Information Disclosure Policy

Frequently Asked Questions

• What information is available?
• Why is it important?
• Where to get it?
• Will I have to pay for it?
• What documents are considered confidential?
• What can I do if I am denied information?
• Does it mean I have no privacy in my dealings with UNDP?

As a custodian of public funds, UNDP is directly accountable to its member Governments and indirectly accountable to their parliaments, their taxpayers, and the public in donor and programme countries. Public access to information and documentation is a key component of effective participation in development programmes.

What information is available?

There is a presumption in favour of public disclosure of all of the information and documentation generated or held by UNDP.  UNDP is active around the world in the areas of democratic governance, poverty reduction and the Millennium Development Goals, environment and energy  crisis prevention and recovery and the fight against HIV/AIDS, and has gathered a wealth of knowledge and information on these issues that governments, scholars, journalists or the public at large can access. With a few exceptions, information about ongoing projects, programmes and policies as well as documentation about what is being planned can be obtained from UNDP.

Why is it important?

There is a symbiotic relationship between information-sharing and public participation in UNDP-supported development activities and the efficacy, quality, and sustainability of these endeavours. Accurate and timely information is essential for an informed participation of citizens and civil society organizations. The information held by UNDP is also an invaluable resource for researchers, scholars, development practitioners and journalists.

Where to get it?

An enormous amount of the information generated by UNDP is available free of charge on the UNDP website or at the different websites of UNDP country offices.

If the information is not available on UNDP websites, the public can contact the office of the Resident Representative, or the appropriate Regional or central Bureaux at UNDP Headquarters, or other sources, e.g., depository libraries, UN bookstores and other UN agencies, depending on the nature of the information required. The Resident Representative in a Country Office, the heads of Bureaux at Headquarters, and the Executive Coordinators of UNDP’s associated Funds and Programmes are responsible for ensuring that requests for information from the public are addressed.  

Will I have to pay for it?

There is no charge for the information available from  UNDP web sites. Most UNDP publications are available free of charge. If UNDP incurs costs in order to address your information requests (for example by photocopying a large set of documents) you may be asked to pay those costs; you should be informed of this in advance.

What documents are considered confidential?

The relationship of trust between UNDP and programme country Governments rests on the ability to maintain the confidentiality of certain types of information. There are also practical reasons why access to Government-owned documents cannot be unlimited. Therefore, access to some documentation may need to be restricted during certain stages of the preparatory process.

The following categories of information are deemed confidential: (a) Information received from or sent to third parties, under an expectation of confidentiality; (b) Information whose disclosure is likely to endanger the safety or security of any individual, violate his or her rights, or invade his or her privacy; (c) Information whose disclosure is likely to endanger the security of Member States or prejudice the security or proper conduct of any operation or activity of UNDP; (d) Information covered by legal privilege or related to access to internal audit reports as set out in the document DP/2008/16 to the Executive Board; (e) Internal inter-office or intra-office documents, including e-mails and draft documents; (f) Commercial information where disclosure would harm either the financial interests of UNDP or those of other parties involved; and (g) Information which, if disclosed, in UNDP’s view would seriously undermine the policy dialogue with Member States or implementing partners.

What can I do if I am denied information?

If you have exhausted all resources enumerated under paragraph 7 of the Policy and you have not been able to  obtain the desired information, or if the information requested is denied to you for reasons that appear inconsistent with the spirit of this Policy, you may write to the Legal Support Office , making a case for reconsideration:

The Director, Legal Support Office
United Nations Development Programme
304 East 45th Street, FF-803
New York, NY 10017
USA
Email: accesstoinformation@undp.org

You are entitled to a response from the Legal Support Office within 45 calendar days of receipt of your request. If you are not satisfied with their response and a request for a document remains denied in whole or in part, you may ask for a review of this determination by the Information Disclosure Oversight Panel, providing reasons for the appeal. Requests for appeals should be directed to:

The Secretariat, Information Disclosure Oversight Panel
United Nations Development Programme
One United Nations Plaza, DC1-1905
New York, NY 10017
USA
email: IDPOversightPanel@undp.org
 
The Panel will review the denial of requests to disclose a document or portion of a document to a member of the public, and provide a final determination generally within 45 calendar days of receipt of the appeal but never later than 60 calendar days.If an agreeable solution is not forthcoming within the Panel, the Panel will make recommendations to the UNDP Administrator on the outcome that would be most consistent with the application of the Policy. The Administrator will have the authority to make the final decision, taking into consideration the recommendations of the Panel.
   
Does it mean I have no privacy in my dealings with UNDP?

If you work with UNDP, your personal, health or employment-related information is protected by an exemption clause. If you visit UNDP websites, any information you may provide is protected by privacy rules. If you are a private entrepreneur doing business with UNDP or participating in bids related to UNDP projects, your legitimate commercial interests are protected by the relevant exemptions. Government officials dealing with UNDP and wanting to exercise their right to label a document or parts of it as confidential should do so at the time of producing such a document, while recognizing that the fundamental operating principle remains disclosure.