Posts Tagged ‘publications’
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13 January 2010
India’s Right to Information Act: The First Four Years
By Alasdair Roberts India’s Right to Information Act (RTIA) went into force in October 2005. It is probably the most ambitious experiment with transparency in the world. The law promises a right to government-held information to 1.2 billion citizens, most of them living in rural poverty. Its advocates say that the law could produce a […]
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2 December 2009
World Bank Cautious on Media Development
The goal of strengthening the media as one way to fight corruption was adopted by the World Bank in 2006, but the promise has gone virtually unfulfilled, according to research by freedominfo.org.
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19 November 2009
Access Info Unveils Question to Brussels Report on Requesting EU Information
Brussels, Belgium — In April 2009, an internal guide from the EU Directorate General (DG) for Trade revealed that public officials were being given tips on how not to record information and how to avoid providing documents to the public. Access Info has launched a report on its follow-up investigations into the internal guides of 16 […]
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20 October 2009
New Report on Aid Transparency: Not Available! Not Accessible!
Madrid, Spain — Transparency NGO Access Info Europe released a report on October 20 entitled “Not Available! Not Accessible!” to coincide with the opening of the International Aid Transparency Initiative’s conference of donors and recipient governments in the Hague. The report shows how donor governments are failing to make available the information needed to prevent corruption in […]
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16 October 2009
Justice Minister Rejects Much-Needed Reforms to Canada’s 26-Year-Old Transparency Law
Recommendations Called for Broad Expansion of Information Commissioner’s Mandate Ottawa, Canada — In June 2009, the House of Commons Committee on access to information, privacy, and ethics made recommendations to modernize and expand the scope of Canada’s 26-year-old Access to Information Act. However, Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson rejected these recommendations as cumbersome and unnecessary, sparking complaints […]
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25 September 2009
The World Prepares for International Right To Know Day, 28 September 2009
The 7th International Right to Know Day on 28th of September 2009 will mark a year of historic advances for the right of access to information and will be celebrated by the Freedom of Information Advocate’s Network which has around 200 organizations in 75 countries who are calling for universal respect for the public’s right […]
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17 July 2009
Safeguarding the Right to Information: Report of the People’s RTI Assessment 2008 in India
A Comprehensive Look at the Implementation and Use of India’s RTI Act New Delhi, India — In the first two years of access-to-information implementation in India, about 1.6 million requests for information were made in urban areas, while an additional 400,000 applications were made in the rural villages. Taking such a large-scale access-to-information regime head on, […]
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19 June 2009
Lessons from Media Coverage for the Right-to-Know in Latin America
By Greg Michener In the last year or so, Latin America has been abuzz with news on right-to-know campaigns. But some countries have been buzzing louder than others. Uneven media attention to transparency policy is a global phenomenon with serious implications for institutional effectiveness, especially given the significant connection between news coverage and the strength […]
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10 April 2009
Moldova: Acces-info Center Releases Evaluation of Access to Public Information
Chisinau, Moldova — Experts found that, although the Moldovan government improved somewhat in communicating with the public, the passing of the State Secrets Law and other deficiencies diminish the positive impact of the governments reforms, according to Acces-Info Center’s Fourth Quarter 2008 evaluation of access to official public information. According to its press release, the […]
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17 March 2009
Hello, Hello: Calling the World Bank
Finding the World Bank’s front door in order to ask for nonpublic information isn’t easy. Here’s the right answer: pic@worldbank.org Value that answer; getting it took a while. Here’s my saga. Actually, I started in the right place and then got more and more confused. When I first wrote pic@worldbank.org I asked simply if they […]
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27 January 2009
Russian Government Heeds Civil Society’s Call for Access to Information Law
Moscow, Russia — On January 21, 2009, the same day that US President Barack Obama took decisive steps for transparency and accountability in the US government, the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament, the State Duma, passed the Bill on Ensuring Access to Information about Activities of State Organs and Organs of Local Administration. The […]
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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 […]
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24 September 2008
Bank Report Relates Media and Development
Broadcasting, Voice, and Accountability: A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law, and Regulation, a World Bank project, is a multi-author, book-length treatment that examines the relationship of the media to governance and development. The report also explores “the enabling environment for the media,” with special emphasis on “promoting plural and independent broadcasting.” The book is […]
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30 January 2008
EIB Announces Additions to Web Site
The European Investment bank is now publishing the provisional summary of decisions of its Board of Directors.The first such entry, for a Dec. 11, 2007, meeting is viewable here. The documents can be found under "Publications" in the section on the Board of Directors ("About" – "Structure" – "Governance"): The Board of Directors The entries […]
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20 September 2007
Volcker Report Urges More Transparency at World Bank
The new “Volcker Report,” critiquing the World Bank’s internal investigations unit, makes several recommendations in favor of greater transparency. The report was commissioned to review the work of the Bank’s anti-corruption unit, the Department of Institutional Integrity (INT)-headed by Suzanne Rich Folsom, an appointee of former Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. The panel was chaired by […]
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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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22 March 2006
Open government advocates, media, public celebrate Sunshine Week in the United States
During the week of March 12-18, the second annual Sunshine Week was observed in the United States, focusing national attention on the need for more open government and access to information. Sunshine Week was first celebrated in March 2005, when journalism groups, media companies, freedom of information and civil liberties advocates, librarians, civic groups, educators, […]
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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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12 September 2005
Best Practices on Transparency Among IFIs
The Asian Development Bank has pulled markedly ahead of other international financial institutions in its standards for disclosure and civic participation, but like its sister international organizations the ADB continues make slow progress when measured against the increasingly refined transparency agenda of critics. In recent years several international finance institutions have adopted improved transparency policies, […]
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21 July 2005
EIB Announces Second Round for Transparency Policy Review
The European Investment Bank has committed to writing a second draft proposal on disclosure policy-expanding and extending its process for consultation and review after the first draft, and the process, came under criticism. According to a July 21 announcement, "the Bank feels it appropriate to launch a second round of consultation on the basis of […]