Challenging the Culture of Secrecy: A Status Report on Freedom of Speech at the Multilateral Development Banks

Abstract

The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is pleased to announce the release of four reports assessing the whistleblower protection policies at four multilateral development banks (MDBs): the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).1 GAP’s year-long assessment was based on its 27 years of experience with whistleblower protection issues. GAP found substantial deficiencies in each of these banks’ whistleblower protection policies, affording insufficient protection to those who seek to bring fraud, mismanagement or other wrongdoing to light to protect the institution’s integrity. Notably, none of the banks recognizes the concepts of external transparency or external accountability, extending whistleblower protections only to internal disclosures. At present, GAP would not recommend that whistleblowers risk retaliation by utilizing the existing procedures. Instead, GAP hopes to work constructively with the banks in the coming months to address these deficiencies in order to improve transparency and accountability.