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10 March 2016
The Assembly of People’s Representatives in Tunisia on March 9 approved about one-third of the proposed 62 articles in draft law on access to information, according to a report (in French) in Business News. But debate was suspended to consider compromises on the controversial Article 24, which contains exemptions that have been strongly criticized as […]
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9 March 2016
A coalition of groups have blasted a proposed right to information law in Tunisia. The bill includes vague and unconstitutional exceptions, according to a statement by the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, Al Bawsala, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), […]
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15 July 2015
Article 19 and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network have called on the Tunisian government to get back to work on right to information legislation The joint statement expressed “deep concern” that the government recently withdrew the draft fundamental law on the right to access information “without any apparent reason just prior to its final adoption.” (See previous […]
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8 July 2015
Tunisia’s president July 3 decided to withdraw the bill on access to information, a move that “astonished” one group. The president’s plan is to amend the bill, announced a spokesperson, according to a short news article. The move came in advance of planned consideration by the Assembly of People’s Representatives of Organic Law No. 55/2014, which […]
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4 June 2015
Parliament’s Committee on Rights and Freedoms in Tunisia on June 3 adopted a bill on the right of access to information, according to a DirectInfo article (in French). The legislation has been generally praised by freedom of information activists, but they also have pointed out weaknesses. (See previous FreedomInfo.org reports.) No comments on the committee-approved […]
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20 May 2015
A Tunisian parliamentary committee May 18 continued consideration of a bill on access to information that has been criticized by some media organizations. “The draft is good in general,” one transparency activist told FreedomInfo.org, “except some weaknesses especially regarding the regime of exceptions, sanctions and proactive disclosure.” The Commission of the Rights, Freedoms and External […]
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13 June 2014
Tunisia will hold a second consultation on the draft law on access to information, according to the Secretary of State in charge of governance and public service, Anouar Ben Khelifa. The goal is to replace Decree Law No. 41-2011 on access to administrative documents. The Secretary of State said that repeal of the decree is […]
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16 January 2014
Tunisia has joined the Open Government Partnership, the 63rd member. Tunisia in December published its executive budget proposal, an action that gave them two more points on OGP’s 16-point eligibility scale. Tunisia’s score of 13 is just above the necessary 12. Abderrahman Ladgham, Minister for Governance and Anti-Corruption, wrote: “Tunisia has achieved, since the revolution […]
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4 October 2013
The Tunisian government has proposed amendments to the post-revolution Decree 41 on accersss to information The proposed changes would create an independent commission to monitor government performance on access to information and to process appeals. Abderrahman Ladgham, the deputy prime minister for anti-corruption and good governance said, “If their demands [for information] are not met, citizens […]
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7 November 2012
Improved access to information is a goal and condition of a proposed $500 million loan for Tunisia soon to be considered by the World Bank Executive Board. The goal established is for Tunisia to have granted “at least 25 requests for information by citizens” by the end of 2014.” This goal would be established if […]
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10 August 2012
A new report provides extensive detail on the access to information situation in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia, concluding that in all four “a culture of secrecy prevails over that of openness,” and advocating incremental reforms. The report, “Access to Information in the Middle East and North African Region: An overview of recent development in […]
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30 May 2012
By Ibrahim Elbadawi Elbadawi runs the blog @iBadawi, subtitled, “eGovernment across Arab countries.” This article was published May 14. His twitter handle is @iBadawi. The Tunisian government has issued a new directive to regulate public access to government information and documents. The directive (Arabic only), signed by the Tunisian Prime Minister Mr. Hamadi Jebali and directed […]
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11 May 2012
Tunisia’s Office of the Prime Ministry has published an implementation guide for Decree Law 41 – a directive passed last May on access to governmental documents, according to media reports (Tunisia Live). FreedomInfo.org has confirmed the development, but contacts did not have a copy. Pro-transparency activists have been calling for a law, arguing that the […]
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9 April 2012
Efforts are under way to ensure that Tunisia’s new constitution will protect access to information. An “Open Government and Access to Information” event was held in late March, sponsored by the Tunisian government, the World Bank and the European Commission, according to a World Bank press release. Representatives from regional governments, international experts, government officials […]
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11 July 2011
Tunisia has issued a Decree on Access to Administrative Documents, but the exemptions are “overly broad,” according to an analysis by Article 19. The decree, adopted in May, has “many positive features,” the London-based freedom of expression group said, but the exceptions “can largely undermine the impact of the Decree in assuring transparency and accountability.” […]
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7 April 2011
World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick April 6 lauded the Bank’s work on making itself more transparent and helping national governments become more transparent, and noted the revival of interest in freedom of information in Egypt and Tunisia. His comments came in a speech to the Peterson Institute for International Economics about the Middle East and […]
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26 May 2009
The “minutes” of the World Bank’s executive board meetings, released publicly, are brief notations of the official action, usually one paragraph. They reveal almost nothing about what transpired during the closed deliberations. The “summaries,” by contrast, describe the key points of discussion. They condense, without names, the comments made by the executive directors. The […]
