4 MARCH 2010
Carter Center Releases African Regional Plan of Action to Advance the Right of Access to Information

Participants from the African Regional Conference on the Right of Access to Information have released the Regional Findings and Plan of Action to advance the right of access to information in Africa. The conference, which took place in Accra, Ghana, from February 7-9, examined the specific the political and institutional constraints in Africa that have limited the opportunities to exercise the right to know.  More >>

17 FEBRUARY 2010
The Oaxaca Group: Eight Years Later
By Lilia Saúl Rodríguez
Translated by Jesse Franzblau

(Disponible en español)

On October 11th, 2001, the Oaxaca Group (an alliance of academics and journalists) presented the Federal Access to Information Law (Ley Federal de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información) to the Commission on Governance and Public Security in Mexico’s House of Representatives. 

In the new documentary, called “Grupo Oaxaca,” one can observe then-congressional representative for the PAN, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, today president of Mexico, as well as a congressional representative from the PRI, Beatriz Paredes Rangel, today president of her political party. More >>

Publicado originalmente en Español por / Originally published in Spanish for El Universal Blogs, México Infórmate.

5 FEBRUARY 2010
Transparency Advances in Mexico. . . in Reverse
By Emilene Martínez Morales
Translated by Jesse Franzblau

(Disponible en español)

Since the start of the year, President Felipe Calderón through actions undertaken by the Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de la República – PGR) and the Secretariat of Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación - Segob), has shown a clear interest in weakening Mexico’s federal transparency oversight body (Instituto Federal al Acceso a la Información - IFAI) by proposing a separate tribunal to review IFAI’s decisions on FOI requests. More >>

Publicado originalmente en Español por / Originally published in Spanish for El Universal Blogs, México Infórmate.

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 “socio-economic revolution.” But can the RTIA meet these high expectations? More >>

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 Libertad de Expresión e Información), composed of 24 NGOs, released its report “Saber Mas,” (To Know More) on September 28, in celebration of International Right to Know Day 2009. More >>