What’s New
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16 August 2011
U.S. Efforts to Write OGP Action Plan Criticized
Consultations on a “National Action Plan” in conjunction with the multinational Open Government Partnership (OGP) have begun in the United States, but are being slighted for falling below the OGP’s consultation standards. The OGP is a U.S.-initiated multilateral effort to promote transparency internationally. Countries that join (eight so far) commit to prepare “concrete” national action […]
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16 August 2011
Kazakhstan Looking to 2012 for Consideration of FOI Bill
Freedom of information legislation in Kazakhstan will not be considered until 2012, according to a key member of Parliament, Zh. Asanov. Asanov, who has been a leader in the drafting of a proposed law, said in July that further drafting work is necessary. The draft law itself still needs elaboration, he said, and it is […]
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15 August 2011
RTI for India Sports Federations Proposed
India’s Sports Minister Ajay Maken has proposed that sports federations be subject to the right to information law, according to media reports such as one in ndtv.com He has proposed a variety of procedural reforms, including the creation of a 23-member advisory council. Among these proposals is a proposal that all sports federations, including the […]
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15 August 2011
New Zealand Pledges to Release Public Data
The New Zealand government has committed to release “high value public data,” according to a government announcement. The Declaration on Open and Transparent Government was approved by the Cabinet on Aug. 8. Also released wer the New Zealand Data and Information Management Principles, stating that “data and information must be open, trusted and authoritative, well managed, […]
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12 August 2011
Ghana RTI Bill Criticized as Consultations Continue
The Right to Information Coalition in Ghana and others have criticized a draft RTI bill during ongoing regional consultations, and government officials have indicated some receptivity to alterations. During an Aug. 5 session in Takorado, Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, said the government is determined to pass the bill and that there is a […]
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10 August 2011
Indian Supreme Court Orders Disclosure of Reviewed Tests
The Indian Supreme Court Aug. 8 said students had the right to access their evaluated answer sheets under the Right to Information Act. In its decision, the court upheld a 2009 Calcutta high court that the materials are not exempt from the transaprency law and must disclose the reviewed tests. The case developed after a […]
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9 August 2011
Bangladesh: RTIA and People’s Right to Know
By A.J.M. Shafiul Alam Bhuiyan Dr. A.J.M. Shafiul Alam Bhuiyan is an Associate Professor of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Dhaka. He is a news media and Internet researcher. This article first appeared in The Star and is reprinted with permission of the author. Can or will the Right to Information Act […]
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8 August 2011
New Draft of Model FOI Principles for Africa Proposed
A new draft of a proposed freedom of information “platform” for Africa has been released in preparation for a September conference at which final consideration will take place. The African Platform on Access to Information Working Group finalized the second draft of its declaration, according to an announcement on the newly launched Pan-African Conference on Access to […]
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8 August 2011
OGP Invites Participation in New Networking Mechanism
The Open Government Partnership has invited governments, civil society, private firms and others with expertise in open in government to participate in a “Networking Mechanism.” The Open Government Partnership is “a new multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen […]
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5 August 2011
UK Seeks Public Comments on Open Data Policy
The British government Aug. 4 launched an open data consultation paper titled “Making Open Data Real – A Public Consultation.” The paper sets out “proposals for embedding a culture of openness and transparency in public services.” The stated goal is to explore “how we might create the `pull’ (a right to data) and the `push’ (a […]
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5 August 2011
Words From Mali Minister Encourage FOI Activists
Mali’s minister of communication has committed to support an action plan to promote the right to information in the country, according to a press release from the Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC) and the Mali Association of Human Rights (AMDH). The groups welcomed the development, which was made at a July 29 workshop they […]
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4 August 2011
China Restates Openness Policy in New Guidance
The Chinese government Aug. 2 urged government officials to be more open, a development greeted both with hope and cynicism. The new statement does not create any new legal requirements for transparency but was viewed by some as a significant restatement in support of proactive openness. Others were less sanguine and noted the policy’s appearance […]
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4 August 2011
OGP Releases List of 79 Countries Eligible to Join
The Open Government Partnership has published the names of the 79 countries eligible to join, and their qualifying scores. The list is now available on the OGP website under the “More Documents” heading. The site also includes an explanation of the criteria and the scoring. The spreadsheet does not include the scoring for the countries […]
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3 August 2011
Website Set for Confab of Information Commissioners
The Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada has announced a website to take registrations for the 7th International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC 2011) in Ottawa, Canada, on Oct. 4 and 5. The official web page can be found here: http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/icic-cici.aspx The Registration button will then take you to a page of the Canadian […]
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1 August 2011
FreedomInfo.org Publishes List of Blogs With FOI News
FreedomInfo.org has posted a list of 97 websites containing news about FOI developments, nationally and internationally. To qualify for this list, the blog or website needs to be pretty active and significantly focused on the subject of access to information whether it is called freedom of information (FOI), right to know (RTK), right to information […]
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1 August 2011
Ghana Lawmakers Begin Consultations on RTI Bill
Members of the Ghana parliament have begun regional consultations on a proposed right to information bill, with proponents of the bill complaining that the sessions were poorly publicized, and criticizing the bill. The Coalition on the Right to Information-Ghana commended the Joint Committee on Legal, Constitutional, and Parliamentary Affairs and Communication for commencing the consultations, […]
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29 July 2011
Spanish Cabinet Approves Access Legislation
The Spanish Cabinet July 29 has approved and issued a long-awaited draft of an access to information law. News of the proposed law from the Council of Ministers was announced by the nongovernmental organization Access Info Europe, which received a letter from the Minister of the Presidency, Ramon Jauregui. An early draft of the legislation […]
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29 July 2011
Colombia: ATI Movement Rolls Out Draft FOI Bill
By Michael Evans Director, Colombia Documentation Project, National Security Archive For more than two years, a coalition of transparency advocates in Colombia has been developing draft language for what might someday become the country’s first right to information law. The full text of the proposed access law, along with a detailed statement of purpose from […]
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29 July 2011
UN Committee Completes Guidance on Article 19
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has issued new guidance on the interpretation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedoms of opinion and expression. Two sections address the right to information. The much-expanded guidance was praised by several international experts. The committee conducted several years of consultations and […]
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29 July 2011
South African Panel Renews Deliberations on Secrecy Bill
Consideration of the controversial Protection of Information Bill (POIB) by a committee of the South African Parliament resumed this week with debate focused on a new definition of national security. The multi-day deliberations this week included an indication that the ruling African National Congress party will “at least consider proposals for extending protection to those […]