What’s New
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25 May 2012
FOI Notes: MENA, NATO, Libraries
MENA: The second newsletter of the regional dialogue on Access to information in MENA region in Arabic and English is available here. It includes summaries of FOI developments in the region. Plans are being made for a third video conference May 29; for details see the newsletter. NATO: An article on NATO’s lack of transparency […]
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24 May 2012
Draft Spanish Access Law Remains Inaccessible
The draft access to information law for Spain has not been released yet, prompting complaints. Changes have been made to the version put out for public comment in March, and observers are eager to see the latest iteration. Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría on May 18 announced that the Cabinet had advanced […]
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24 May 2012
Obama Orders More Services Available on Mobile Devices
President Obama May 23 told all federal agencies to make at least two government services available on mobile devices in the next year in a “device-agnostic way.” “Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere and on any device,” the president said in a statement. “By making important services accessible from your phone […]
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21 May 2012
India Makes Plans to Set Up RTI Call Center, Request Site
The Indian government has requested proposals to establish a call center and web portal to allow citizens to make right to information requests by telephone and online. The Department of Personnel and Training May 14 sought requests from IT firms and call centers, according to media reports such as one in the Hindustan Times. The […]
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21 May 2012
Liberian President Picks Freeman as Commissioner
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has named Mark Bedor-Wla Freeman, Sr., a Liberian journalist turned lawyer working with the UN Mission in Liberia, to be the nation’s first information commissioners, according to an article in The Informer. Freeman was the president and vice president of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL). In 2009 he was named […]
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21 May 2012
Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Egypt Aim to Join OGP
“Tunisia plans to join the OGP in 2012 and Libya, Morocco and Egypt plan to initiate steps toward eligibility this summer,” according to a fact sheet issued by the Group of Eight following a May 19 meeting in Camp David, Md. The G-8 leaders pledged to “assist each transition country with progress toward membership in […]
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21 May 2012
Debate Accelerates on EC Council Access Proposal
By Staffan Dahllöf Dahllöf wrote this article that appeared May 21 in the blog Wobbing EU. Backed by a majority of member states, the European Union presidency will now engage in informal discussions with the Parliament on new rules for access to EU documents. The proposal said to enhance transparency, is not to be seen by the […]
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18 May 2012
China Calls for Transparency in Variety of Areas
China has issued a document “calling for greater transparency regarding governmental information disclosures to the public,” according to a report by the Xinhua news agency. The short description indicates that more transparency should be put in place for the budget, affordable housing, food safety, environmental protection, land requisitions and housing demolition. “Central and provincial government […]
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18 May 2012
Spanish Cabinet Forwards Controversial FOI Bill
The Spanish Cabinet May 18 decided to take another step in the process of developing a freedom of information law. The Cabinet agreed to send the draft legislation to the data protection agency, an independent body, and to the State Council, a body within the government that advises on legal and constitutional matters. It is expected that the Cabinet will revisit the […]
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18 May 2012
Ghanaian House Leader Says RTI Bill Be Approved
The majority leader of the Ghana Parliament, Cletus Avoka, May 16 said a right to information bill will be passed before the parliamentary session ends Jan. 6, 2013. His comments came during a press conference at which he criticized the bill’s supporters for blaming him for holding up action, according to media reports such as a report […]
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18 May 2012
Sierra Leone Parliament Holds Meeting on FOI Bill
The Sierra Leone Parliament May 17 held a pre-legislative conference on the freedom of information bill at which parliamentarians complained bitterly about the tactics of pro-FOI supporters. Advocates are still hopeful that the bill will be passed, however, although the parliamentary action is occurring at a slower pace than suggested weeks ago by government officials. […]
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18 May 2012
U.S. Judge Declines to Release Bay of Pigs History
More than year after the National Security Archive sued the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to declassify the full “Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation,” a U.S. District Court judge May10 sided with the Agency’s efforts to keep the last volume of the report secret in perpetuity. In her ruling, Judge Gladys Kessler accepted the […]
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18 May 2012
FOI Notes: Open Data, Climate Finance, Aid Transparency
UN Survey: United Nations Public Administration Country Studies is preparing a database on “conventional and emerging topics related to public administration,” including FOI Acts, data protection acts, budgetary information, and financial disclosure by government officials. As part of this effort, the UN is seeking answers to an Open Government Data survey by May 31. Climate […]
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18 May 2012
OGP Seeks Input on Evaluation Mechanism
The Open Government Partnership is seeking comment on the structure of the system that will be used to review member country’s national action plans. The survey comes in advance of a planned OGP subcommittee meeting on the subject May 24-45 in London. The Standards and Criteria subcommittee will come up with recommendations on the Independent […]
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18 May 2012
UK Cabinet Vetoes Release of Sensitive Risk Report
A major FOI controversy ensued in the United Kingdom after the cabinet vetoed the release of an assessment of risks of the government’s health system reforms. The decision overruled an order from Information Commissioner Christopher Graham to publish the National Health Service risk register. Graham protested the decision, saying that “none of the criteria for […]
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18 May 2012
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Paraguay, South Korea, Finish OGP Action Plans
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Paraguay and South Korea have completed their national action plans as part of the Open Government Partnership process. Their plans have not been posted, but will be soon, FreedomInfo.org has learned. Three other countries that joined the OGP last year still have not delivered their plans: Liberia, Ghana and Mongolia. The OGP co-chairs […]
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17 May 2012
New Yemen Law Ranks High on International Scale
The legislation passed in Yemen on the right of access to information, currently awaiting presidential assent, scores fairly high on an international rating scale The Centre for Law and Democracy analysis gives it 102 out of a possible 150 points, putting it in 21st place globally. “The law’s strongest features include its broad scope and […]
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14 May 2012
Reception Lukewarm for ANC Compromises on Secrecy Bill
The ruling African National Congress in South Africa has proposed modifications to the controversial Protection of State Information Bill, but critics say they do not go far enough. The Right2Know Coalition that opposes the “secrecy bill” on May 11 called the ANC proposals “a small but important victory” but added that “the moment for celebration […]
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14 May 2012
Chinese Budget Disclosures Still Considered Inadequate
China is disclosing more information about its budget, but “the data being released is still too vague to satisfy the taxpayers’ demands,” according to a May 14 article in the China Daily by Zhao Yinan. “So far, 92 out of the government 98 departments and State-funded organizations have laid bare their accounts since April 23 […]
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14 May 2012
Renewed Effort to Bring Up RTI Bill in Sri Lanka Blocked
The ruling party in Sri Lanka has blocked an effort by the main opposition party to bring up right to information legislation, according to media reports. The United National Party presented its RTI proposal to the Speaker of Parliament, but was told the bill could not be presented because it had been defeated in June […]