The model freedom of information law for Africa is on the agenda for discussion this month by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The draft model law (English and French) has been modified since it was first discussed by the Commission in 2012, FreedomInfo.org was told, although a new draft has not yet been made public.
Commissioners were critical of the draft at their last meeting, held in October in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Some commissioners called the proposal too far-reaching and detailed, urging that it be made less prescriptive.
The next meeting is planned for Feb. 18-25 in Banjul, Gambia. No agenda is available online.
A 2012 posting on the Open Society Foundations website by Maxwell Kadiri and Chidi Odinkalu describes the effort to create a model law for Africa. The two-year effort has involved numerous regional consultations and a working group of experts. (For extensive background on the rpocess see the website of the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.
Describing the project, they also said:
The resulting draft law comprises nine parts, made up of 107 Sections/Articles. Among its most salient features: it affirms the existence of the public’s right to know; expands the scope of this right beyond public institutions to include private institutions that utilize public funds, provide public services or perform public functions or where such information is required for the protection of human rights; mandates the proactive disclosure of certain categories of information; establishes timelines for response to requests for information; and provides an architecture for access to information (ATI) oversight mechanisms to ensure effective and prompt resolution of ATI related disputes.
The process of preparation of the draft model law has already yielded two far-reaching and complementary outcomes. First, the draft model law has already been influential in on-going processes of preparing FoI laws in some African countries, including Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Kenya, and South Sudan. In Namibia, it was used as a ready source in preparing ATI draft legislation now under consideration for enactment. Secondly, this process has also resulted in the creation of a genuinely African movement for access to information with deep roots across the continent, drawing participation from government institutions, civil society, development institutions, the media and academic institutions.
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