"• General public health emergency legislation should not allocate broad discretion to public authorities to limit the right to information through subordinate legal rules but should, instead, subject this to a requirement that any restriction is either “necessity” or “strictly required by t
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he exigencies of the situation”, and is also quite clear regarding how the right to information is being limited.
• No blanket suspensions of the right to information, including blanket time limit extensions for responding to requests for information, should be imposed during emergencies. Instead, emergency provisions should establish the conditions for extending time limits on a case-by-case basis in response to individual requests.
• No limits should be imposed on requests for information related to the emergency and government responses to it, especially where the purpose of the request is to disseminate this information to the public. Better practice is to prioritise these requests, for example by responding more quickly than the law requires.
• Any limits on the right to information should be reviewed regularly and limited in duration to the period during which emergency conditions justify them.
• During a health emergency, necessary changes to the way in which information is recorded and stored should be introduced to ensure that there is no loss of continuity in the recording of government decisions and actions.
• Where an emergency continues for more than the short term, any limits to the right to information that were introduced early on should be lifted or downgraded as soon as possible." (Executive summary, page iii)
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"Este estudio, nuevamente, evidencia que existen grandes debilidades en la implementación de políticas de transparencia y acceso a la información por parte de las instituciones relacionadas directa e indirectamente con el sector hidrocarburos; por tanto, para contribuir con su mejora se recomiend
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a que: las autoridades públicas de los niveles Central y subnacional, involucradas directa o indirectamente en el sector hidrocarburos, asuman acciones para cumplir la normativa relacionada con la transparencia y acceso a información, y se implementen nuevos principios, directrices y normas internas para dotar a la población de mayor información que permita una adecuada participación y oportuno control social sobre este recurso que es estratégico y de propiedad de todos los bolivianos; la sociedad civil organizada también debe desarrollar iniciativas y presentar propuestas de nuevas políticas de transparencia y acceso a la información, éstas pueden tener como base las buenas prácticas internacionales de transparencia y acceso a la información relacionadas con el sector hidrocarburos; en la segunda década del siglo XXI resulta fundamental que las instituciones públicas, tanto desde el nivel central como subnacional, implementen instrumentos y herramientas tecnológicas que faciliten el acceso a información por parte de la población mediante el uso del internet y portales web; se debe impulsar y desarrollar una política nacional de datos abiertos que permita contar con datos técnicos del sector con regularidad y calidad, que permitan ser reutilizados por la ciudadanía; desarrollar una política de transparencia y acceso a la información, ya sea mediante una norma específica o incorporada en la nueva Ley de Hidrocarburos, que establezca aspectos mínimos relativos al desarrollo del sector que deben ser transparentados, mecanismos para el acceso a información, con plazos para su publicación y sanciones ante posibles incumplimientos." (Recomendaciones, página 29)
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"Making Open Development Inclusive: Lessons from IDRC Research focuses on the connection between openness and inclusion in global development. It brings together the latest research that cuts across a wide variety of political, economic, and social arenas - from governance to education to entreprene
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urship and more. The chapters draw on empirical evidence from a wide and diverse range of applications of openness, uncovering the many critical and underlying elements that shape and structure how particular openness initiatives and/or activities play out - and critically - who gets to participate, and who benefits [or not] from openness, while exploring the frontiers where openness intersects with deeper challenges of development, technology, and innovation." (Publisher description)
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"The dominant transparency narrative in policymaking attributes a key role to the public: once citizens gain information, they are predicted to use it to demand better resource governance. Whether the public receives the available information in the first place, however, has not been scrutinised in
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a large-N analysis. This article examines Ghanaians’ information sources and information-seeking behaviour using a unique survey with over 3500 respondents. Although Ghana has actively pursued transparency in its natural resource revenue management, most Ghanaians have poor access to understandable information as information is disseminated through channels that the intended receivers normally do not use. Non-elite citizens and those with limited English skills were least likely to have heard about natural resource revenue management, compared with elected duty bearers, traditional authorities, other opinion leaders, and those with an interest in the issue through working in mining or living near an extraction site. The results suggest that the conceptualisation of transparency may be too simplistic, and that the expectations linked to transparency in enhancing natural resource governance may not materialise through the mechanisms hypothesised in the literature." (Abstract)
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"This book provides empirical accounts to understand the situatedness of open data along the following themes: 1) open data practices; 2) the local implementation of global trends; and 3) open data ecosystems. Many chapters in this volume simultaneously address several of these themes. The thematic
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grouping of chapters is an attempt to foreground salient questions for open data research. In addition, the book covers country-specific, localised applications of open data with a few chapters explicitly focusing on how open government data initiatives unfold within different socio-political contexts. The geographical scope of the contributions spans four continents, providing insights on open data practices in Europe (Kosovo, Belgium, United Kingdom), Africa (Nigeria, Tanzania), Asia (Indonesia, the Philippines), and Latin America (Paraguay, Brazil)." (Introduction, page viii)
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"The Right to Information (RTI) Survey was conducted between January and March of 2019. The survey was split into five segments: a) a survey among 768 Designated Officers (DOs) in 64 districts, b) a survey among 768 Heads of Office covering both government and non-government organizations (NGOs) in
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64 districts, c) a survey among 359 requesters in 21 districts, d) a survey among 340 complainants to the Information Commission (IC), and finally, e) a nationwide survey among 12,800 citizens. The survey results reveal that the contribution of the RIT Act 2009 has overall been positive in the last decade. Especially, notable progress has taken place in making the supply side prepared in implementing the RTI Act. IC’s overall operational approaches have been found very effective for DOs, requesters, complainants, and appellants. In contrast to an increased awareness of the RTI Act on the supply side i.e. the DOs and Heads of Office, the awareness level on the demand side i.e. the citizens has been found to be very low. Only 7.7% of the 12,800 citizens surveyed across the country said they were aware of the law. Meanwhile, about two-third of the 768 government officials surveyed in 64 districts said they did not receive a single application from citizens using RTI Act since they were designated for providing information services. Nonetheless, the survey among 359 requesters in 21 districts revealed that about two-third of them received their desired information, mostly in time." (Abstract)
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"Spotlight report on the state of public access to information in Canada, Indonesia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Ukraine prepared for the 2019 cycle of the Voluntary National Reviews and the 2019 UN High Level Political Forum." (Subtitle)
"The Guide shows how support for the principle of public access to information and the practical implementation of access to information (ATI) laws reinforce the EU’s work around the world in promoting participatory democracy, good governance, freedom of expression and other fundamental rights, an
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d human development overall. Among other things, it notes regional agreements and instruments relevant to the practical application of access to information principles which are invaluable references, both for the policy guidance they provide to EU Delegations and as potential models for such regulations and systems in other regions where the EU supports progress in this area. There is much to be done – and much that EU Delegations can do to help. These are some of the practical, effective steps that EUDs have already taken to improve public access to information in developing countries: training journalists in the use of access to information laws; providing technical IT aid to state agencies running online ATI systems; supporting public information campaigns about citizens’ ‘right to know’; aiding in the drafting of ATI laws, with expert advisers in the field; sponsoring cross-border consultations of ATI systems specialists; collaborating in legal training programmes for judges and prosecutors; assisting countries in measuring local ATI progress in accord with the commitments of SDG16-10, in conjunction with media and civil society. This Practical Guide overall provides tools and hands-on examples for EU Delegations to study and perhaps to emulate, including a review of the EU’s own policy guidance and recent history in this area." (Purpose of this guide, page 6)
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"O presente manual de formação destina-se a funcionários públicos Africanos que têm a tarefa de implementar uma lei DAI, e particularmente àqueles que estão envolvidos na recepção, no tratamento e na resposta dos pedidos ao abrigo do DAI. Embora os parâmetros específicos variem significat
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ivamente de país para país, este manual define uma norma para uniformizar estas responsabilidades, em conformidade com as normas internacionais de direitos humanos. Na implementação de uma lei de DAI, os funcionários públicos devem ter em conta que estão a dar corpo a um direito humano fundamental, e devem realizar o processo com a atenção, o cuidado e a diligência que isto implica. O manual serve também de: instrumento de consulta e informação para a formação de funcionários em África sobre o direito à informação; instrumento para formação de formadores sobre o direito à informação; guia para sobre metodologias e abordagens de formação de formadores." (Objectivo do manual, página 8)
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"Este manual destina-se a apresentar um quadro de formação para as OSC envolvidas em trabalho de apoio à promoção e protecção dos direitos humanos. O manual estabelece uma norma para o conteúdo de formação sobre o direito à informação para as OSC em África. O manual também serve de fe
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rramenta de referência/informação para formação das OSC em África sobre o direito à informação; Ferramenta para a formação de formadores sobre o direito à informação; e um guia para formação de formadores sobre metodologias e abordagens de formação. Este manual destina-se a intervenientes da sociedade civil que trabalham para promover questões de transparência e responsabilidade, boa governação, direitos humanos, estado de direito e prestação de serviços, entre outros. O manual também pode ser usado por organizações comunitárias, grupos de agricultores e todas as organizações e indivíduos que possam ou devam requerer informação de qualquer organismo público ou órgão privado detentor de informação pública." (Objectivo do manual)
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"Este manual de formação visa alargar os conhecimentos dos participantes sobre o direito à informação; estimular uma interpretação do direito à informação como ferramenta para o jornalismo de investigação; desenvolver a capacidade dos participantes na promoção do direito à informaçã
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o; espelhar a aplicação prática de leis do direito à informação nos países dos participantes; e definir o papel dos jornalistas na promoção do direito à informação." (Introdução)
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"The central aim of this study is to unpack the major trends in the field of access to information laws and their implementation. In order to understand the trends, the report examines the activities of trendsetters. It focuses on awareness-raising by UNESCO, Member State recommendations in the Univ
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ersal Periodic Review, the commitments of the Open Government Partnership, actions of civil society organizations, and the standard-setting activities of such regional intergovernmental organizations as the Council of Europe, the African Union and the Organization of American States." (Scope of the study, page 8)
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"In this publication, we focus on the people who make right to information laws come to life, and who use them as tools to fight corruption. In the following pages, you will find the stories of citizens from 10 countries across the Asia Pacific region who have used their right to information to dema
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nd accountability from their governments. From uncovering wrongdoing in Bangladesh and Mongolia, to ensuring that citizens get the services they need in Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and from holding politicians to account in the Maldives to ensuring that governments share key guidance and statistics in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, these stories show the difference access to information can make. Information requests should be seen as a routine way for citizens to understand their government’s work and to hold it accountable. However, in many places around the world, this is not the case. In many countries, making these requests requires great courage from citizens who may face challenges and danger in doing so." (Introduction, .p3)
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"Las instituciones públicas subnacionales inciden directamente en la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos de todo el país, ya que cuentan con autonomía de gestión y administración de sus ingresos. En ese sentido, la transparencia es el principio por el cual los ciudadanos conocen la información b
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ásica de la información sobre la gestión pública, así como sus procedimientos y mecanismos de adopción de decisiones. La transparencia y el derecho de acceso a la información en el nivel subnacional, a pesar de la emisión de normativa general, no ha mejorado en los últimos años. Esta falta de información coarta una participación y control real y efectivo por parte de la ciudadanía. La implementación de políticas de transparencia y acceso a la información, al interior de las diferentes instancias departamentales y municipales, constituye no solo una demanda de la ciudadanía, sino una oportunidad para promover una administración más eficiente, confiable y legítima." (Conclusiones, página 14)
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"Morocco is no stranger to the global problem of corruption and the associated lack of public trust in the country’s administration. Public pressure, especially during the Arab Spring, resulted in a constitutional amendment in 2011 and people being given the right of access to information. Citizen
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s now have the right to request non-public information held by the administration, while at the same time public bodies are required to proactively provide citizens with more information. Morocco’s Access to Information Act has been in force since March 2019, however, its adoption has been postponed until 2020." (Introduction)
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