What’s New
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13 October 2015
SECRET CIA REPORT: Pinochet “Personally Ordered” Washington Car-Bombing
Washington D.C., October 8, 2015 – The CIA concluded that there was “convincing evidence” that Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet “personally ordered his intelligence chief to carry out the murder” of exiled critic Orlando Letelier in Washington D.C., according to a SECRET memo prepared for President Ronald Reagan in 1987. “Pinochet decided to stonewall on the […]
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9 October 2015
Prime Minister Abe Subverts Japan’s Public Records Act
By Lawrence Repeta The author is a professor of law at Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan. Japan’s open government activists hailed the adoption of the national Public Records and Archives Management Act (“Public Records Act”) as a milestone in government accountability. When that law took effect on April 1, 2011, government agencies were legally required to […]
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8 October 2015
India Issues Guidance on RTI Replies and Best Practices
By Venkatesh Nayak The author is Programme Coordinator, Access to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) – the nodal department for implementing The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) in the Government of India has uploaded two important documents on its website. The DoPT has issued reasonably detailed […]
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8 October 2015
FOI Notes: OGP Summit, India, Transparency Research, US, Mexico, Malawi, UK, and a Mystery
OGP: The schedule for the end of October summit in Mexico City includes several FOI-related panels. One is titled “Building Bridges Between the access to Information and Open Government Data Communities.” Another one is “Access to Information and Improving Policing: Results of a Multi-Country Study and Other OGP Efforts.” Also, “Access to Information as a […]
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6 October 2015
RTK Nigeria Paints Picture of Dismal Government Effort
The Right to Know Nigeria has released as study showing abysmal government performance on the disclosure of information. “Of a total of 39 government institutions assessed, the report finds that none had complied with the obligation to proactively disclose information – no institution obtained even a 20% compliance rating,” according to the Proactive Disclosure Assessment […]
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2 October 2015
Amended Croatian FOA Law Came Into Force in August
Amendments to the Croatian freedom of information law became effective in August. The most significant changes concern the reuse of the public sector information and open data. Among other things, the law mandates establishment of an open data portal. “E-counselling” has become obligatory. In addition, the restrictions FOI were clarified and an abuse of FOI […]
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2 October 2015
Moroccan Group Says Draft FOI Legislation Needs Fixes
The Centre for Media Freedom (CMF) on Sept. 29 issued a critical report (in French) on the pending right of access to information in Morocco. “The bill on the right of access to information requires a radical overhaul to bring it in line with international standards and examples of democratic countries,” said Said Essoulami, chairman […]
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1 October 2015
Groups Call on Zimbabwe to Prove More Transparency
Human rights groups on Sept. 28 called the government to enact a new access to information law. Media Consultant and former journalist, Rashweat Mukundu, said, “The government is still operating with a twenty century mentality in the 21st century hence the lack of access to government information,” according to a lengthy article on RadioVOP by Sij Ncube. His […]
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1 October 2015
Draft Kazakhstan FOI Law Needs Improvement: OSCE
Freedom of information legislation being prepared in Kazakhstan needs improvement, according to an analysis prepared by the Organization for Security and Co?operation in Europe (OSCE). The critique was presented at a Sept. 25 conference, according to a report by the OSCE, one of the sponsors. Irish FOI expert Maeve McDonagh presented an evalution of the […]
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1 October 2015
Nigerian State to Adopt FOI Act, New Governor Says
The governor of the state of Kaduna Nasir El-Rufai has announced plans to adopt the federal Freedom of Information Act, according to an article in ThisDayLive. A bill to “domesticate” the FOI law is before the state House of Assembly. He stressed that “the domestication of the FoI Act will not only bring about transparency […]
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1 October 2015
Coalition Says US Failing to Fulfill OGP Commitments
A pro-transparency coalition in the United States has said in a report that the Obama administration is not living up to its commitments regarding freedom of information. OpenTheGovernment.org reviewed activity on the current U.S. National Action Plan prepared as a member of the Open Government Partnership. It found that “despite commendable efforts and some meaningful progress, the […]
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1 October 2015
FOI Notes: Open Data, Videos, Commentary, Country News, More
Latin America: The Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e Información has published the seventh edition of its Saber Más report (In Spanish, with English version promised soon). The report contains updates from 16 countries and the theme is “access to information and open data.” Open Data: A revised Open Data Charter has been released and […]
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1 October 2015
Negative Reviews Mark Fifth Anniversary of Liberian Law
The fifth year anniversary of the freedom of information law in Liberia was marked by several very critical reviews of how the law is being implemented. “Very little” is being done to implement the law, according one Liberian group. And a report by a pan-Africa FOI group said the government is turning in a “dismal […]
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30 September 2015
Cayman Commissioner Criticizes Government
Acting Information Commissioner Jan Liebaers in the Cayman Islands has blamed the government for keeping his office from functioning optimally. “I have the powers of the Commissioner, but I do not have the actual five-year appointment which is required by law to maintain the independence of the office,” he said in an interview with The […]
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30 September 2015
Bermuda New Law Will Make Impact, Commissioner Says
In effect since April 1, Bermuda’s Public Access to Information Act (PATI) will inevitably change a secretive government culture, according to the Island’s first information commissioner, Gitanjali Gutierrez. She predicted major disclosures during an interview with Sam Strangeways of the Royal Gazette. “I think it’s inevitable that a few requests will get a lot of […]
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30 September 2015
RTI Activists in Ghana Face Big Challenge
By Ugonna Ukaigwe The author is the Project Co-ordinator of the Right to Information Coalition in Ghana. Citizens’ access to Information (ATI) held by public institutions is recognised globally as a fundamental Right with very limited exceptions. However, in some countries including Ghana, this right appears to be the exception rather than the norm. Despite […]
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28 September 2015
Three More FOI Laws; Negativity Poses Challenges
By Toby McIntosh The number of national freedom of information laws continues to grow, and at least 20 countries are considering passage of FOI laws, but threats to transparency laws are emerging. In the year since the last International Right to Know Day, three countries joined the list of now 104 countries with FOI regimes: […]
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27 September 2015
Article 19 Closely Examines State of RTI in Asian Nations
Some Asian countries are world leaders in providing access to information, but many others are backsliding or resisting transparency, according to comprehensive new report by Article 19, the London-based free expression organization. Looking in depth at 11 countries, Article 19 generalizes: Right to information legislation in Asia includes a huge cross sample in regards to […]
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27 September 2015
New Report Evaluates Access in 15 African Countries
The Africa Freedom of Information Centre has issued a 124-page report analyzing right to information in 15 countries, reporting problems implementing laws that exist and difficulties getting new laws passed. “Lack of transparency and corruption presents real threats to Africa’s vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa driven by its citizens and representing a […]
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24 September 2015
Assessment of Access Goal Next Stage in UN Process
Several alternatives have emerged on how to monitor the access to information target contained in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The new global development agenda is on track to be approved this weekend in New York by the United Nations’ 193 member states. Decisions on how to monitor implementation of the goals are expected next […]