What’s New
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27 September 2016
FOI Notes: Latin America, Sweden/Finland, India, Venezuela, Australia, Scotland, India, Malaysia, Tunisia, Israel
Venezuela: A report by Espacio Publico describes a series of requests for information to state agencies and encourages more requests. Transparency Venezuela holds events on access to information. Venezuela, along with Bolivia, are the only countries in the continent that does not have legislation regulating the right to access information held by the state.. “Join […]
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26 September 2016
Pakistani Minister Pledges to Bring ATI Bill to Cabinet
Pakistan’s Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid has promised yet again that an access to Information bill will be presented to cabinet for approval very soon. His pledge came to reporters after a ceremony in Islamabad on Sept. 26, as reported by APP. Similar pledges of Cabinet consideration were made in July and August. He said the […]
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26 September 2016
Ghana’s President Backs Passage of RTI Legislation
Ghana’s president John Dramani Mahama Sept. 26 reiterated his support for passage of a right to information bill pending on Parliament, but added, “I don’t know where it is.” “I believe it is something we should complete and make available so that people can have a legal basis for demanding information if there is reluctance […]
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22 September 2016
OGP Celebrates Anniversary; Turkey Declared Inactive
The Open Government Partnership celebrated its fifth anniversary in New York City Sept. 20 with messages about past accomplishments and future challenges, including a tilt toward addressing climate change. Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Pradhan listed three main points: – First, we need deeper co-creation and civic participation. – Second, we need OGP governments and CSOs […]
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22 September 2016
FOI Notes: EU, Holland, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, India, US, Tanzania, Aid Transparency, Budget Transparency, Open Data, Namibia, Ghana, Ireland, Jamaica, Gambia, Transparency Research
EU: Moldova has ratified the 2009 Convention on Access to Official Documents, brining to nine the number of other ratifications to bring it into force. Armenia is expected to ratify it soon. Holland: Open State Foundation sends an open letter to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and party leaders in the Dutch parliament urging creation […]
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15 September 2016
FOI Notes: India, FOI Comics, Open Data/Africa, Nigeria, Australia, US
India: The Central Information Commission compiles a “frequently asked questions” list for 70 central ministries. “The Commission is now sitting down with each ministry to brief them on how to proactively disclose information on their websites on these subjects so that fewer applicants file requests under Right to Information (RTI) Act,” reports The Economic Times. […]
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15 September 2016
Argentina Approves FOI Bill; Senate Changes Rejected
Argentina will have a freedom of information law (text) as the result of a 182-16 vote Sept. 14 in the Chamber of Deputies. The House passed its original version, using a two-thirds majority to discard the Senate version, according to reports (in Spanish) in La Nation, Chequeado, Parliamentario, Urgente24, Clarinx, The chairman of the Committee on Constitutional […]
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14 September 2016
OGP to Celebrate Fifth, Discuss Strategic Goals
The Open Government Partnership Steering Committee faces a large agenda for its upcoming meeting in New York City on the occasion of the OGP’s fifth anniversary. The Steering Committee is slated to continue its “strategic refresh” discussions, discuss a new trust fund and review “co-creation” guidance, among other things, according to a pre-meeting packet of […]
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9 September 2016
Argentina’s Senate Removes State Firms From FOI Bill
The Argentinian Senate on Sept. 7 approved an access to information law, 44-15, but only after deleting a provision applying it to state-majority-owned companies (YPF). The change forced by a coalition of opposition parties means that the bill will be returned for reconsideration to the Chamber of Deputies, where it was approved almost unanimously. (See […]
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8 September 2016
Exempting Emails? Suggestion Bashed in US
A column by a US journalist questioning whether emails should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act triggered an outpouring of rebuttals. “Treating email as public by default rather than private like phone calls does not serve the public interest,” wrote Matthew Yglesias in Vox, prompting numerous, mostly critical responses. One detailed reply came from […]
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8 September 2016
Tanzanian Assembly Backs Information Access Bill
Tanzania’s National Assembly Sept. 8 approved an access to information bill. The Assembly on Sept. 6 opened debate on the bill, with some members calling the bill too weak and urging amendments, according to media reports. Constitution and Legal Affairs Minister Harrison Mwakyembe said he was “surprised” at the criticisms. The bill that passed had some minor changes, […]
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8 September 2016
FOI Notes: South Africa, India, Australia, Research, US, Much More
South Africa: The National Assembly elects Pansy Tlakula as chair of the newly-formed information regulator, despite fierce objection from opposition parties, reports News24 and others. The African National Congress and the United Democratic Movement were the only parties in favor of her appointment, while the Democratic Alliance, the Economic Freedom Fighters and Inkatha Freedom Party […]
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7 September 2016
UNESCO Picks Ghana Leader To Speak at ATI Day Event
By Toby McIntosh UNESCO has picked the president of Ghana, whose nominal support for an access to information law in Ghana has yet to produce results, to give the keynote speech at the first International Day for Universal Access to Information. President John Dramani Mahama will speak on Goal 16 of the UN Sustainable Development […]
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2 September 2016
NGO Complains to OGP About Israel’s Behavior
Israel is acting in ways contrary to the principles it endorsed when becoming a member of the Open Government Partnership, according to a nongovernmental organization, the Alternative Information Center (AIC). After a month’s delay, the Open Government Partnership on Sept. 2 posted the four-page letter dated July 25. The OGP Criteria and Standards Subcommittee met […]
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1 September 2016
Much Variation Seen in FOI Request Volumes in 11 Countries
By Vincent Mabillard The author is a Research Assistant at the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration, University of Lausanne Lausanne, Switzerland. This is an excerpt from a longer paper (pdf) that also provides an overview on the adoption of FOI laws, discusses their different characteristics and suggests possible ways to address FOI in a comparative […]
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1 September 2016
FOI Notes: US, Argentina, Nepal, UK, Malta, Much More
United States: Most U.S. journalists want the government to delay the public release of documents they request. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has published the results of its survey of journalists on the “release to one, release to all” policy being considered by the Obama administration. (See previous FreedomInf.org report.) More than […]
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1 September 2016
Kenyan President Signs Bill Creating Access Law
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on Aug. 31 signed an Access to Information bill into law. The final text of the bill is not yet available. The Kenyan National Assembly recently approved the Senate’s changes to the ATI bill. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) “The new law allows the public to seek information from government, and obliges […]
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29 August 2016
166 Exemptions Suggested For Philippines FOI EO
The Philippines government has proposed 166 exemptions to its new freedom of information executive order. The 11 pages of exemptions are contained in an Aug. 22 draft of the FOI People’s Manual. (See text as pdf in Rappler article.) Separately, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said Congress may not be able to pass the long-delayed FOI […]
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25 August 2016
CHRI Analysis of the New Sri Lanka RTI Law
The following summary of the new Sri Lankan RTI law was prepared by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. On 04 August, 2016, the Hon’ble Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka certified their RTI Bill as having been “duly passed by Parliament”. With this certification, the RTI Bill has become law in Sri Lanka. Unlike many […]
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25 August 2016
Kenyan Assembly Endorses Senate Changes to ATI Bill
The Kenyan National Assembly has approved the Senate’s changes to an Access to Information bill, according to an article in The Nation by John Ngiruchu and an article in The Standard by Alphonce Shiundu. The bill will now be presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta for his signature. “Most of what the Senate introduced were clarifications on […]