Posts Tagged ‘impact’

  • 5 July 2012

    National Security Archive Marks 46th FOIA Anniversary

    Marking the 46th anniversary of President Johnson’s signing the Freedom of Information Act, the National Security Archive July 4 posted a compilation of 46 news headlines from the past year made possible by active and creative use of the FOIA.  This representative sample, drawn from hundreds of FOIA stories reported by newspapers, blogs, broadcasters, and researchers, describe […]

  • 6 May 2011

    Using RTI Rivals Bribery in Fighting Bureaucracy

    Right to information requests rival bribery as a way to cut through bureaucratic red tape in India, according to two studies by U.S. academics. The experiments involved the complicated processes of registering to vote and getting ration cards, and were conducted by Yale University political scientists, Leonid Peisakhin and Paul Pinto. Bribery is a better […]

  • 3 December 2010

    Evidence of Transparency’s Benefits Scant, Promising

    Existing evidence on the impact of “transparency and accountability initiatives” (TAIs), including freedom of information,  is “weak,” according to a major new review of the research. This finding on the empirical front “does not mean that the impacts of TAIs are not significant, nor that they do not hold strong potential for change. It is […]

  • 19 March 2010

    Notable Canadian News Stories Based on ATIA requests

    By Stanley Tromp The value of a strong Access to Information Act is better demonstrated than just asserted. To counter negative claims made by bureaucrats and politicians about FOI law usage, here are summaries of Canadian news story on issues as diverse as health, safety, government financial waste, public security, and environmental risks. They all […]

  • 19 March 2010

    Hong Kong’s Code on Access to Information Turns 15 Years Old: Can the Right to Know Thrive Without a Law?

    By Chan Pui-king Since March 1995, the right to know in Hong Kong has been codified in the Code on Access to Information, an administrative measure (without the force of law) that requires all government departments to release information to the public. As the Code celebrates its 15th year in effect, Hong Kong’s experience with use […]

  • 20 March 2009

    Documents in Action: FOI Success Stories in Mexico

    By Emilene Martinez-Morales Mexico City, Mexico – Mexico’s civil society have maximized the potential of its Federal Access to Information Law to affect policies in local communities, advocate for citizens’ rights, and expose corruption at the highest levels of state. Openness advocates have utilized two key institutional features of Mexico’s access-to-information system. The electronic system […]

  • 28 September 2008

    Documenting Access to Information in Latin America: Legal Milestones and Success Stories

    Silvina Acosta – Program Manager, Trust for the Americas Emilene Martínez-Morales – Transparency Programs Coordinator, National Security Archive Washington DC, – The Right to Know made headlines in Latin America during the past year.  Just a few days ago the Guatemalan Congress approved an Access to Information Law. Chile’s Transparency and Access to Information Law […]

  • 22 September 2006

    Hungarian Government Releases NATO Secrecy Policy Document

    UPDATE – 11 OCTOBER 2006 In response to a subsequent HCLU request, the Hungarian National Security Superintendence recently released an additional, previously secret NATO document entitled “Directive on the Security of Information,” dated 2005. The directive, enacted in support of NATO Security Policy C-M(2002)49, contains mandatory provisions related to classification, marking and handling of sensitive information, […]

  • 18 August 2006

    Mexican Newsweekly Asks for Access to Contested Ballots, Uses Access to Information Act to Request Independent Count

    By Emilene Martínez Morales and Jesse Franzblau, National Security Archive’s Mexico Project Editing Assistance Farrah Hassen and Michael Baney In the spirit of the right to know Mexican newsweekly Proceso has requested access to documents, tally sheets and ballots pertaining to the July 2, 2006 presidential elections via four different requests through Mexico’s Freedom of […]

  • 14 July 2006

    Documentos en Defensa del Medio Ambiente

    Emilene Martinez-Morales para freedominfo.org Coordinadora de Programas de Transparencia, Proyecto Mexico, National Security Archive, George Washington University Inglés Grupos ambientalistas en México, desde el estado de Chiapas hasta Coahuila, están utilizando exitosamente la leyes de acceso a información impactando directamente políticas relacionadas con la ecología. El trabajo de estas organizaciones ha arrojado información clave en […]

  • 14 July 2006

    Using FOI Laws in Mexico in Defense of the Environment

    Español Environmental groups in Mexico, from the southern state of Chiapas to Coahuila on the U.S. border, are actively using access to information laws to directly impact ecological policies. Their work has shed light on the controversial La Parota Dam project in the state of Guerrero and uncovered irregularities in the administration of water services […]

  • 28 September 2005

    International Right to Know Day 2005

    Since 2002, freedom of information advocates around the world have been working together to promote the right of access to information for all people and recognize the benefits of transparent and accountable governments. We use this day as a way to share ideas, strategies and success stories about the development of freedom of information laws […]

  • 14 September 2005

    Documents Spur Public Debate about World Bank Involvement in Awarding Contract for Delhi Water Deal

    World Bank and Indian Anti-corruption Group Trade Charges about Bidding Process Documents released recently under Delhi’s freedom of information law raised a major public controversy over World Bank involvement in contract bidding and fueled a public debate over possible privatization of the Delhi water system. On July 28, Indian anti-corruption group Parivartan, citing internal documents […]

  • 15 April 2005

    Teaching Institute or Dance Bar? Putting Local Freedom of Information Legislation to Use in Argentina

    By Martha Farmelo Martha Farmelo is Co-Coordinator of the Access to Information Program at the Buenos Aires-based Association for Civil Rights (www.adc.org.ar). I’ve never slept particularly well the first night in a new home, what with the excitement of the move and all the strange, new sounds. Little did I expect the sounds of the […]

  • 7 April 2005

    FOIA Law Discloses British Farm Subsidies

    For the first time the British Freedom of Information Act forced the disclosure of the amounts and recipients of UK farm subsidies on March 22, revealing over £1,000,000 in payments to the British royal family. A request filed with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) by the Guardian newspaper produced a pair of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, […]

  • 1 December 2002

    Lack of Transparency a Major Controversy in Cambodian Logging Dispute

    (The following six articles are reprinted with permission from The Cambodia Daily. They provide a vivid description of the importance of transparency and public review. The first article sets the stage, describing the controversy surrounding logging operations in Cambodia supported by the World Bank. The subsequent articles describe vividly the efforts of villagers to obtain […]

  • 22 November 2002

    Cutting Plans Criticized; Global Witness Seeks Halt to Logging

    By Richard Sine The Cambodia Daily, November 22, 2002 Three years ago, a major study commissioned by the Asian Development Bank found forests here so depleted, and cutting rates so rapid, that logging was only viable for a few more years on most concessions. In plans made public last week, every logging company appears to […]