What’s New
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5 November 2010
Philippine Legislator Urges Aquino Action on FOI Bill
Senate Minority Floor Leader Alan Peter Cayetano Nov. 5 called on the new Aquino administration to act on the freedom of information bill. “I’m a bit disappointed with the way the Palace is treating the FOI bill,” Cayetano said during a press conference, according to GMANews.TV reporter Kimberly Jane T. Tam. Last month, Cayetano urged […]
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5 November 2010
Guyana Government Says FOI Bill to Be Offered Soon
Freedom of information legislation could be offered in the Guyana parliament this year, according to chief government spokesman, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon, as quoted in The Stabroek News. Briefing the media Nov. 3 at his weekly post-Cabinet news conference he said it would be tabled long before the current parliamentary session ends in August. […]
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5 November 2010
Request Problems in Pakistan Documented in Article
Several examples of the difficulties of accessing information in Pakistan were discussed in a recent article by Zahid Abdullah, who works for Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives. The Pakistan law, he said, is “a very weak law in the shape of Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 and whatever effectiveness it had was watered down […]
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5 November 2010
Ukraine Postpones Action on New Access Legislation
The Ukrainian parliament has delayed action on a new Access to Public Information Law. The bill was not brought up as planned on Nov. 2, but may be taken up in the near future. Verkhovna Rada First Deputy Chairman Adam Martyniuk sought the postponement, saying MP Andrii Shevchenko, the head of the parliamentary committee for […]
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5 November 2010
Obama Issues Order on Sensitive Information
President Obama Nov. 4 established a new system for the handling of certain sensitive government documents. The announcement pledges to replace “inefficient, confusing patchwork” that ” has resulted in inconsistent marking and safeguarding of documents, led to unclear or unnecessarily restrictive dissemination policies, and created impediments to authorized information sharing. “ “To address these problems, this […]
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29 October 2010
South African Committee Begins Work on POIB
The committee considering the controversial Protection of Information Bill in South Africa delayed the start of its detailed consideration of the bill over a procedural matter as thousands marched in opposition to the bill. Parliamentary action on the bill is expected to resume Nov. 1. The “snag” was described in an Oct. 29 by Thabo […]
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29 October 2010
Australia Appoints Popple as First FOI Commissioner
The Australian government Oct. 29 announced that Australia’s first Freedom of Information Commissioner will be Dr. James Popple. Popple is currently First Assistant Secretary of the Civil Law Division of the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department and an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Computer Science at the Australian National University, according to a press release on […]
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29 October 2010
FOIA Request in Israel Obtains Release of Documents on Gaza
The Israeli Military has released documents on how it decided which products would and would not be allowed to enter the Palestinian Gaza strip. The documents were requested by Gisha, a nongovernmental organization working for freedom of movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, with the Support of the Movement for Freedom of Information in Israel, […]
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26 October 2010
Morocco Aims to Write Access to Information Law
The Moroccan government has included pro-transparency commitments in its new two-year plan to combat corruption. A pledge to develop a law on access to information is listed as measure number nine among 43 items. Other proposals include asset declaration by top officials, whistle-blower protection, anti-graft classes in schools, and channels for the public to report […]
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25 October 2010
Changes Coming November 1 With Revised Australian FOIA
By Peter Timmins (Australian lawyer and consultant Peter Timmins writes Open and Shut, a blog about FOI and privacy protection in Australia. He has Arts and Laws (Honours) degrees from the University of Sydney, is a former diplomat, and has been involved in the FOI field on both sides for 25 years.) Changes to the Australian Government’s […]
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22 October 2010
South African Minister Defends Information Bill
South Africa’s minister of state security Oct. 22 defended a controversial Protection of Information Bill, urging a parliamentary committee not to include a public interest defense to shelter whistle-blowers who violate state secrecy. The testimony by Siyabonga Cwele came during his second appearance before the ad hoc committee considering the government-backed bill which among other […]
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22 October 2010
Penang Officials Promise to Introduce FOI Legislation
The government of the Malaysian state of Penang has pledged to propose freedom of information legislation, according to media accounts such as one by Himanshu Bhatt in The Sunday Daily. This move follows an effort this summer to pass FOI legislation in Selangor. Activists also are seeking to promote national legislation The article said: Chief […]
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18 October 2010
South African Official Softens Stance on Media Regulation
Improved self-regulation by the South African press might mitigate the need for state media controls, a key government official said Oct. 16. It was not clear whether the apparent softening of position on the proposed Media Appeals Tribunal would extend to the controversial Protection of Information Bill, but there were hints of potential discussions on the […]
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15 October 2010
Sierra Leone Minister Positive on Prospects for FOI Law
Sierra Leone’s information minister has given assurances that a freedom of information law will be enacted soon, according to remarks made to journalist Pa John Baimba Sesay published Oct. 13 in Sierra Express Media. In his story is an account of his recent discussion with Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, information minister for this new government […]
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15 October 2010
FOI Notes: Advocacy, Use, Monitoring
Passage of FOI Laws Urged: A feature story by Franklin Cudjoe, head of the Ghanaian think tank IMANI, says in part: “Three important items must be on the menu of reformist governments and the World Bank. First is the demand for freedom of information laws across Africa. Second, civil society must push for the passage […]
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14 October 2010
Botswana MP Saleshando to Introduce FOI Legislation
Botswana Congress Party President Dumelang Saleshando said Oct. 13 that his party will submit a private members’ bill on freedom of information when parliament opens next month, according to a media report. The FOI measure will be one of two bills to be pushed by the minority party, the other being one on HIV/AIDS and […]
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14 October 2010
A First: UK Cabinet Meeting Minutes Disclosed
The minutes of a 1986 British Cabinet meeting have been released under the Freedom of Information Act, the first time this has occurred. The minutes concerned a stormy session in which Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine suddenly resigned during a discussion over the possible financial rescue of the struggling Westland helicopter company. He was protesting then […]
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14 October 2010
POIB Protestors March in Cape Town; Hearing Set
Opponents to the South African government’s proposed Protection of Information Bill (POIB) law staged a march against it Oct. 12, one of numerous protest events held in advance of a further hearing in parliament on the controversial bill. The rally at the Parliament building in Cape Town was organized by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), […]
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8 October 2010
Morocco Begins to Draft Access to Information Law
The Secretary General of Morocco’s Ministry of the Modernization of Public Service told a newspaper Sept. 28 that an inter-ministerial committee has been established to draft a law on access to information. The proposal is expected to be prepared mid-2011 when Morocco will host the 4th anti-corruption conference of the countries party to the UN […]
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8 October 2010
Obama Signs Bill Eliminating New FOIA Exemption
President Obama Oct. 4 signed legislation to repeal a controversial exemption to the Freedom of Information Act that was tucked in a major financial reform law passed recently. Critics objected to Section 929I of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which said the Securities and Exchange Commission would not be compelled to disclose […]