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8
AUGUST 2002
PERU: New
freedom of information law approved
On
August 2, 2002 Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo formally
promulgated the Law of Transparency and Access to Public
Information, which was then published on August 3, 2002
in the official government daily El Peruano. Only minor
changes had been made to the second draft of the law, which
had been approved by the Peruvian Congress in July. While
this law represents a major advance for the right to information,
according to the Peruvian Press Council who spearheaded
the campaign for freedom of information in Peru, the law
has a number of defects that may pose problems in the future.
Below is a critique of the final law, released by the Peruvian
Press Council on August 6, 2002.
The
Peruvian Press Council announces its emphatic rejection
of certain specific and essential aspects of the Law of
Transparency and Access to Public Information, passed by
the government last week. We consider that the right to
access to information has been damaged which will legitimize
the culture of secrecy in Peru.
Although
this Law includes important advances for the right to information,
these defects corrupt it seriously.
In
particular, we call attention to article 15 which refers
to the exceptions of the Law that grant the Executive authority
to classify information as "secret and strictly secret"
for reasons of national security. This can be possible through
agreements adopted by the Cabinet and can be reviewed after
five years.
We
call attention to the inherent danger of a procedure that
grants to the ministerial cabinet, an entity eminently political,
the power to classify information as secret. In the past,
secrecy in the name of national security has been used as
a pretext to prevent citizen control of a democratic country,
to hide irregularities and to evade responsibilities, causing
serious damage.
We
consider that the decision to classify information as secret
should be regulated by pre-established criteria given by
law. In case of controversy, the final decision would have
to be made by the Judiciary.
The
Peruvian Press Council laments that the Congress has not
taken into consideration the suggestions included in the
document "Access to Information and National Security",
which was given to the pertinent parliamentary commission.
The suggestions consist of specific points which are the
result of prolonged conversations between civil society
representatives and high ranking officials representing
the Armed Forces and the National Police.
We,
as well, objected to section (i) included in the already
mentioned Article 15 which establishes that the Law of Transparency
and Access to Public Information, which is a law of constitutional
development, can have exceptions added to the right to information
through a lower ranking law. Also, we are concerned because
the Law does not take into account that the public interest
should sometimes take priority over restrictions related
to privacy.
Although the aforementioned Law includes important advances,
once the public administration starts to fulfill its obligations
under the Law, the Peruvian Press Council is available to
collaborate in specific modifications of the topics at issue,
which have already been criticized by the Inter-American
Press Society and other international organizations specialized
in the defense of freedom of expression.
Board
of Directors
August 6, 2002
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