UNDP: Canadian academic seeks information on UNDP projects

From Prof Alasdair Roberts' website:

Professor Amir Attaran of the University of Ottawa has asked the United Nations Development Programme to provide information about projects in Afghanistan that are supported by Canadian government funds. The request was made under the UNDP's Information Disclosure Policy.

Adopted in 1997, the UNDP's disclosure policy has never worked well. The policy is supposed to be enforced by an internal Oversight Panel, but it appears that the Panel has never issued a decision. The Oversight Panel has yet to release a decision on an appeal made by Professor Alasdair Roberts in August 2004.

The UNDP encourages national governments to recognize the right to information. In April 2006, the UNDP's Democratic Governance Group said that the UNDP's credibility on openness was undermined by its inability to comply with its own disclosure policy.