What’s New
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14 July 2016
Malaysian NGO Objects to Penang FOI Restrictions
The Sinar Project has written about its campaign to show that FOI implementation in Penang does not comply with international guidelines. The nongovernmental organization describes “arbitrary provisions” that restrict sharing of public documents. The article says: Penang FOI Enactment doesn’t comply to international definitions due to multiple exceptions that restrict access to information such as minutes […]
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14 July 2016
FOI Notes: India, Corporate Transparency, Turkey, EU, US, Open Data, Open Science, More
India: “A new movement demanding an Accountability Bill has emerged from Rajasthan, where activist Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, along with Suchna Evam Rozgar Abhiyan, is on a ‘Jawab Do’ campaign,” according to an article in The Times of India. Corporate Transparency: India has the most transparent companies while Chinese firms are the most opaque, according […]
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13 July 2016
Study Says Bangladeshi Women Inhibited From Accessing Information
Women in Bangladesh do not seek government information as often as men, according to community leaders and experts interviewed for a study conducted by Manusher Jonno Foundation and the Carter Center’s Global Access to Information Program. The report, “Women and the Right of Access to Information in Bangladesh,” is based primarily on interviews 128 community […]
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7 July 2016
Ghana RTI Coalition Warns Parliament About Slow Pace
The Coalition on the Right To Information in Ghana has voiced strong concern that Parliament is not prioritizing passage of a right to information bill despite assurances by the Speaker of Parliament Edward Doe Adjaho. The Coalition in a statement said “with the current pace at which the consideration process is going, the Bill may […]
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7 July 2016
Indian Government Orders More Proactive Disclosure
Frequently requested information must be disclosed to the public and “transparency audits” should be conducted by advisory committees, according to a new order from India’s Department of Personnel and Training. The order does not dictate the mode of disclosure, by another section of the order says departments may set up “Information and Facilitation Centres” (IFCs) […]
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7 July 2016
FOI Notes: Morocco, Iraq, United States, India, Canada, Scotland, Mexico, More
Morocco: The Morrocan Center for the RTI (Cemdi) (Facebook) holds a July 4 a press conference about the draft FOI bill (in French). Abderrahim Foukahi, president of the CEMDI addresses wavering on the issue (three drafts since 2013) and delays (for example, six months between the receipt of the bill in Parliament and the beginning […]
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1 July 2016
Obama Signs FOIA Bill; Defends Transparency Record
President Barrack Obama on June 30 signed into law a package of Freedom of Information Act reforms, using the occasion to release a detailed defense of his FOI record. The amendments (S. 337, committee report) write into law a specific presumption of openness, strengthen the FOIA ombudsman, put a time limit on the use of the deliberative process exemption and […]
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30 June 2016
UN, LA Rapporteurs Criticize Brazil on FOI Administration
The United Nations and Inter-American Commission experts on freedom of expression on June 24 expressed their concern about Brazil’s “converting the National Controller’s Office (CGU) into a new Ministry of Transparency, Monitoring and Oversight.” “In recent years, the main progresses made in Brazil in the promotion of the right to information in Brazil greatly benefited […]
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30 June 2016
FOINotes: UNEP, US, US, Open Data, Uganda, Blockchain Technology, More
UNEP: Carole Excell from the World Resources Institute is appointed as the outside member of the Access to Information Panel of the UN Environmental Programme. United States: “The Public And Its Right To Know,” by Kathleen Weldon, Director of Communications for the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University. “While the public has widely […]
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29 June 2016
World Bank Publishes ATI Implementation Report
The text below is the concluding chapter is a report, “Public Access to Information for Development — A Guide to the Effective Implementation of Right to Information Laws.” Published by the World Bank, the report was written by Victoria L. Lemieux and Stephanie E. Trapnell. Lemieux until recently was a senior public sector specialist at […]
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29 June 2016
World Bank Forgoes Transparency, Hides Behind Policy Loophole
By Nezir Sinani The author is Europe and Central Asia Manager at the Bank Information Center, a Washington-based nongovernmental organization. Co-authored by Margaret Federici, Campaigns Associate. This article appeared in The Huffington Post. On May 26, 2016, sixty-nine civil society organizations (CSOs) from twenty-six countries urged the World Bank to maintain transparency throughout the ongoing review of […]
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27 June 2016
Sri Lanka Passes RTI Law; Campaign Began in 2004
Sri Lanka’s Parliament on June 24 unanimously approved an amended right to information bill. The Right to Information Act, No 12 of 2016, was finally certified by the Speaker on Aug. 4 (text). Some changes, largely technical, were made to bill to accommodate the opinion of the Supreme Court. (See previous Freedominfo.org reports here and […]
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23 June 2016
Tanzanian Government Offers Modified RTI Legislation
The Tanzanian government has produced a new right to information bill, posted on Parliament’s website (text) and offered on first reading June 23. The bill is signed by Harrison Mwakyembe, Minister of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, and dated May 10. Activists tweeted about the new version, but there does not appear to have been news coverage […]
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23 June 2016
Regional Alliance Criticizes Move by Brazil Government
Shifting the administration of the access to information law to a different department is a bad idea, according to a statement (in Spanish) by the Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information. The responsibility is being moved from the Comptroller General (CGU) to the Ministry of Transparency, Surveillance and Control. The Alliance, a network of […]
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23 June 2016
Report Recommends Updating EU Access Regime
European Union policies on access to documents are “seriously outdated,” according to a new report prepared for a parliamentary committee. A series of mostly critical recommendations were made by the two law professor authors: Deirdre Curtin of the European University Institute of Florence and Päivi Leino-Sandberg of the University of Helsinki. The report was commissioned […]
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23 June 2016
UK Campaign Rejects Proposed FOIA Amendment
A Justice Committee recommendation would “seriously undermine FOI Act,” according to the Campaign for FOI. The coalition objected particularly to a proposal to abolish the main right to appeal against the Information Commissioner’s decisions. The Justice Committee report endorses a recommendation made this March by the Commission on Freedom of Information chaired by Lord Burns. The […]
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23 June 2016
FOI Notes: Hungary, Canada, Jobs, Nigeria, India, US, New Zealand, Denmark, Australia
Hungary/OGP: An OGP committee agrees with civil society complaints about Hungary, the OGP announces. The Criteria and Standards subcommittee conducted a review of the evidence presented in the letter. The subcommittee adopted a report which found the concerns expressed in the letter to be relevant to the government of Hungary’s participation in OGP and to […]
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16 June 2016
FOI Notes: US FOI Success, World Bank, Braille, OGP, Open Data, Malta, US, UK, Australia, India, Canada, More
United States: Examples of 50 recent FOIA success stories in the US have been posted by the National Security Archive, the sponsor of FreedomInfo.org. OGP: “Learning to Open Government: New Evidence to Inform the OGP’s Efforts to Make Change Happen,” a report by Florencia Guerzovich and Michael Moses of Global Integrity, based on the experiences […]
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16 June 2016
Tunisia breaks down government’s secrecy walls
By Kouloud Dawahi The author is Common Law, Internet Policy Analyst with IGMENA, “a Hivos programme that brings voices together from the MENA region on Internet Governance and policies.” This article was posted on the IGMENA website June 8 and is reprinted with permission. Public sector information The Internet has played a major role in […]
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16 June 2016
Bangladesh RTI Act: A powerful tool against poverty
By Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz The writers are Chairman, Research Initiatives, Bangladesh (RIB) and Project Coordinator (RTI section) of RIB respectively. Their email is: rib@citech-bd.com. This article first appeared in The Daily Star on June 15and is reprinted with permission, Rezia Khatun, a 36-year-old woman, became destitute after her husband suddenly died. With three […]