From a letter by Daniel Bradlow to the FT:
The World Bank and the regional development banks have all created independent accountability mechanisms that can investigate bank-funded operations in which non-state actors believe they have been harmed by the failure of these organisations to comply with their own operational policies.
The IMF and the WTO should learn from these examples. They should both create their own independent accountability mechanism. Given their responsibilities and powers, these mechanisms are likely to differ in significant ways from the mechanisms at the World Bank and the regional development banks. Nevertheless, like the mechanisms at the banks, they would allow non-state actors to raise their concerns about the activities of these organisations and have them independently evaluated and then considered by key decision-making bodies in the organisations.
I can see how this would be used at the World Bank. There are many big development projects funded by the Bank, and there is a need to make sure they are carried out according to the rules.
But I'm curious as to what this would mean for the WTO, as there aren't these kinds of projects. The main operations of the WTO that come to mind as possiblities for oversight are:
-- the negotiating rounds
-- decision-making in general (and perhaps accessions in particular)
-- development assistance and training
-- trade policy reviews
-- dispute settlement
Could an accountability office be useful for any of these, or for other things I've missed?
