News
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10 December 2012
Pakistan Government May Propose RTI Legislation
Pakistan’s coalition government will soon present a right to information bill to parliament, according to the RTI advocacy group Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI). In July, Pakistan’s Senate formed a subcommittee to work with the information ministry to develop freedom of information legislation. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) CPDI Program Manager Zahid Abdullah reported […]
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10 December 2012
Scottish Panel Declines to Expand Reach of FOI Law
The Finance Committee of the Scottish Parliament Dec. 5 approved a bill to amend the freedom of information law, but did not support changes urged by reformers that would extend the law to private bodies performing public functions. The committee passed the bill on second reading, which sets up a debate in full parliament, probably in mid-January. […]
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7 December 2012
OGP Picks Five Persons as IRM Technical Experts
Five persons, mostly academics, have been chosen as the five technical experts who will help guide the Open Government Partnership’s Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), along with three senior advisors named earlier. The technical experts are: – South African researcher Debbie Budlender, – U.S. professor Jonathan Fox, – Indian research fellow Yamini Aiyar, – U.K. research fellow […]
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6 December 2012
No Support Discovered for Indian PM’s Views on RTI
The Times of India asked the office of the prime minister to disclose the basis for PM Manmohan Singh’s October criticisms of the Right to Information Act, but has been told there are no such records, according to an article in the Times. Singh expressed concern over frivolous and vexatious RTI applications, infringement of personal […]
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6 December 2012
U.S. Board Issues Report on Declassifying Documents
The U.S. Public Interest Declassification Board Dec. 6 issued 14 recommendations, including a proposal to move from three to two levels for classifying documents. The report “centers on the need for new policies for classifying information, new processes for declassifying information, and the imperative for using and integrating technology into these processes,” according to the announcement. […]
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6 December 2012
Irish Minister Proposes Joining OGP; Others?
A top minister in the Irish government has proposed that Ireland join the Open Government Partnership and more information has emerged about the possibility of membership by Australia, and other countries. The Irish Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, in a Dec. 5 address stated, “I intend to bring proposals to Government shortly […]
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6 December 2012
Expanding Environmental Democracy in Latin America
By Carole Excell Excell is Senior Associate, The Access Initiative, World Resources Institute. WRI published this article on Nov. 30. A number of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries recently took a huge step forward in ensuring environmental democracy for their citizens. At a UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) meeting […]
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6 December 2012
FOI Notes: New Fund, EITI, South Africa, Open Data
Making All Voices Count: Video and transcript of a Dec. 5 Washington event to launch a “Grand Challenge for Development,” a $45 million fund to support innovation, scaling-up, and research that will deepen existing innovations and help harness new technologies to enable citizen engagement and government responsiveness. It is sponsored by Sweden, the UK Department […]
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4 December 2012
Argentine Supreme Court Issues Major FOI Decision
The Argentine Supreme Court of Justice Dec. 4 issued a landmark ruling (in Spanish), ordering the government to provide access to information based on the Constitution’s guarantee of a right to information. The court told the National Institute for Retirees and Pensioners (PAMI) to provide information on its advertising budget, which had been requested by […]
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4 December 2012
Outdated Agency Regs Undermine US FOI Law
Reposted from the National Security Archive. For more information contact: Tom Blanton/Nate Jones/Lauren Harper 202/994-7000 or nsarchiv@gwu.edu A government-wide Freedom of Information Act audit by the National Security Archive has found that sixty-two out of ninety-nine government agencies have not updated their FOIA regulations since US Attorney General Eric Holder issued his March 19, 2009 […]
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3 December 2012
Evardone Sets Another Hurdle for Philippines FOI Legislation
In a move called “unneccesary” and ”disturbing” by fellow legislators, Rep. Ben Evardone has said a procedural requirement means his Committee on Public Information must meet again on the freedom of information bill. He set Dec. 11 as the day for members to sign the committee report on the bill approved Nov. (See previous FreedomInfo.org […]
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3 December 2012
Perfect Score Club at OGP Has 16 Members Out of 58
Sixteen of the 58 members of the Open Government Partnership have the highest score they could have achieved on the OGP eligibility criteria, according to a FreedomInfo.org tally. Or, looked at another way, 42 countries did not get the top rating, although eligible to join. Eleven countries rated a 16 on the 16 point, four […]
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3 December 2012
FOI Notes: Indigo Trust Funding, Canada, Nepal
Funding: The British-based Indigo Trust describes its support for tech driven transparency projects in African countries and ponders future directions in a blog post by William Perrin. Canada: Canadian Journalists for Free Expression launch a survey on desired reforms improve the Access to Information Act. Nepal: “A newly published report has busted the myth that […]
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3 December 2012
OGP Names Three Members to Review Mechanism
The Open Government Partnership on Nov. 30 announced three senior advisors to lead the Independent Reporting Mechanism The OGP chose: – Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first female President and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, – Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-born entrepreneur, and – Graca Machel, a Mozambican politician and wife of Nelson Mandela. They will serve on […]
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30 November 2012
South African Panel OKs Protection of Information Bill
A committee of South Africa’s lower chamber of Parliament Nov. 29 approved the committee report on the controversial protection of state information bill by a vote of 34-16. The action by the ad hoc committee of the National Council of Provinces came despite protests from opposition member and by protesters in the streets. The amended […]
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30 November 2012
Philippines House Nearing Debate on FOI Legislation
With the Philippines House poised to debate a freedom of information bill soon, its supporters are expected to propose an alternative to the controversial right-to-reply provision. A long debate is expected in the 285-member House of Representatives, according to Senior Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin, quoted in Sunstar. Still to come is a from House […]
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30 November 2012
Scottish Government Backs Off FOI Exemption for Royals
The Scottish Government has retreated from its proposal to exempt the royal family from the Scottish Freedom of Information law. The proposal, similar to a protection approved for the United Kingdom FOI law, was criticized recently by a Scottish legislative committee considering a government-proposed bill to amend the law in a variety of ways. Critics […]
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30 November 2012
Australian Group Creates Website for Requestors
The Right to Know website has been created in Australia, adding to the steady growth of such sites worldwide. About 20 similar sites now exist. The newest site, run by the Open Australia Foundation, “aims to make the process easy for people who lack training in information law” and to ”shame” public servants who are […]
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30 November 2012
FOI Notes: Ibero-American Agreement, Call for Papers
Ibero-American Agreement for Transparency and ATI: Drafted recently in Cadiz, Spain, by representatives from 19 Latin America countries and three from Europe (Spain, Portugal and Andorra), this document contains many other agreements along with the Transparency and ATI. The statements on transparency and access are on page 80. (pdf in Spanish) Drafted under the auspices […]
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29 November 2012
OGP to Focus on Reviews, Finances at London Meeting
The Open Government Partnership is running a little behind on country action plan reviews and needs member countries to come through with contributions to support a growing agenda. These and other topics are on the packed agenda for a Dec. 4 London Steering Committee meeting, according to documents released in advance. The goals of the […]