Resources

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION/TRANSPARENCY

FreedomInfo.org: For the texts of laws, background documents, links to national organizations, and articles on countries with FOI laws, see the “Country Info” tab; or search by country name. Also see FreedomInfo.org’s Blog Roll for a listing of active blogs on FOI issues.
Global Right to Information Rating: A country-by-country rating of the legal framework of freedom of information laws, by the Centre for Democracy and Law and Access Info.
FOINET, an international information-sharing network of organizations and individuals working to promote the right of access to information. Members of FOIAnet are civil society organizations with active
programmes to promote the right to know. FOIAnet also runs a discussion list for news and debate on the right of access to information. The network launched and promotes International Right to Know Day which takes place on 28th September of every year.
Article 19 is a London-based NGO that monitors, lobbies and litigates on behalf of freedom of expression. It also campaigns for the right to access information held by governments, public authorities and private bodies and companies. Article 19 has posted a Model Freedom of Information Law on its site.
Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e Información (Regional Alliance for Freedom of Expression and Information): A coalition of Latin American groups.
The National Security Archive is an independent research institute and library located in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. It also keeps track of the freedom of information movement worldwide.
Access Reports: Edited by U.S. lawyer and journalist Harry Hammit, Access Reports provides updates on freedom of information and privacy issues in the United States and Canada, including analyses of court decisions, laws, regulations and agency guidelines.
Access Info Europe is a human rights organization dedicated to promoting the right of access to information in Europe and contributing to the development of this right globally.
Open Society Justice Initiative, Freedom of Information and Expression Program
Carter Center, has an Access to Information Project which focuses on the passage of legislation in countries lacking such and also encourages effective implementation, enforcement, awareness, and use. Carter Center also maintains an Access to Information and Transparency Events Calendar that posts information on a wide range of conferences and workshops being held around the world.
Right2INFO.org brings together information on the legal frameworks for the right to information as well case law from more than 80 countries, organized and analyzed by topic. With a focus on good law and practice, the website provides comparative overviews of, and country summaries illustrating, the current state of the right to information held by governments and bodies that perform public functions or operate with public funds.
Open Government Guide: The right to information chapter in the new Open Government Guide suggestions of RTI-related commitments that countries could make in the context of the Open Government Partnership. Examples and other resources are provided. The 19-chapter guide was prepared by the Transparency and Accountability Initiative. T/AI is a donor collaborative that includes the Ford Foundation, Hivos, the International Budget Partnership, the Omidyar Network, the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the Revenue Watch Institute, the UK Department for International Development and the William and Flora Hewett Foundation.

MODEL LAWS

Africa: Model Law on Access to Information for Africa, adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on Feb. 25, 2013, and launched in April 2013.

Latin America: Model Inter-American Law on Access to Information (in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish), June 7, 2011, Organization of American States.

Global Transparency Initiative: Model World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information, issued March 1999 by the GTI, a nongovernmental organization that now exists only as an informal coalition. The model policy is based on the GTI Charter.

Article 19: A Model Freedom of Information Law from 2006 by Article 19, the London-based freedom of expression group. English, Arabic, French, Tetun

Commonwealth: Draft Model Freedom of Information Law, adopted 199 by Commonwealth Heads of Government in Durban.

CIVIL LIBERTIES/PRIVACY

Privacy International is a London-based watchdog on surveillance by governments and corporations. It maintains a website jointly with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. that focuses on civil liberties and privacy issues.
The Digital Freedom Network (DFN) based in New York develops and promotes the use of Internet technology for human rights activism around the world. It also publishes original news articles about human rights issues, including free speech and access to information.
The Global Internet Liberty Campaign, the leading international NGO fighting Internet censorship, has an Access page on its website that contains news, FOI resources, links to FOI laws and other information related to freedom of information around the world.
Transparency International, the global corruption watchdog, has a working paper on access to information on its website that explains the elements of, and preconditions for, information access. The paper has a section on access to information in developing countries.
European Civil Liberties Network, a platform for groups working on civil liberties issues across Europe.
Statewatch, a non-profit-making voluntary group founded in 1991. It is comprised of lawyers, academics, journalists, researchers and community activists. Its European network of contributors is drawn from 18 countries. Statewatch encourages the publication of investigative journalism and critical research in Europe the fields of the state, justice and home affairs, civil liberties, accountability and openness.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Amnesty International is the leading global human rights NGO. Based in London, it monitors human rights, including access to information, around the world.
Derechos.org describes itself as the first Internet-based human rights organization. It monitors human rights in Latin America, coordinates several human rights mailing lists, publishes an online human rights journal, and works on the preservation of memory and for justice for the disappeared. The website has a special section on free speech that includes reports on issues related to access to information in Latin America.
Human Rights Watch, a leading international human rights NGO based in New York, has monitored freedom of expression and access to information in many countries, including Chile, Kuwait and China (especially Internet access). Human Rights First (formerly Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights)

MEDIA LINKS

Association of European Journalists
Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press (United States)
International Center for Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists based in New York does a worldwide monitoring of the state of the press.
The Global Investigative Journalism Network, an international association of nonprofit organizations that support, promote, and produce investigative journalism.
The Commonwealth Press Union is composed of newspapers and news agencies in 49 countries. It promotes the welfare and freedom of the Commonwealth press and takes action against infringements on that freedom.
Freedom House, based in New York, is a leading advocate of free expression, human rights and democracy worldwide. It publishes an annual survey of press freedom around the world.
The Index on Censorship was founded in 1972 and has reported on censorship issues around the world since then. It publishes a country-by-country list of free speech violations.
The Inter-American Press Association based in Florida monitors free press issues in the Americas and provides journalism training for Latin American news organizations.
The International Federation of Journalists has over 500,000 members from 100 countries. It campaigns for journalists’ rights, including free expression, and monitors infringements on those rights.
The International Freedom of Information Exchange (Ifex) is a coalition of over 50 freedom of expression groups in the world and is managed by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. Ifex regularly publishes alerts on violations of free expression, including the right to information.
The International Press Institute in Vienna is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, dedicated to freedom of the press and improving the standards and practices of journalism.
The Media Institute of South Africa promotes free, independent and pluralistic media in 11 countries in Southern Africa. It monitors free press violations and helps facilitate the free flow of information and cooperation among media workers in these countries.
The Pacific Media Watch, founded in 1996, supports media freedom and examines issues of ethics, accountability, censorship, media freedom and media ownership in the Pacific region.
Reporters san Frontieres is a Paris-based organization that monitors infringement on media freedoms around the world.
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance is a regional network of media organizations committed to a free press in Southeast Asia.
The World Association of Newspapers, founded in 1948, defends and promotes press freedom and the economic independence of newspapers as an essential condition for that freedom. It represents 18,000 publications in five continents.
The World Press Freedom Committee, composed of 44 journalistic organizations around the world, is dedicated to the free flow of news and the elimination of government interference in the media.