Posts Tagged ‘NGOs’
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8 November 2007
European Ombudsman Finds Maladministration by European Commission for Failure to Produce Annual Report
Acting on a complaint brought by the European watchdog group Statewatch, the European Ombudsman this week found maladministration by the European Commission for its failure to produce an annual report of access to documents for 2005. The Commission had claimed that inadequate staff and other obligations made it impossible to comply with the legal obligation […]
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21 May 2007
International FOI Advocates Protest Draft Amendments that would Weaken Bulgarian Public Information Act
Today, members the International Freedom of Information Advocates Network sent a letter to the Bulgarian National Assembly opposing draft amendments to the Bulgarian access to information law accepted by the Assembly earlier this month. Sixty-eight organizations and individuals from 37 different countries joined the letter of protest, arguing that the proposed amendments would significantly weaken […]
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13 November 2006
World Bank Anticorruption Strategy May Spark Changes in Disclosure Policy
Adoption of a new anticorruption strategy at the World Bank may lead to changes in the Bank’s disclosure policy. The broad suggestions of such changes must still be converted into specific proposals, however–a process that has only just begun. If fully implemented, the changes could bring about improved transparency on proposed Bank projects and their […]
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28 September 2006
International Right to Know Day 2006
International Right to Know Day was established to mark the founding on 28 September 2002 of the global Freedom of Information Advocates Network. The 4th International Right to Know Day is being celebrated in 2006. The aim of Right to Know Day is to raise awareness of every individual’s right of access to government-held information: […]
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22 September 2006
GTI Launches Transparency Charter
A set of principles to inform the disclosure policies of international financial institutions was announced Sept. 17 in Batam, Indonesia, by the Global Transparency Initiative (GTI). The nine principles were developed, with public comment, over the past year by the GTI, a nongovernmental network of civil society organizations of which freedominfo.org is a member. It […]
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31 August 2006
INDIA: Right to Information in Jeopardy
Just six months after the Right to Information Act came into force, the bureaucrats in the Indian government are on the verge of rolling back the Act’s progressive access provisions. In July 2006, without any public consultation, the Cabinet approved amendments to the RTI that exclude from disclosure file notings contained in many of the […]
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18 August 2006
In India, Right to Information in Jeopardy
Just six months after the Right to Information Act came into force, the bureaucrats in the Indian government are on the verge of rolling back the Act’s progressive access provisions. In July 2006, without any public consultation, the Cabinet approved amendments to the RTI that exclude from disclosure file notings contained in many of the […]
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17 July 2006
UNDP Seminar Spotlights Complexity of Expanding Right to Know
By Toby McIntosh Fostering the right to know in developing countries requires multi-faceted, flexible strategies, according to the minutes of a May 2006 seminar sponsored by the United Nations Development Program. The 31 seminar participants, with practical experience in many parts of the world, reviewed the impediments to improving government transparency and shared insights on […]
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27 June 2006
Two Steps Forward, One Step Backwards: The Access to Information Campaign in Argentina
By Martha Farmelo and Mariela Belski Martha Farmelo is Coordinator of the Freedom of Expression Program and Mariela Belski Coordinator of the Access to Public Information Program at the Buenos Aires-based Association for Civil Rights (www.adc.org.ar) Which is preferable, a severely flawed national access to information law, or no law at all? Freedom of information […]
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31 May 2006
Info Commissioners Meet in Manchester: 4th International Conference Separates Officials, NGOs
By Emilene Martinez-Morales for freedominfo.org Transparency Programs Coordinator, Mexico Project, National Security Archive, George Washington University Delegates from more than 40 countries participated this month in the 4th International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC), which took place in Manchester, United Kingdom, on May 22nd and May 23rd, hosted by the U.K. Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas. […]
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10 February 2006
New secrecy bill threatens to undermine Albanian Right to Information Act
On February 10, 2006, the Open Society Justice Initiative and the Albanian group Center for the Development and Democratization of Institutions sent a letter to the Speaker of the Albanian Assembly, urging the Assembly to reject a new draft law on classified information. The Bill would create a new category of “restricted information,” which allows […]
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9 December 2005
Armenia: Freedom of Information Awards Winners of 2005 Announced
On December 9, 2005 the Freedom of Information Center (Yerevan, Armenia) announced its Freedom of Information Awards winners for 2005. Read more >>.
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16 November 2005
How to Measure Openness?
Towards an International Index Government transparency ranks as a fundamental human right and an essential element in developing effective democratic governance. Nonetheless, international freedom of information advocates face a daunting challenge in quantifying and evaluating government openness and access to information in different nations. A wide range of researchers have pioneered the development of indexes […]
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18 January 2005
ADB Board Getting Briefed on Disclosure Policy Proposals
The executive directors of the Asian Development Bank on Jan. 21 will discuss a “working paper” outlining plans to revamp the ADB disclosure policy that critics say remains deficient. The closed session is not intended as a decision-making meeting, but after months of drafting, the briefing signals that the policy rewrite is nearing completion. Pro-transparency […]
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21 December 2004
Critics Fault ADB Draft Public Communications Policy
The Asian Development Bank’s second draft of a new communications policy is meeting with some praise, and also with continuing criticism. Common themes included: demands for more disclosure about private sector operations, recommendations for releasing the key documents as they go to the board, and appeals for an independent appeals process. The comments are posted […]
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10 December 2004
Information Requests Reveal Destruction of Records by Administrative Agencies in Japan
Information Clearinghouse Japan, a non-profit organization, conducted an investigation based on information requests filed under the Japanese public information disclosure law regarding the destruction of official records before that law came into effect in March 2001. The records showed that at least ten agencies significantly increased their disposal of documents during fiscal year 2000, some […]
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30 June 2004
FILM: Right to Information
BACKGROUND NOTE ON THE DOCUMENTARY ON THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION MOVEMENT IN INDIA The MKSS has had a series of films made to document various aspects of its work. The most successful campaign run by the MKSS was the Right to Information campaign. The campaign had a modest beginning as an effort to document that […]
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30 June 2004
The Right to Know is the Right to Live: Profile of a Remarkable Peoples’ Movement in India that Links Information to Livelihood
The pioneering right-to-information work of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in India has won remarkable victories in the struggle against corruption, both at the village and national levels, according to the latest case study posted today by the freedominfo.org virtual network of international openness advocates. Compiled and edited by MKSS member Vivek Ramkumar, a […]
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30 June 2004
Beyond Democratic Rights and Electoral Reform Campaigns: Challenges Dacing Non-Party Political Movements
by Vivek Ramkumar Download the entire report in Adobe PDF format (40 pp.) Beyond Democratic Rights and Electoral Reform Campaigns: Challenges facing Non Party Political Movements (360 KB) In India, people’s movements and grass roots campaigns have traditionally participated in the political process by articulating the needs of the poor and socially marginalized and by […]
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30 June 2004
MKSS Photo Gallery
PHOTO GALLERY OF THE MKSS Women resting in the tent put up by Jan Nithi Abhyan (JNA) and Akal Sangharsh Samithi (ASS) during a 10 day public meeting in the fall of 2003. The JNA was a campaign for a peoples’ manifesto launched by civil society groups from across Rajasthan including the MKSS in 2003 […]