Posts Tagged ‘rti legislation’
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27 July 2010
South Africa Mulls ‘Protection of Information Bill’
A government-proposed “Protection of Information Bill” that would prevent the disclosure of information deemed harmful to the “national interest” is being condemned by the media and civil society groups, according to newspaper accounts. The bill will also limit disclosure of state-held commercial information about tender proceedings and the activities of state-owned enterprises. It would establish […]
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23 July 2010
Selangor Advances FOI Law
The state of Selangor in Malaysia has taken a further step toward adopting a Freedom of Information law. The House has approved the bill on first reading. The process to final passage is a long one, however. Second passage also is expected this summer, which would set up a public consultation period including research and […]
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16 July 2010
Liberian House Committee Begins Work on FOIA
A Liberian House Committee has started consideration of a Freedom of Information Act, according to a report by Stephen Binda in the Daily Observer. The committee held a hearing May 19 at which passage of a law was urged by the National Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Liberia, Center for Transparency and Accountability in […]
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16 July 2010
Malaysian State Considering FOI Bill
The legislature in the state of Selangor in Malaysia is considering adoption of a freedom of information law, according to news reports. Shaila Koshy in The Star reported that the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in Selangor is striving to keep the promise it made to voters at the 2008 General Election. The law would cover what […]
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16 July 2010
African Leaders Urged to Support Access to Information Agenda
The Africa Freedom of Information Centre and 47 other groups have sent a letter to African leaders urging them to implement an access to information agenda. The leaders will be meeting for the 15th African Union Summit in Kampala from July 19-27 with an agenda focus on maternal and child health issues. The proposed letter […]
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19 March 2010
U.S. Open Government Policy: An Experiment in Transparency, Participation and Collaboration
By Meredith Fuchs On January 20, 2009, President Barack Obama pledged in his inaugural address, “[we will] do our business in the light of day.” The next day, President Obama began the first full day of his presidency with the issuance of two presidential memoranda and an executive order designed to start the process of […]
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7 October 2009
Saber Mas: New Report on Access to Information in Latin America
Open government advocates offer first-hand accounts of FOI promotion in Latin America Latin America’s leading open government advocates recently released a report, bringing together data from 17 countries and offering new findings on the status of freedom of information in the region. The Regional Alliance for Freedom of Expression and Information (Alianza Regional para la […]
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1 May 2009
Guatemala’s Transparency Law in Action
Over 8,000 NGOs and Private Contractors Also Subject to the Law Guatemala City, Guatemala — On April 21, 2009, Guatemala’s Law for Free Access to Public Information went into effect, officially allowing citizens to request information from 1,000 government offices and over 8,000 NGOs that manage public resources. Manfredo Marroquín of the citizen action group Acción Ciudadana […]
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7 April 2009
Cairo Declaration Embodies Fundamental Consensus on the Access to Information in the Arab World
Cairo, Egypt — In January, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), the National Council of Human Rights, and the Center of Media Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa organized a regional conference in Cairo for the Arab Freedom of Information Network. Representatives from six countries (Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Palestine, Mauritania, and Yemen) […]
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7 April 2009
Brazil Pledges to Pass Right to Information Bill
Lula Government Drafting New Law with High-Level Support; Civil Society/Media Coalition Campaigns for Access to Information International Seminar April 1-2 Opens Public Debate on Proposed Law; First Draft Lacks Independent Agency for Implementation and Appeals Brasilia, Brazil — The Lula government in Brazil last week publicly committed to pass a right-to-information law this year, thus […]
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27 March 2009
Chileans Prepare for New FOI Law: An Interview with Juan Pablo Olmedo
By Peter Kornbluh Special thanks to Marianna Enamoneta, Emilene Martinez-Morales, Carly Ackerman, Joshua Frens-String and Yessica Esquivel Alonso On April 20th, Chile will become the most recent country to have a functioning Freedom of Information Act—and potentially establish a leading model for new access to information laws around the world. The new “Law of Transparency […]
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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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17 July 2008
PAKISTAN: Access to Information Advocates Criticize Proposed Freedom of Information Bill
The Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) this week held a consultation on the draft Freedom of Information Bill of 2008, which is likely to soon be tabled for consideration by the legislature. The CRCP, which has been working for to strengthen the freedom of information (FOI) framework in Pakistan since 1998, expressed reservations about […]
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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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22 March 2006
Freedom of Information Laws Added to the Development Agenda
By Toby McIntosh Riding a wave of transparency, the idea of encouraging Freedom of Information (FOI) laws as part of the development agenda is gaining currency, but slowly. With research and case studies increasingly identifying transparency as a key tool in fighting corruption and facilitating development, more attention is being paid to the development of […]
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17 March 2006
Jamaican lawmakers debate sanctions for non-compliance with Access to Information Act
During a hearing of the joint select committee of Parliament reviewing the success of the Access to Information (ATI) Act, Senator Trevor Monroe called attention to what he saw as a gap in the act: “we ought to plug the gap and apply exemplary sanctions to any authority that refuses to abide by this law […]
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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 May 2005
REPORT: Article 19 on Freedom of Information in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
A report from London-based NGO Article 19 on freedom of information legislation and its impact on the news media in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, finds that problems with implementation, state secrets legislation, and a Soviet-style predilection for excessive secrecy have created "the environment for arbitrary refusals, manipulation of information, and, in extreme cases, even release […]
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9 February 2005
On-line Networking Solves Potential Secrecy Problem in Slovakia in 4 Hours
International openness advocates assist Slovakian reformers in debate over EU directive and its effects on Slovak law concept of "silent refusal" Freedom of information advocates in 10 countries plus the U.S. state of New York today combined forces on-line within an elapsed time of four hours to help Slovakian openness reformers refute a legal interpretation […]