IDB in society and the impact generated by the projects they finance, it is essential that they have an updated, effective and accessible access to information policy according to the highest standards international in the matter; in a way that strengthens its transparency and institutional governance.

Thus, it is expected that this process of updating the IDB’s access to information policy will culminate successfully by actually incorporating the requests expressed in the public consultations so that such revision can increase the problems and good practices of the right to access information. , which not only constitutes a human right in itself; It is also essential to implement other rights.

From Fundeps, we invite you to participate in the process and we look forward to more information regarding face-to-face public consultations in Washington and the rest of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean; and we will actively participate in this update process seeking not only to avoid a dilution of the policy but, on the contrary, to promote its strengthening and improve its implementation.

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Organizations and specialists call a “Social Anti-Corruption Agreement”

From Fundeps we adhere to the initiative of a group of civil society organizations and specialists in the pursuit of public policies that prevent and punish corruption with a focus on human rights.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

A diverse group of specialists and civil society organizations developed a “Social Anti-Corruption Agreement”, a document in which they identify a set of public policy proposals that Argentina should implement to ensure state capacities in prevention, detection and sanction of the corruption.

The document is available at  www.acuerdoanticorrupcion.org y se encuentra abierto a adhesiones desde el miércoles 16 de octubre del 2019.

The Agreement sets the stage for a public debate focused on the impact of corruption on inequality, human rights and the quality of democracy. The reforms that are promoted are aimed at the different powers of the State.

The group that drives this initiative is made up of Roberto Carlés​, Manuel Garrido​, Ricardo Gil Lavedra​, Natalia Volosin​, ACIJ​, Acción Colectiva​, CIPCE​, Directorio Legislativo​, Poder Ciudadano​, Cambio Democrático​, CLADH, Democracia en Red​, Nuestra Mendoza y Salta Transparente​.

The document contains a total of 74 proposals, which are part of 16 thematic axes, presented in the following 6 sections: “A new national integrity system”; “Investigation and sanction of public and private corruption”; “Prevention of corruption in typically critical situations”; “Transparency policies”; “Institutional strengthening”; and “Citizen Participation.”

Among the thematic axes that are proposed are the reform in the field of public ethics, a new system of purchases and contracting of the State, procedural improvements for the prosecution of corruption, transparency policies in the financing of the policy, improvements in the mechanisms and control bodies, transparency in markets and financial flows, as well as the opening of instances of citizen participation in the fight against corruption.

Argentine institutions suffer from structural deficiencies, the product of which corruption affects the full validity of human rights, mainly in the most vulnerable sectors. This phenomenon, in which both the State and the private sector occupy a central role, impacts the quality and availability of public goods and services and undermines confidence in the institutions of democracy.

In order for these public policy proposals to be effective, the authorities must promote their implementation through the full participation of citizens, in a transparent manner and through a constant process of accountability. For this, it is essential to establish indicators that allow to know the evolution of these policies and their effective impact in the fight against corruption.

Accordingly, the Anti-Corruption Social Agreement is a call to all the actors of Argentine social life, and particularly to the parties, political referents and authorities of all the powers of the State, to adhere to this document and use it as a trigger for new debates, in order to generate the structural and long-term consensus that we need to reach for the construction of a country with less corruption and, in particular, more just and equal.

From Fundeps we gave our support, add your membership.

Contact:

Nina Sibilla, ninasibilla@fundeps.org

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Trunk gas pipelines: we make requests for information from agencies in the province of Córdoba

On August 21, we made requests for information on the finished work of the trunk pipelines of the province of Córdoba to different units of the province of Córdoba.

On the occasion of the completion, in the course of 2019, of the work of trunk pipelines that began to be planned more than ten years ago, we made requests for information to the Córdoba Investment and Financing Agency (ACIF), the Ministry of Water, Environment and Public Services and the Ministry of Public Works and Financing.

With this work, according to the government of the province, the gas network reached almost 98% of Cordoba, however, there are a number of issues around the project that are not yet fully clarified.

Despite being completed, issues such as the lack of access to information on the control of the progress of the project, such as the lack of precision about the funders of each of the systems has been controversial and confusing. Although it could be observed that the communication on the progress in the work by the provincial government was constant, the same did not happen with access to more specific and sensitive issues related to the project.

From Fundeps we have carried out periodic monitoring and monitoring of the project, even though the official information has been scarce and difficult to access: requests for information we previously made were never answered. With these new requests made we hope that the modalities in the access of provincial information have been modified in a positive way in order to achieve a more transparent and open government to society.

More information

Author

Sofia Brocanelli

Contact

Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org

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With the trunk pipelines concluded: positive or negative balance?

In January 2019, and after more than 10 years since the project began to be planned, the Government of the Province of Córdoba terminated the works of the trunk gas pipelines. Despite the obvious benefits of the project, it is worth asking about the true balance left by the experience of this project, especially in terms of transparency and accountability in public policies.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

At the beginning of 2019, with the authorization of the last supply branch and the pressure regulating plant in Tala Cañada (Pocho), the Government of the province of Córdoba concluded the controversial project for the construction of the trunk pipeline network. According to the government, the gas network thus reached almost 98% of Cordoba people; Although it is clear that the vast majority of industries and neighbors benefiting from the work do not yet have effective access to the service, since the problem of connecting to home and internal networks remains to be resolved.

With the work completed, the axis then moved to the need to connect the backbone networks with the home networks, so that families and businesses can effectively access the benefit. The company Ecogas and the municipalities are responsible for bringing the gas network to private homes, for which they will receive financial support from the province. While the Bank of Córdoba made available a line of credit -Dale Gas! – at zero interest rate and with a return of 48 months for the home gas installation; The provincial government launched a financing plan so that companies can connect to the network. This plan called «Connect Gas Industry» contains three lines of credit for businesses, SMEs, industrial parks, CNG stations and tourist establishments.

A controversial work

This work, according to data handled by the provincial government, benefits 973,490 Cordoba in 228 locations. Some populations will receive natural gas for the first time and, in other locations, the service will reinforce the existing one. However, despite the obvious benefits of the work, the project of gasification of towns in the interior of the province of Córdoba has been the focus of various controversies and has been under the watchful eye of public opinion since its inception. Thus, for example, as regards the financing of the work, the reasons for the fall in financing of both BNDES at first, and of Chinese banks later, were never officially clarified; and the provincial government’s decision to move forward with the work using public indebtedness generated controversy.

Similarly, the lack of access to information to control the progress of the project has been a constant throughout the entire execution process. Additionally, the project has been investigated for alleged acts of corruption in the bidding of the sections to be built, even being mentioned in the Lava Jato case in Brazil from the participation of the Odebrecht company in the works.

Thus, for example, in February 2018, the legislators of the opposition to the provincial Government, Juan Pablo Quinteros, Aurelio García Elorrio and Liliana Montero, filed a complaint with the Financial Information Unit (FIU) regarding the possible payment of charges for the work of the trunk pipelines. This follows from the kidnapping of the list of coimas paid to different governments of the continent belonging to the Brazilian banker Alberto Youssef, where he names at least four times the work in question. This list served as a tool for Brazilian investigators of the Lava Jato cause to prove the existence of a public works club made up of Odebrecht, Andrade Gutiérrez, OAS, Camargo Correa and other construction companies. According to the complainants, a 36 million dollar premium would have been paid. Also, they argue that the collection was made through the session of a real estate project in Puerto Madero (Buenos Aires) to a company of the Horacio Miró group, former official of the administration of José Manuel de la Sota. This accusation was denied by the businessmen involved.

In mid-2018, the possibility that Argentina will reach an agreement with Brazil so that Argentine judges can access the information present in the Lava Jato investigation generated great expectations in Córdoba. The causes for alleged corruption offenses in public works in our country would have the possibility to move forward through the use of this information. This agreement generated expectation given the denunciation for the alleged payment of coimates for 36 million dollars to the company of the Horacio Miró group. In this regard, the administrations of the former governor of La Sota and the current one, Juan Schiaretti, denied all kinds of accusations. This complaint is currently under the responsibility of Prosecutor 1 of the Anti-Corruption jurisdiction, which is based on data provided by Brazil.

However, the scandal caused by the irruption of the cause of the notebooks in August 2018 hit several of the companies involved in the construction of the trunk pipelines. From the provincial government they clarified that all tenders were carried out transparently. Among the companies involved and that have works in progress in the province of Córdoba is Electroengineering, allied with the Chinese company Petroleum Pipeline Boreau for the construction of 30% of the trunk gas pipelines. In addition, there is the Albanesi Group that through Generación Mediterráneo S.A. It owns the Modesto Maranzana thermoelectric plant located in Río Cuarto. Also, the company Iecsa (now Sacde) in charge of the sections of the gas pipelines in the provincial interior in partnership with the Chinese company Communications Construction Company (CCC). Finally, BTU and Esuco companies have also carried out pipeline works in Córdoba.

Positive or negative balance?

In short, after more than a decade of marches and counter-marches, trunk pipelines are finally a reality. What has been the largest infrastructure work in Córdoba in recent times leaves us, without doubt, a positive balance in relation to the potential benefits of the work. It will allow access to natural gas not only to thousands of citizens and hundreds of localities in Cordoba; but also to numerous industries, SMEs and businesses in the interior of the Province that will be able to boost their activity and productivity from access to the gas network. However, if we analyze the project from the point of view of transparency and accountability that must necessarily surround any work that has public funds for its realization; The balance is undoubtedly negative.

In that sense, we will continue monitoring the progress of the next stages of the work. Also trying to obtain more information about the details of its realization, the real reasons for the fall of the financing of the Chinese banks and the participation of Odebrecht in the project and its link with the Lava Jato cause, for which we are preparing requests for information which will be referred to the provincial administration.

More information

Authors

Mariano Camoletto

Gonzalo Roza

Contact

Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org

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Organizations promote an Open State law in Salta

After several months of waiting, the government of the province of Salta presented a preliminary draft of the Open State, goal committed by the province in 2017 for the III Plan of the Alliance for Open Government. Organizations from all over the country added contributions to the text of the project.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

After more than a year of delay in fulfilling a commitment assumed by the province of Salta regarding transparency, the organizations finally managed to unblock the discussion and accede to the draft of the Open State Law. It is a commitment that Urtubey undertook within the framework of the Third National Plan of Open Government Action, a work plan signed in 2017 together with areas of the National Executive Power, the Congress, the Council of the Magistracy and other 10 provinces that added subnational commitments.

“Salta does not yet have a law that guarantees access to public information and transparency, if the government fulfills its commitment, and the Open State Law is sanctioned, we will have taken a significant step in terms of institutional and democratic quality.” , says Gonzalo Guzmán Coraita, Director of Transparent Salta.

The bill aims to regulate access to information and transparency in the province, one of the few that does not have this regulation. From the Civil Society the proposal is clear: it is necessary that it be law, and for this the project must finally reach the Legislature and that the debate be open and facing the citizenship to continue participating in the process of formation of the law, for ensure that the regulations are complete and comprehensive, as proposed.

It is fundamental that the regulations reach as mandatory subjects all the powers of the provincial State, that make available not only administrative information but also the relative to the particular work of each area and that are clear the functions and autonomy of the guarantor body, how it will be constituted and its members will be elected.

Salta Transparente, a local organization that heads the work of civil society on issues of transparency, access to information and public ethics, has been working together with the Fundación Directorio Legislativo and provincial organizations to monitor commitments undertaken by governments on transparency and accountability. We worked on recommendations and contributions with organizations from different parts of the country such as Legislative Directory, Citizen Power, Our Mendoza Foundation, Open Knowledge Foundation, Fundeps, CLADH, School of Prosecutors, FEIM, Transparencia Ciudadana Foundation, among others.

On May 21, Governor Urtubey sent the project to the legislature, with some of the changes presented by civil society to the original project. We have not yet received a response and justification on the incorporation of the high comments. The approval of this norm means a great advance at the provincial level in terms of access to information, transparency and open government. It would set a precedent for the advance of the rest of the country in more robust legislation on access to information.

More information:

Contact:

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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What is the national anti-corruption plan that seeks to consolidate “transparency and integrity”?

Corruption is a complex, multifaceted, social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries, with serious consequences. According to the World Bank “… corruption is commonly defined as the abuse of a public or private office for personal gain …”

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Last Thursday, April 11, the government made official, through a decree, the launch of a new anti-corruption plan that will govern in the 2019-2023 period. This measure was promoted by the Anticorruption Office, headed by Laura Alonso, and by the Secretariat for Institutional Strengthening, which is under the command of Fernando Sánchez. The plan is based mainly on four international conventions that have been ratified by our country:

  1. Inter-American Convention against Corruption of the Organization of American States (CICC).
  2. United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).
  3. United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.
  4. Convention on the Fight against the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Trade Transactions of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In addition, the evaluations that the monitoring mechanisms have carried out for Argentina have been taken into account.

It is a package of 250 initiatives that will be applied during the next 5 years, in accordance with a variety of priority objectives and strategic guidelines. Each one of them has a specific execution period, whose fulfillment will be in charge of the responsible body that has been assigned to it. The regulations will reach 48 committed state agencies, 22 centralized and 26 decentralized.

According to Laura Alonso, in an interview for the newspaper La Prensa, the new plan is based on “three fundamental axes: promotion of integrity and transparency; the control and punishment of corruption in the administrative sphere; and to commit all the Ministries and the decentralized agencies of the national Executive Power, to propose specific sectoral policies. ”

Among the previously mentioned priority objectives we can find: Institutional strengthening, Modernization of the State and Intelligent insertion to the world, which in turn are related to the strategic guidelines mentioned by the head of the Anticorruption Office. Likewise, as a basis, the plan takes the paradigm of open government and transparency.

Within the proposed reforms and actions, the work is established in:

  • Public procurement systems: everything related to public procurement, establishment of computer systems and the development of participatory tables for the governance of public works are expected to be transparent. Likewise, it seeks to implement integrity programs and open contracting systems.
  • Active focused transparency: refers to the proactive publication of key information on corruption issues: budget, purchases and hiring, staffing, subsidy and transfer beneficiaries, official advertising, financing to political parties, among others. In the same way, the officials involved in public access issues will be trained and an active transparency index will be published.

This series of reforms is a key starting point for the consolidation of an efficient State, with a high degree of transparency and adaptable to the new demands of contemporary society. It is also important that civil society is attentive to compliance and implementation of the measures described in the plan. It is important that a State accompanies measures of sanction and punishment of corruption, with systems of institutional strengthening and transparency that prevent crimes of this type. For this last reason, we celebrate the plan, and we hope it will continue after the 2019 elections. In addition, it is expected that there will be periodic reports showing the progress of the actions underway to complete the proposal.

More information:

Contact:

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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What is the national anti-corruption plan that seeks to consolidate “transparency and integrity”?

Corruption is a complex, multifaceted, social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries, with serious consequences. According to the World Bank “… corruption is commonly defined as the abuse of a public or private office for personal gain …”

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Organizations meet with the Federal Council for Transparency for the first time

On May 21, the third meeting of the Federal Council for Transparency in the city of Salta was held. For the first time, a space was opened for the participation of civil society organizations.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The third meeting of the Federal Council for Transparency in the city of Salta was held. On May 21, representatives of the provincial governments attended the first session of 2019 of the body created by the national law on access to public information. In 2018, in Buenos Aires, the first two meetings were held and it was decided that for this year the host provinces should be changing. For the second half of the year it is expected that Tierra del Fuego will host the officials.

What is the Federal Council for Transparency? Article 29 of Law 27275 on access to public information establishes that it is an interjurisdictional body of a permanent nature, whose purpose will be technical cooperation and the conclusion of policies on transparency and access to public information.

After the law came into effect at the end of 2017, in the year 2018 the Council began to operate. As the text of the regulation makes explicit, it is an organization in which representatives of all the provinces participate, in order to coordinate policies of transparency and access to information. They meet twice a year, and for the first time, space was opened for civil society organizations to participate. The opening of this instance was thanks to the presentation of a letter, made by the Network of Organizations Against Corruption (of which Fundeps is a founding member) at the end of 2018.

During this third session, Fundeps, Poder Ciudadano and Salta Transparente, we were present on behalf of the ROCC to raise our concerns and perspectives on the situation of the right of access to information at the provincial level. We specifically proposed the creation of a national plan of action for the standardization of transparency principles throughout the national territory. In this regard, the possibility was raised of taking as a starting point, the national law of AIP. Likewise, we mentioned the need for the Council to function as a space that embraces the cause of public ethics, and be able to establish specific guidelines on this subject and access to information (especially, as far as affidavits are concerned).

The session in Salta also aimed to review the mandate and status of the Council. According to Eduardo Bertoni (president of the Council and head of the Access to Public Information Agency), the review would include the incorporation of a space for CSOs permanently in meetings. Also, he assured that the standardization of transparency principles throughout the country is the raison d’être of this organization.

The meeting also had the presence of the World Bank, an institution that has been in charge of gathering data about the status of the regulations on access to public information in the provinces. The advances and results were presented and will be available in the coming days. This study was only of legislative analysis, without deepening the questions of implementation of laws in each province. In general terms, what is thrown by the evaluation accounts for a very different picture of what access to information refers to. While there are provinces with advanced regulations in this matter, others (among which Córdoba could be included), have laws that date back many years and that restrict more than guarantee the right to dispose of the data and information in the hands of the State.

As members of civil society, we applaud the initiative and appreciate the space granted. We hope that for the next meetings, a greater number of representatives of the provinces will attend. Unfortunately, this meeting only had the presence of 7 provinces and particularly, Córdoba was not present. It is fundamental that, in order to achieve a true synergy between the State and the citizenship, each provincial representative should be present in this space. Otherwise, it is not possible to advance in the guarantee of the right of access to information in a comprehensive and complete manner in Argentina.

More information:

Law of Access to Public Information

Website of the Access to Public Information Agency

Minutes of the meetings of the Federal Council for Transparency.

Contact

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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Argentina, one step away from repaying a historical debt with childhood

After fourteen years of apathy, at the end of April, the process of appointing the highest authority of the Defensoría de Niños y Adolescentes ended. The Permanent Bicameral Commission “Defender of the Rights of Children and Adolescents” of the Chamber of Deputies agreed to appoint Marisa Graham as head of the body, thus paying off a historical debt to children. In addition, the commission nominated Facundo Hernández and Fabián Marcelo Repetto to fill the positions as deputy. These proposals have yet to be ratified by both Houses of this Congress.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The Law on the Comprehensive Protection of the Rights of the Child, enacted in 2005, provided for the appointment of a child defender with specific powers, including initiating collective actions in defense of this historically violated group and supervising to the public institutions that house them. During the years in which the position was vacant, the organizations complained to international human rights organizations about the appointment of a holder.
After more than a decade, in 2019 a decision was reached that was decided after a transparent process of thorough evaluation of the capacities of the candidates. This process had shortcomings on the road and was delayed more than it should. That is why it is urgent that the selection of Graham lawyer is final, so that the agency begins to operate immediately as stipulated by law.
Having a head of the Ombudsman is essential to ensure full compliance with the rights of the child. The signing of the agreement reached by the bicameral commission is fundamental to avoid further deepening the violations of rights that children and adolescents face every day in our country.

Once again, it is important to emphasize that the result of the process, almost unprecedented in Argentina, was based on the principles of transparency and suitability. The selection of Marisa Graham and the Deputy Advocates respected the demands of civil society and now, it is necessary that their position be fixed.

That is why, together with the organizations of Lawyers and Lawyers of the Argentine Northwest for Human Rights and Social Studies (ANDHES), Nuestra Mendoza and Foundation for the Study and Research of Women (FEIM), we present a note to the National Congress requesting the treatment and ratification of the elected authorities of the Ombudsman’s Office in the next session of each Chamber, so that the Act of Comprehensive Protection of Children is effective and immediate.

Click here to see full note

Contact

Agustina Palencia, agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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Fundeps host the International Advocates Working Group (IAWG) Retreat

During the month of April, Fundeps organized the annual retirement of the International Advocates Working Group (IAWG) in the city of Villa General Belgrano. Over three days, 30 IAWG members met to share information, experiences and lessons learned about non-judicial accountability mechanisms in international financial institutions (IFIs).

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The IAWG is a global network of civil society organizations and individuals that work to ensure that IFI complaints mechanisms ensure accountability and effective remedies to affected communities. This working group focuses on working with the mechanisms, while providing support to communities negatively impacted by IFI projects.

The grievance mechanisms associated with these institutions offer an important, and sometimes, only option for affected communities seeking accountability from IFIs or from companies that receive IFI financing.

Over the past 4 years, the IAWG meets almost annually for its members to share experiences and lessons learned around working with non-judicial complaint mechanisms. During the days of the retreat, joint actions are discussed and planned to ensure that the work of the mechanisms is as transparent and accessible as possible for those wishing to make complaints.

Contact

Gonzalo Roza, gon.roza@fundeps.org

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More than 100 organizations are calling on EITI to publish environmental information

On the initiative of the Peruvian organization ‘Law, Environment and Natural Resources’, on February 25, a letter was presented to the Board of Directors for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), demanding the publication of environmental information. More than 100 organizations in Latin America (including FUNDEPS), signed a letter asking the members of this initiative to make transparency in environmental information mandatory.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The EITI standard for transparency in extractive activities, seeks to disseminate information on the oil, gas and mining industry. It requires the publication of information along the value chain of the extractive industry, from the point of extraction, to the way in which revenues continue on their way to the government; even how they benefit the general public. This includes how licenses are adjudicated and registered, who are the actual beneficiaries of those operations, what are the legal and fiscal provisions, how much is produced, how much is paid, how are those revenues distributed, and what is the contribution to the economy, including employment.

It is a multilateral initiative to which governments adhere voluntarily, and ensuring the participation of civil society and companies in the extractive sector.

However, and despite the imprint of this initiative, the standard currently lacks requirements on the obligation to publish information related to the costs and environmental impacts of extractive activity. It is necessary to have information, for example, on the amount of water that a mining project consumes, fines paid by corporations for environmental violations, information on environmental impact assessments, mitigation plans, among others. These data are crucial to avoid irreversible damage to the environment and the violation of the rights of those affected by extractive activity.

During the week of February 25, the EITI Board will meet in Kiev, Ukraine; to review the provisions of the current standard. Civil society organizations in Latin America sent a letter demanding that after the review process new guidelines be incorporated to ensure that:

  • Information is disseminated at the project level, in relation to all social and environmental assessments, showing the true impact of extractive activity on ecosystems and communities.

  • Environmental and social information about payments and expenses is disclosed, including impact studies, acquired rights, licenses, fines, compensations and remediation.
  • Information on all environmental licenses and authorizations, disaggregated by company and project, is disclosed. Including how the authorities monitor environmental commitments and information.


Argentina has officially joined EITI on February 27, 2019. To strengthen the standard with the demands made by civil society, would result in an improvement on the generation and publication of environmental information in our country.

More information

Sitio WEB de EITI

Carta enviada al Directorio de EITI

Environmental Reporting: Key to Transparency

Contact

Agustina Palencia, agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

 

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Transparency and accountability in electoral campaigns

Every 30th of October the day of the recovery of democracy in Argentina is celebrated; to remember the moment in which culminated de facto period that extended from 1976 to 1983. Today, 35 years of the elections that granted the position of president to Raul Alfonsin, it is still difficult to speak of transparency and accountability in the processes Electoral elections.

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In July of this year, a preliminary judicial investigation was opened based on revelations that journalist Juan Amorín published on the website El Destape regarding the 2017 legislative campaign of Cambiemos in the province of Buenos Aires. According to the information, more than 200 beneficiaries of social plans appear as contributors to that coalition, as well as many people who appear as affiliated to the Pro and who denounce never having affiliated to that group. The case was initiated by the federal prosecutor with electoral competence, Jorge Di Lello and then turned over to the court with Buenos Aires electoral competence that is under the jurisdiction of Judge Adolfo Ziulu.

Simultaneously, the National Electoral Chamber as the highest authority for the application of political-electoral legislation, through an internal audit objected to the accountability of the electoral campaign of Change for the 2017 elections. In addition, the audit warned of other irregularities such as contributions made by companies or entities prohibited by law. In this way, the entity advised Federal Judge Adolfo Ziulu not to approve the accountability of the change campaign in the face of the primary elections of last year.

Also, as a result of the aforementioned publication, two other causes were initiated. One of them is instructed by Judge Sebastián Casanello and prosecutor Carlos Stornelli, and the alleged money laundering is investigated when the origin of the funds is unknown. The other began with the denounce of the deputy Teresa García (FPV) for the possible commission of acts of identity theft, forgery of documents, money laundering, and violation of secrets and privacy. It was in the court of Ernesto Kreplak.

As a result, the government of Mauricio Macri hastened to send to the National Congress a project to reform the financing system of political parties, with the aim – among others – to prohibit the contribution of cash in electoral campaigns and to enable the contribution of legal persons.

The Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for Equity and Growth (CIPECC), an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization, argues that since the national electoral reform of 2009, Argentina has a system of financing parties and campaigns national elections that are based mainly on public contributions. The norm, until now, was applied in three electoral processes and served as a framework for the exercise of ordinary financing of the parties.

CIPECC analyzes that the balance of that accumulated experience is uneven. On the one hand, an equity floor is guaranteed by allowing all parties and candidates to access the mass media. On the other, there are strong indications that most party and campaign spending occurs informally, either in the form of undeclared contributions and expenditures or the abuse of public resources for partisan purposes. This informality has detrimental effects on the transparency and integrity of democratic institutions: it interferes with the right of every voter to make an informed vote; it facilitates the capture or influence on the part of the interests of particular groups and generates the risk that partisan and electoral politics will be financed with money coming from illicit activities.

The importance of accountability in electoral campaigns denotes the need to have an open government in this regard. An open government is a transparent government, that is, a government that encourages and promotes accountability to citizens and that provides information about what it is doing and about its action plans. Also, it is a collaborative government which implies a government that commits citizens and other actors, internal and external to the administration, in their own work. Finally, a participatory government, which means that it favors the right of citizens to participate actively in the shaping of public policies and encourages the administration to benefit from the knowledge and experience of citizens.

Transparency does not bring value by itself if it is not linked to accountability. Thus, while transparency privileges an informative condition, the rendering of accounts implies the presentation of evidence that leads to argumentation to justify the exercise of authority or the assigned responsibility.

There are organizations that work to promote this transparency. The Open Government Partnership, in English known as OGP (Open Government Partnership), is a multilateral initiative that involves governments and civil society organizations to promote transparency, participation and government innovation. Argentina joined in 2012 and today has its third Action Plan underway. Among the agreed commitments is the preparation of a bill for the financing of political parties that addresses the problems identified and guarantees access to information by citizens. The aim is to guarantee the visibility of the origin and destination of the funds destined to finance the policy, the knowledge on the part of citizens online and in real time of the transactions made with the campaign funds in the campaign and the citizen control over how the parties are financed. .

What happened in the legislative electoral campaign in 2017 demonstrates the immaturity stage of our democracy. In view of the 2019 elections, then, it is imperative that citizens be alert and demand that accountability be present at all times. The results of the research, emerged from a source accessible to the whole society, open data that we had at our disposal. This finally shows that it is the responsibility of the citizens to appropriate the information that the State publishes to control the acts of government.

 

Author:

Stefania Piñedo