What’s New
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12 May 2014
Private Sector Council Makes Plans for OGP Involvement
A Private Sector Council, established to explore ways in which the private sector can engage in Open Government Partnership activities, presented its plans to the OGP Steering Committee in Bali May 5. The council has been developing its goals since late last year and is preparing a final version of a “white paper.” A draft […]
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9 May 2014
Internews Proposes Forum on FoE/RTI for Southeast Asia
Internews Europe has recommended the creation of a regional forum and network for Southeast Asian organizations working across the range of freedom of expression and right to information issues. Funding for activists to work on these issues has diminished, according to the report. The 60-page report, “Freedom of Expression and Right to Information in ASEAN […]
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9 May 2014
Advocates Begin RTI Petition Campaign in Sri Lanka
A petition calling on the government to pass a right to information law is being circulated in Sri Lanka, where efforts to pass a bill have been frustrated in recent years. The Action Committee for Media Freedom Rights activists held an event in Colombo May 5 to launch the petition drive. “This is the only […]
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9 May 2014
Tanzanian Minister Says FOI Legislation Being Prepared
A top minister in Tanzania has stated that a paper proposing a freedom of information bill has been prepared. The disclosure by Constitutional and Legal Affairs Minister Asha-Rose Migiro was reported May 5 in The Guardian. She said the government is committed to observing Open Government Partnership (OGP) as part of its efforts to enhance […]
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9 May 2014
New York Court OKs Release of Pensioners’ Names
A New York state court has ruled that the names of retired public workers in public pension systems are releasable under the state’s freedom of information law. The Court of Appeals May 6 decided that disclosure of names is not an invasion of privacy, but that their addresses shouldn’t be made public. The state retirement […]
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9 May 2014
FOI Notes: UN Declaration, NGO Transparency, Video
UN Experts’ Joint Declaration: Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and other UN experts issued a declaration addressing the lack in the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of expression and information, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association and […]
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6 May 2014
Aruna Roy Rocks OGP Regional Summit in Bali
Judging by enthusiastic tweets, the Open Government Partnership regional summit in Bali got off to a rousing first day, in part because “the spirit of Aruna Roy is contagious!” as one person wrote on Twitter. Roy, the Indian social activist and a leading force behind the Right to Information law, received a lot of Twitter […]
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5 May 2014
CSOs Urge OGP to Address Preserving Civic Space
A statement by 183 representatives of civil society organizations from 31 Asia Pacific countries gathered May 4 in Bali for the Open Government Partnership regional summit highlights three issues. The statement first emphasizes “the importance and need for establishing, expanding and consolidating civic space.” It says, “In some democratic states, civil society space has been […]
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2 May 2014
FOI Weak in Most Mexican States, Fundar Reports
A new report on state freedom of information laws in Mexico delves into the quality of the 32 state laws, finding more than half of them deficient. The detailed index by the nongovernmental organization Fundar looks at three main categories: regulatory provisions, institutional design and the process to access public information. Of the 32 states, […]
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2 May 2014
Canadian Supreme Court Backs Ontario Commissioner
The Supreme Court of Canada April 24 upheld an 2009 order by Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian instructing the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services to disclose statistical information on the first three characters of Ontario postal codes (FSAs) and the number of registered sex offenders living in each FSA. The unanimous […]
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2 May 2014
Japan Hints at Joining Open Government Partnership
Japan has indicated interest in joining the Open Government Partnership, again and tentatively. The suggestion came in one paragraph of a lengthy joint statement issued after a two day visit to the United Kingdom by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. While well short of a commitment to join, the Japanese government apparently indicated “willingness to accelerate the […]
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2 May 2014
Australian PM Decides Against Visit to Indonesia
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has decided not to visit Indonesia for a visit intended to sooth bilateral tensions that also might have led to cementing Australia’s tenuous membership in the Open Government Partnership. The resolution of the OGP membership question was not clear in the wake of the trip’s cancellation May 2. The Australian […]
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2 May 2014
FOI Notes: Budget Transparency, Global Data Alliance, Lots More
Budget Transparency: A World Bank report, “Financial Management Information Systems and Open Budget Data,” finds that only 48 of 198 countries (24 %) have websites providing an opportunity to monitor the budget. Global Data Alliance: A of a recent meeting to consider the formation of an international Global Data Alliance. Research: In the current issue […]
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2 May 2014
OGP Issues Database on Performance by 43 Countries
The Open Government Partnership has issued a beta version of the data from the Independent Reporting Mechanism assessments of 43 countries. “It is hoped that everyone interested in OGP will use the data to take a fresh look at countries of interest, see where the trends lie, and see if there are lessons to be […]
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1 May 2014
Mexican Senate Picks Seven New Commissioners
The Mexican Senate April 30 selected the seven new commissioners for the Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI). All seven candidates got more than 100 votes, above the two-thirds needed (74). There were objections that politics had trumped expertise in the decision-making (See CNN report). One of those selected, Eugenio Monterrey […]
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29 April 2014
Access Bill in Paraguay to Face Test in House Debate
Civil society groups in Paraguay are pushing to amend a proposed access to information bill that they say is too restrictive and some in Congress argue is totally unnecessary. The House is expected to debate the legislation on May 13, according to a media report (in Spanish) and FreedomInfo.org sources. The Senate adopted an access […]
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28 April 2014
OGP Leaders to Consider Restrictions on Civic Space
The Open Government Partnership Steering Committee May 5 will consider proposed procedures that could lead to the expulsion of member governments whose actions undermine the values and principles of OGP. The policy is aimed to preserving “civic space” after some member governments were seen as repressing freedom of expression. Such behavior particularly concerned the representatives […]
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28 April 2014
FOI Notes: India, US, Malawi, Open Data, OGP Job
India: One winner of the 2014 Goldman Environmental prize, Ramesh Agrawal of India, is an active RTI user. The announcement said: “With a small internet café as his headquarters, Ramesh Agrawal organized villagers to demand their right to information about industrial development projects and succeeded in shutting down one of the largest proposed coal mines […]
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25 April 2014
Transparency International Scores EU Transparency
An adequate legal foundation for transparency exists in the European Union, but it is undercut in ways that foster corruption risks, according to a new 248-page report by Transparency International. The EU Integrity System report issued April 24 evaluates 10 EU institutions and bodies regarding transparency, accountability, independence, integrity and other factors. A solid legal foundation, […]
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25 April 2014
25 Candidates Selected for 7 Slots on Mexico’s IFAI
Twenty-five persons have been advanced for seven seats on Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI). An expert committee chose them from 147 candidates after a series of hearings and announced the nonbinding list (below) April 21. Final selection requires the votes of two-thirds of the Senate and approval by President […]