Posts Tagged ‘implementation’
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27 August 2013
India Expands Scope of Online Request Portal
India on Aug. 21 made possible the online filing of right to information requests in applications in all central ministries and departments. Previously the rtionline.gov.in portal was available only for 40 ministries, departments and commissions. The government launched the portal earlier this year. “The portal will now be open to entertain questions under the RTI Act […]
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27 August 2013
The Nigerian FOIA Picks a Useful Compass in the U.S. FOIA
By Oluwasegun Obebe Obebe is the Records, Information & Privacy Officer with the Washington, D.C., Department of Corrections. Nigeria surely has a tempestuous post colonial history, and has garnered unenviable international notoriety as a corrupt country of swindlers and “419” scam artists. But the nation has also clearly shown an irrepressible drive toward a transparent and […]
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16 August 2013
FOI Notes: Surveillance, Research, Model OGP; U.S., EU, Australia
Human Rights and Communications Surveillance: Access, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Privacy International are leading a new initiative focused on disseminating new international principles around human rights and communications surveillance.”Called the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance, approximately 100 NGOs from around the world have already shown support and many of […]
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16 August 2013
UK ICO Issues Guidance on Requests for Personal Data
The United Kingdom Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on Aug. 8 published new guidance for organizations to help them deal with requests from individuals for their data. Under the Data Protection Act, anyone has the right to find out what information an organization holds about them by making a “subject access request.” This allows individuals to […]
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5 August 2013
Bangladesh should further proactive disclosures
By Suchismita Goswami The writer is Project Officer, Access to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. This article was published July 29 in The Daily Star. Bangladesh enacted its Right to Information Act in 2009. However more than three years following its enactment, very little is known about what the law means and what it […]
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5 August 2013
Policy Research and Access to Information in Venezuela
The following post was first published in Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights, a blog hosted by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), “a unique resource for journalists, policymakers, scholars, activists and others interested in understanding Venezuelan politics and human rights.” The posting is an interview by David Smilde, moderator of the blog, a WOLA […]
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5 August 2013
First Guyana Information Commissioner Sworn In
Former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Justice Charles Ramson was sworn in July 15 as Commissioner of Information by President Donald Ramotar. The Commissioner of Information post was created by the Access to Information Act of 2011, passed in September 2011. The appointment of the commissioner is another step toward implementation of the law, […]
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2 August 2013
Nigerian Official Urges Doubling of Reply Period
The head of the Nigerian civil service, Bukar Aji, on July 30 recommended that the 2011 Freedom of Information Act be amended to allow 14 days instead of seven to respond to requests. Aji spoke at National Conference on the Freedom of Information Act, organized by the Right to Know Initiative, in Abuja. He said […]
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31 July 2013
Nigerian Judge Has It All Wrong
By Edetaen Ojo Ojo is Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda in Lagos, a former Chair of the Steering Committee of and a member of the Working Group of the African Platform on Access to Information (APAI).This article was originally published on the Media Rights Agenda website. In a recent ruling, his lordship, Justice Gabriel […]
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31 July 2013
Colonial Mindset Visible in RTI Responses
By Raja Muzaffar Bhat The author is an RTI / Social activist and the founder of J&K RTI movement. Reach him at muzaffar.rti@gmail.com. This article was originally published July 30 in Greater Kashmir. Background From the last nearly eight years I have been drafting applications under Right to Information Act (RTI) to seek information from different […]
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22 July 2013
RTI Environment in Nepal Shows Positive Signs
By Anurudra Neupane The author is Program Manager at Freedom Forum. The interim constitution of Nepal has recognized Right to Information (RTI) as one of the fundamental rights of people. RTI Act 2007 and Rule 2009 help citizen exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to know. Though the posts of information commissioners are currently vacant, we […]
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19 July 2013
Indonesian Minister Denies Access to Concession Maps
Indonesian Environment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya has determined that “concession maps” showing where companies have logging and agricultural rights are not publicly disclosable. Environmental activists say the maps can help determine who should be accountable for forest fires that recently have caused major haze problems. Questions are being raised not only about whether Kambuaya’s interpretation is […]
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19 July 2013
UK Ministry Releases Code on Handling Datasets
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice July 16 published Code of Practice (Datasets) to implement the new dataset provisions in the Freedom of Information Act. The code quickly drew criticism from the open data community. UK public authorities are required to provide datasets in a re-usable format and with a licence for re-use, where reasonably […]
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19 July 2013
RTI in Nepal – A civil society perspective
By Pranav Bhattarai Pranav Bhattarai is the Chief Operating Officer of the Good Governance (GoGo) Foundation, Nepal Right to Information (RTI) is one of the eight basic consumer rights as per the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection. This is also an integral part of our Consumer Protection Act and one of the fundamental rights guaranteed […]
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28 June 2013
Liberian Group Gets Few Responses to Requests
The Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding (CEMESP) on June 26 unveiled research showing a low government response rate to information requests. CEMESP Executive Director Malcolm Joseph that more than 90 FOI requests resulted in only 10 answers. Joseph said the custodians of information are “violating the law with impunity.” He urged all stakeholders to […]
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28 June 2013
Peru Issues Decree Expanding Access Rules
The Peruvian government has modified a decree (in Spanish) that implements the Transparency and Access to Information Law. The new decree broadens the obligation of government agencies to publish public information on their transparency portals. The agencies now must publish the names of public employees and who is being hired. The decree also creates a registry […]
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7 June 2013
AP Says U.S. Officials Using Private Email Accounts
U.S. officials are using private emails accounts to conduct government business and agencies are refusing to disclose the email addresses, according to a May 4 report by Jack Gillum of the Associated Press. The AP story said the practice ”complicates agencies’ legal responsibilities to find and turn over emails under public records requests and congressional inquiries.” “The scope of using the secret accounts across government remains a mystery,” the […]
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31 May 2013
Nigerian Judiciary Supporting New FOI Law, Group Reports
Court rulings in Nigeria are consistently upholding the two-year-old freedom of information law, according to a Nigerian watchdog group. Media Rights Agenda praised the judiciary, saying that most rulings have counteracted refusal to disclose information by public institutions. The May 28 press release cited a number of specific examples. MRA’s Deputy Executive Director Jennifer Onyejekwe […]
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17 May 2013
Brazil’s New Access Law Underperforming: Article 19
One out of three requests for information under the one-year-old Brazilian law were not responded to, according to a new study by Article 19 (English and Portuguese). Satisfactory answers were received 44 percent of the time, the group reported. In addition, it said, the quality of the information supplied was poor, often containing partial information. […]
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17 May 2013
Appeals Rise in Ireland, Irish Commissioner O’Reilly Says
Appeals to the Irish information commissioner are up, some government departments are refusing to provide information to her, and budget pressures are being used to justify delays in responding to requests, according to Information Commissioner Emily O’Reilly. The information appeared in her annual report for 2012 and in an article in The Irish Times by Steven […]