On December 15, 2020, the IDB Invest Board of Executive Directors appointed three independent experts on access to information and private sector development finance to be part of its Access to Information Policy External Review Panel.

The Panel conducts second-stage reviews in response to requests from stakeholders in cases where the Administration Committee of Management, in conducting first-stage reviews, upholds IDB Invest’s decisions to deny a requester access to information. Decisions of the Panel are final.

The decision comes as a result of a competitive process that used a mixed methodology of open competition announcements and sourcing efforts to target renowned experts in relevant fields. Panel members were selected for their recognized technical competence, integrity, independent judgment, and academic and practical knowledge of thematic areas related to private sector development finance, access to information, transparency, and governance.

The Board of Executive Directors appointed the following experts:

1. Catalina Botero-Marino is a Colombian lawyer specialized in international Human Rights law and freedom of expression. She is Chair of the UNESCO Chamber in freedom of expression of the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, arbitrator of Bogota’s Chamber of Commerce, and co-chair of the Facebook and Instagram Oversight Board for Content Decision. She is former Deputy Magistrate for the Colombian Constitutional Court and former Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights at The Organization of American States. She is currently a member of the IDB Access to Information External Review Panel.
2. Dariusz Edward Prasek  is a British and Polish expert in environmental, social and governance areas with a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology. He specializes in environmental issues including sustainable financing and circular economy, and in civil society participation and access to information in the development financing context. He has almost three decades of experience in the Environment and Sustainability Department (ESD) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
3. Roberto Saba is an Argentinian Law JSD and professor at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He has been a professor in different universities throughout the Region and Executive Director of the Association for Civil Rights and the Poder Ciudadano Foundation. As a researcher he has written many publications, articles, thesis, and law books on freedom of expression and freedom of information, among other topics. He has been an independent expert for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as well as for the Inter-American Human Rights Court. He is currently a member of the IDB Access to Information External Review Panel.

About IDB Invest

IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), is a multilateral development bank committed to promoting the economic development of its member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean through the private sector. IDB Invest finances sustainable companies and projects to achieve financial results and maximize economic, social and environmental development in the region. With a portfolio of $13.1 billion in assets under management and 385 clients in 25 countries, IDB Invest provides innovative financial solutions and advisory services that meet the needs of its clients in a variety of industries.