United States: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has launched a beta of the FOIA Wiki, a collaborative and evolving digital resource on the federal Freedom of Information Act. “The FOIA Wiki is part legal guide, part community space for sharing information that aims to serve as a central hub on all manner of issues surrounding FOIA as the law celebrates its 50th anniversary,” according to the announcement.
Sri Lanka: President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed three of the five members of the new RTI Commission. Sirisena named senior civil servant Mahinda Gammanpila as the Chairman of the five-member Commission. Attorney SG Punchihewa, Thyaganathan Selvakumaran, former Supreme Court Judge Salim Marsoof and Lawyer and columnist Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena have been named as its members, the President’s Media Division said.
Sierra Leone: The Society for Democratic Initiatives (SDI) has published a report titled “The State of Access to Information Law Implementation in Sierra Leone 2016.”The report shows that despite achieving this significant milestone, there is a lack of political will to implement the human rights, transparency and good governance legislation, according to The Sierra Leone Telegraph.
Pakistan: The Centre for Law and Democracy released its analysis of the Sindh province of Pakistan’s draft Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2016 (draft Act). “CLD’s Note on the draft Act reveals that it is a reasonable draft, scoring 96 out of a possible 150 points on the RTI Rating, but that much could be done to bring it more fully into line with international standards.”
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