International: A commissioned by the Transparency and Accountability Initiative and curated by Thomas Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace – “short, forward-looking think pieces by leading scholars and activists on the future of the transparency and accountability movement.”
International: At a World Press Freedom Day conference more than 1,000 media practitioners and stakeholders, including representatives of governments, called on UNESCO’s 195 member states to “reaffirm that press freedom and the right to information are essential for a free, independent and pluralistic media and crucial to the advancement of human rights and sustainable development.” A press release says, “In keeping with the new Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations for the next 15 years, the Finlandia Declaration stresses the importance of access to information and the responsibility of states in making public information available both on and off-line, and promoting universal access to the internet.” For more on the conference in Finland, see the UNESCO website. Some of the FOI-related sessions were webcast.
International: “Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Countering Violent Extremism,” by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information,
International: Journalists unions, human rights campaigners and media groups from across the Arab World backed a Declaration on media freedom, including the right to information. Apporval came at a meeting hosted by the International Federation of Journalists and the Moroccan journalists union (SNPM) in Casablanca, an ICFJ posting says.
International: Dunja Mijatovi?, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, based in Vienna, Austria, says “Open Government Owes a Lot to a Couple of 18th-Century Finns.” The articles states, “My files are rife with instances of States whose laws on the statute books are exemplary, while their implementation is not.”
OGP: A letter from 64 civil society organizations addresses five areas of improvement for the OGP aiming to increase the OGP’s credibility and strengthen its core values. The letter addresses five areas of improvement aiming to increase the OGP’s credibility and strengthen its core values:
» Establishing clear and rigorous criteria for dealing with human rights violations by participating countries;
» Ensuring real participation and co-creation of OGP Action Plans;
» A tighter and more effective OGP Independent Review Mechanism;
» A more responsive, open and democratic Steering Committee;
» Setting up financial support to guarantee civil society engagement.
OGP: The OGP Steering Committee elected the government of Georgia and Mukelani Dimba, Executive Director of the Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC), to be the next government and civil society support co-chairs, according to the OGP blog.
International: Read an article about global information poverty by Daniel Bruce, Internews Chief Executive in Europe, titled “Information Inequality is a Global Issue.”
International: A short wish list from Guy Berger, Director for Freedom of Expression and Media Development at UNESCO.
India: “Why all politicians are trying to muzzle the RTI Act,” a Moneylife article by Shailesh Gandhi, beginning: “RTI is exposing their arrogance and hence they try to discredit the Act by often talking about its misuse. If RTI Act is muzzled, soon we may have to provide reasons even for speaking. We must defend our democracy.”
Africa: The African Freedom of Expression Exchange voices concern about ATI, noting the lack of laws in Central Africa.
Africa: The Media Institute of Southern Africa issues its annual report, “So This Is Democracy?: State of Media Freedom in southern Africa,” available here. “Whilst there has been a dramatic increase in the number of access to information laws on the continent – 19 to date – the right to access information on issues that affect people’s livelihoods remains beyond the grasp of the majority of African people.”
Africa: “How open data and new technologies hold keys to the media’s future across Africa,” a series of articles.
Latin America: The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urges the states of the hemisphere “to continue passing laws that allow an effective access to public information and to promote its effective and efficient implementation, according to international standards.”
Latin America: The Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information presented a report,“State Control of Social Media,” the fourth version of this collection that began in 2013.
Latin America: See recording (with English translation) of World Bank session by government representatives, Harvard academics, and other experts in Montevideo, Uruguay, April 28 and 29, to discuss “the most efficient measures to increase government transparency and respond to the public’s demands for more effective accountability in the public sector in Latin America.”
Mauritius: An article in Le Mauricien by Roukaya Kasenally asks “Can Freedom of Information Help Fix Democracy?” surveys international laws and advises the government to consult widely in the creation of a law for Mauritius and “to be attentive to the pitfalls of window dressing.”
Uganda: “Oaths of Secrecy a challenge in access to information and Open Contracting,” an article about a panel held Uganda.
Bulgaria: The Access to Information Programme presents the results from the 2016 Audit on Institutional Web Sites.
Luxembourg: Journalists in Luxembourg, which does not have a FOI law, call for a parliamentary debate to explore the struggles journalists face in gaining access to information, The Luxemburg Wort reports.
Liberia: Samwar S. Fallah writes in Front Page Africa about a new campaign to get information regarding the salaries and other incomes of public officials.
United Kingdom: Canadian Elizabeth Denham is confirmed as the UK’s new information commissioner, The Guardian reports.
United States: The Clinton Global Initiative, part of the Clinton Foundation, announces it will publish all of its previously undisclosed, or private, commitments and that all future commitments will be made public, Devex reports.
Environmental Transparency: “Making Climate Commitments Through the Open Government Partnership,” a paper by the World Resources Institute and the government of France.
United States: The Kansas House votes to close a loophole in the Kansas Open Records Act that allowed public officials to avoid scrutiny by using private e-mail to conduct official business, The Wichita Star says.
United States: Members of Congress ask the watchdog Government Accountability Office to conduct a comprehensive review of federal compliance with the FOIA.
United States: The Justice Department’s Office of Information Policy highlights a number of FOIA success stories from 2015-2016 for the 15 cabinet agencies, according to a blog post.
United States: “Exemption 5 FOIA Reform Would Not Have Chilling Effect on Agency Deliberations, MDR Fees Should Be Comparable to FOIA Fees, and More,” the weekly update by Lauren Harper.
Malaysia: The Institute of Journalists Malaysia says freedom of information must be protected, The Sun Daily reports.
Armenia: An Armenian version of the Legal Leaks toolkit – a guide for journalist and citizens seeking to access government-held information – is released.
New Zealand: The Privacy Commissioner releases an online tool called AboutMe to make it easier for individuals to ask agencies for their personal information by helping to draft a template email with all the details agencies need to respond to information requests.
Nigeria: The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, restates the commitment of the government to uphold FOIA.
United Kingdom: An analysis of UK FOI data in The Institute for Government blog.
United States: “Why agricultural industry groups could soon be exempt from FOIA laws,” reports The Christian Science Monitor.
Pakistan: Waseem Abbasi writes in The News: “The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government is still dragging its feet on the federal Right to Information (RTI) law despite approval of the bill by the Senate Standing Committee more than two years ago.” Separately, Naeem Sadiq in The News writes about the RTI situation in Pakistan.
SDG 16: “Greater than the sum of our parts: global partnerships for Goal 16,” a report by SaferWorld intended “to inform and guide discussion about how global multi-stakeholder partnerships can most effectively collaborate in support of the 2030 Agenda’s commitment to peaceful, just and inclusive societies.”
United States: “Lessons learned from a year of opening police data,” an article by Alyssa Doom and Damian Ortellado of the Sunlight Foundation.
Correction: The link to a Sun article noted last week about British officials using Whatsapp.
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