Jim Anderson's blog

At a recent gathering of World Bank staff in Helsinki to take stock of progress on activities supported by the Nordic Trust Fund on Human Rights (NTF), one found lawyers, health specialists, economists and other social scientists. There were participants from all regions, from network anchors and from operations; there were those focused on research, those integrating human rights perspectives into operations, and those supporting our clients’ efforts to strengthen human rights. 

When discussing a report last year on devolution and accountability in Vietnam , we faced the challenge of distinguishing accountability from responsibility since they are so similar when translated into Vietnamese. Similarly, Bank documents often find it necessary to explain the difference between (bad) governance and corruption. Clearly, we think these differences are important or we wouldn’t bother explaining them. 

After donors released a pair of studies in Vietnam last month, an interesting internal discussion ensued.  Although the reports dealt with fairly “sensitive” issues—corruption and transparency in land management—both were welcomed by counterparts in government.