Posts Tagged ‘open government partnership’
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16 April 2015
EITI Sanctions Azerbaijan; Similar OGP Review Pending
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has sanctioned the government of Azerbaijan for impeding civil society participation in the EITI process. Azerbaijan April 15 was downgraded to “candidate” country status by the EITI Board, relying on a Validation report carried out earlier this year, according to the EITI announcement. A similar complaint has been lodged by civil […]
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9 April 2015
FOI Notes: Olympics, India, US, Drones, Open Data, More
Sports: The International Olympic Committee announces plans to disclose the compensation of its top officials. India: The Department of Personnel and Training has invited views/suggestions from citizens on the draft guidelines regarding elements that a RTI reply should essentially contain, RTI India reports. United States: “The expanding reach of the Freedom of Information Act has […]
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24 March 2015
Groups Allege Azerbaijan Violating OGP Principles
Three major international nongovernmental organizations have accused the government of Azerbaijan of seriously damaging the ability of civil society organizations to engage in the Open Government Partnership process, using a new OGP process that could lead to the government’s OGP membership begin declared “inactive. The accusations are the first made under a new OGP “response policy” […]
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19 March 2015
Mexican Senate Approves New Access Legislation
The Mexican Senate on March 18 approved a new access to information bill. The final bill does not include 77 of the 81 last-minute amendments urged by the government which had aroused strenuous objections, according to the Alejandro Gonzalez, the Executive Director of a Mexican civil society organization, Gestión Social y Cooperación (GESOC.) Gonzalez had […]
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12 March 2015
With Mexican Summit Ahead, OGP Subcommittees Busy
The next Open Government Partnership Global Summit meeting will likely be held during the last week of October somewhere in Mexico. In the meantime, the OGP Steering Committee, subcommittees and staff are developing plans and policies and dealing with finances and organizational issues. At a subcommittee meeting March 11, representatives from Malta and Turkey were […]
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21 February 2015
OGP CSO Leaders Criticize Mexico Over FOI Legislation
In a highly unusual move, the civil society co-chairs on the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee have criticized the Mexican government, the overall OGP lead chairman, for proposing to undercut the Mexican freedom of information law. The Feb. 21 statement came after Mexican civil society groups blasted the Mexican government, but was a rare public […]
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19 February 2015
Mexico: OGP Leader Faking Transparency
By Ana Cristina Ruelas The author is the Right to Information Program Officer at ARTICLE 19, México and Central America Mexico became the lead chairman of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) on 2014, although we are far from openness. The government’s rhetoric is all about transparency and co-creation but in their offices they are pushing us […]
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29 January 2015
OGP Access Group Intends To Survey Members on Goals
The Access to Information Working Group formed by the Open Government Partnership will soon send out a questionnaire to members soliciting their views. “The questionnaire will be used as a basis/input for this year’s OGP ATI working group action plan,” according to Laura Neuman, the Director of the Global Access to Information Initiative at the […]
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2 December 2014
OGP Cautions 12 Countries Tardy on Their Commitments
The Open Government Partnership has cautioned 12 governments that they are falling behind on their OGP responsibilities (see blog post with links to the letters). For two countries – Turkey and Malta – the letters constitute a second warning, so an OGP subcommittee will decide what disciplinary action to take. Neither country has developed its […]
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12 November 2014
Latin American Countries Make OGP Access Commitments
By Jesse Franzblau The following is an excerpt from a summary prepared by Jesse Franzblau for the Open Government Partnership Civil Society Hub blog. The article reviews the commitments made by the 17 OGP member countries in Latin America in their national action plans. This section, minus footnotes and some lovely formatting, describes the access […]
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6 November 2014
World Bank Sparks Discussion of RTI Implementation
The World Bank is exploring how it can encourage better implementation of right to information laws. One idea on the table at a Nov. 5 forum in Washington was to create an international standard about what governments should report on their compliance with RTI laws. Also discussed was to develop a set of international principles […]
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6 November 2014
EITI, OGP Face Challenges Handling Civic Space Issues
By Toby McIntosh New mechanisms by two multilateral organizations, designed to protect the rights of civil society activists, will soon be tested. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is examining whether Azerbaijan should lose its membership for stifling dissent, using a policy intended to prevent such behavior that was substantially mimicked by the Open Government Partnership. […]
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29 October 2014
OGP Sees Promise in New National Action Plans
With a new batch of 30 national action plans to review, Open Government Partnership staffers like what they are seeing. Improvements are being seen in how the plans are being created and in specificity of the commitments. These observations were offered during a presentation in Washington by Joseph Foti, the manager of the Independent Review […]
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14 October 2014
OGP Working Groups Seek to Clarify Their Missions
The five working groups of the Open Government Partnership are seeking clarification on their roles in order “to facilitate and amplify their efforts,” according to the minutes of two meetings released Oct. 14. The topic was one of many policy and procedure topics addressed at an OGP Steering Committee session held Sept. 24 in New […]
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1 October 2014
Criticisms Mount Against South African Government
The Right2Know Campaign in South Africa Sept 28 called on President Zuma to refuse to sign the controversial “secrecy bill” that has been on his desk for 316 days and questioned the government’s leadership role in the Open Government Partnership. The Right2Know Campaign also urged Parliament to revoke the apartheid-era 1982 Protection of Information Act and to write a new classification […]
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25 September 2014
OGP Celebrates Anniversary, OKs Civic Space Policy
The Open Government Partnership Sept. 24 celebrated its third anniversary with speeches from world leaders and civil society representatives praising the now 65-nation effort. US President Barrack Obama, Mexican President Peña Nieto and 9 other heads of state attended, along with over 30 ministers and more than 300 civil society leaders from around the world, […]
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13 September 2014
OGP Moving Toward Approval of Revised Civic Space Policy
By Toby McIntosh The Open Government Partnership is nearing approval of a policy to address complaints that some member governments are interfering with nongovernmental organizations or reducing fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression. The so-called “response space” policy, to be discussed by the Steering Committee Sept. 25, has been modified during nine months of […]
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11 September 2014
OGP Group Proposes Draft Open Data Charter
A draft international Open Data Charter is being proposed by the Open Government Partnership Open Data Working Group Steering Committee. “This Charter is based on the principles of the G8 Open Data Charter,” according to an announcement which continued, “It has been lightly revised from the original G8 language to make it more internationally focused.” […]
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21 August 2014
FOI Notes: Reports, Commentary, Employment, UN, Mexico, More
OGP: Alberto Abella creates a countries’ ranking based on their ambition in their OGP plans and their accomplishments. Latin America: As part of its series of occasional e-books, the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas just launched “Transparency and Accountability: Journalism and access to public information in Latin America and the Caribbean.” This e-book […]
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18 August 2014
OGP Releases 11 Letters of Caution to Members
The Open Government Partnership has made public 11 letters informing member governments they were not in compliance with their OGP commitments. The letters, sent in April but only now released, point out a variety of issues No National Action Plan published within 4 months of due date: Mongolia, Trinidad and Tobago No self-assessment report published […]