What’s New
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18 July 2014
Canada Pulls Out of Election for OGP Steering Committee
The Canadian government has withdrawn its candidacy to join the Steering Committee that runs the Open Government Partnership. The unannounced withdrawal is noted without explanation in the OGP website page about the upcoming election. * = Canada withdrew their application for the OGP Steering Committee on July 10. A statement provided by the Treasury Board Secretariat […]
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18 July 2014
Brazilian CSOs Complain to OGP Steering Committee
Thirty-three Brazilian civil society groups have asked the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee to look into “difficulties with the Brazilian government.” A secret government committee consistently has rejected civil society proposals according to a July 10 letter. The recently issued second Brazilian national action plan does not include suggestions developed by civil society through a […]
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18 July 2014
Audit Indicates Weaknesses in Some Brazil Jurisdictions
By Gregory Michener Dr. Gregory Michener is Associate Professor of Public Administration and Politics at the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration, Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro (EBAPE/FGV). He also directs the incipient Transparency Audit Network based at the FGV Rio de Janeiro’s School of Law and EBAPE. This article appeared on the Open Government […]
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18 July 2014
Women Seeking Information in Liberia Face Barriers
Barriers exist that limit women’s access to information they want, according to a study done in Liberia by the Carter Center. “Structural and cultural barriers exist that impede women’s facility to exercise the fundamental right to information,” the report concludes. It states that women “want information about education, land/property ownership, and how to start and maintain […]
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18 July 2014
Pakistan Committee Makes Changes in Draft RTI Bill
A committee of the Pakistan Senate on July 15 approved amendments to a right to information bill, according to an article in The Daily Times and one by the Pakistan Press Foundation. The Standing Committee on Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, chaired by Senator Kamil Ali Agha, dropped a provision that would have left authority […]
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18 July 2014
Bermuda Takes Steps to Implement 2010 Law
Bermuda’s Premier Michael Dunkley on July 4 tabled the Public Access to Information Regulations 2014 and the Public Access to Information Amendment Bill 2014, according to an article in The Royal Gazette. The implementation regulations and the proposed amendments comes four years since the July 2010 passage of the law. He said the Act will come […]
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18 July 2014
New RTI Law in Maldives Goes Into Effect
The Maldives government is taking steps to implement the new right to information law that went into effect July 12, according to an article in The Sun. The president’s spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz said information officers have been appointed at all government officers and that the president has nominated an Information Commissioner for parliament’s approval.? President […]
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18 July 2014
FOI Notes: FOI Posters, Arabic Website, Development, US, Canada, More
FOI Posters: “Veteran and award-winning photojournalists who have taken up the challenge of grounding the FOI issue on something more basic – corruption, poverty, and the lack of basic services,” according to a blog post at the Philippines Center for Investigative Journalism.FOI advocates created a special Facebook album where any photographer, amateur or professional, can […]
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18 July 2014
Connecticut Court Wrongly Reduces Access to Information
By James H. Smith This article was first run July 15 in the Journal Inquirer and other Connecticut newspapers. Smith, a retired newspaper editor, is president of the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information. For more not the ruling see article in The Day. Why would seven judges decide that the police can keep information about crime […]
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8 July 2014
UK ICO Backs Privacy for Most Requester Names
The United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office recently said the names of FOI requesters should be kept private, but not always. The comment concerned the three-year practice of the Staffordshire County Council to publish requesters’ letters unredacted. For more read a blog post by Mathew Burgess and another by Jon Baines. The ICO is quoted as […]
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8 July 2014
Ghana Officials Reportedly Doubt Support for RTI BIll
Top parliamentarians in Ghana are being quoted as questioning the degree of public support for a right to information law but also as promising passage in 2016. The comments emerged in a July 8 news report that was based on accounts of pro-RTI activists who met with Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho; the […]
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8 July 2014
FOI Notes: Australia, Pakistan, UK, US, Open Data
Australia: The government has made FOI statistics available in a machine-readable format, according to a report in Computer World. Pakistan: “The State of Right to Information in Pakistan” by the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) recommends steps to implement the new RTI laws in the states of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. In a nationwide […]
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8 July 2014
Groups Suggest Changes to Draft RTI Law for Cyprus
The government in Cyprus has produced as draft access to information law, but it needs improvement according to activists. Access Info Europe, the civil society organization Politeia and other groups in Cyprus recently made recommendations to strengthen the draft law. The comments were presented at a recent public consultation. The draft law (in Greek) does […]
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7 July 2014
Study Details Weaknesses in Indian RTI Implementation
Tens of thousands of right to information appeals are pending in India, according to a comprehensive study published by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. More than 66,000 appeals and complaints cases were pending in the only six information commissions where data was available. The Central Information Commission had a total of 21,946 appeals and complaints […]
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7 July 2014
Irish FOI Proposals Still`Timid’
By Richard Dowling The following commentary is from RTÉ News. Rowling is the RTÉ North East Correspondent. The decision of the Government to do a U-turn on the issue of upfront fees for FOI requests has been widely welcomed. It is a small but important step forward in making FOI more accessible to the citizens of Ireland. […]
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7 July 2014
Six Governments Seeking to Join OGP Leadership
Eleven governments are competing for eight spots on the Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership — five incumbents and six governments seeking a seat for the first time. The voting among the 64 member governments began July 1 and ends July 30, with results to be announced Aug. 4. Looking to win election on […]
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7 July 2014
Freeing the US Freedom of Information Act
By Nate Jones This article first appeared in the Detroit News July 3. Jones is the FOIA Coordinator for the National Security Archive. Earlier this year, the Veterans Affairs Administration denied the Tampa Tribune’s Freedom of Information Act request for the names of VA hospitals where veterans died because of delays in medical screenings. To […]
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3 July 2014
Rapporteur Visits Ghana, Presses for RTI Law
The African Union Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, Pansy Tlakula, is visiting Ghana to discuss the long-stalled right to information bill. The Special Rapporteur will meet with leaders of Parliament, the Minister of Information and Media Relations, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, and the Select Committee on […]
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3 July 2014
European Court Supports Disclosure of Document
The European Court of Justice has endorsed disclosure of a document concerning European Union negotiations with the United States on the handling of citizens’ banking information. The court backed a July 2009 request by a Dutch Member of the European Parliament, Sophie in ‘t Veld, for access to a legal opinion prepared during negotiations that […]
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3 July 2014
Lower Afghan House OKs Access to Information Bill
The lower house of the Afghanistan parliament (the Wolesi Jirga) on June 30 approved an access to information bill. Advocates say the body took into account some important recommendations from Afghan civil society organizations that have waged a three-year campaign for a law, but that the legislation still needs improvement. Executive Director of Integrity Watch, […]