News
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2 March 2012
Liberia, Carter Center Combine on Implementation
In an effort to help implement the 2010 Liberian freedom of information act, the government Feb. 27 renewed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. -based Carter Center to provide assistance. The Carter Center’s work in Liberia is supported by the United States Agency for International Development. The Carter Center and the Liberian government will […]
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2 March 2012
UK Panel Holds Two Hearings on FOIA Reform
A British parliamentary committee on Feb. 28 held a second public hearing on possible changes to the Freedom of Information Act. The Campaign for Freedom of Information gave oral evidence at the first Justice Select Committee’s first evidence session along with WhatDoTheyKnow and Unlock Democracy. Journalists predominated at the second session. In another UK development, […]
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2 March 2012
Bahamian Senate Approves Revised FOI Legislation
The Bahamian Senate on Feb. 23 approved a freedom of information bill, setting the stage for action in the House of Assembly. The bill was a newly modified version. (See previous FreedomInfo.org reports.) A copy of the latest bill is here. Attorney General John Delaney led debate, according to an account by Taneka Thompson in the […]
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2 March 2012
Three New Commissioners Appointed to CIC in India
Three new information commissioners were sworn in on Feb. 28 in New Delhi. Former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Rajiv Mathur is one of the new commissioners. Also added were the former environment secretary Vijai Sharma, recently working as an expert member at the National Green Tribunal and retired Syndicate Bank chairman and managing director Basant […]
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28 February 2012
United States Court Rules Mug Shots Protected
By Harry Hammit Hammit is publisher of Access Reports, a bi-monthly report on U.S. and Canadian freedom of information legal developments. After the Supreme Court put most personal information off limits in its 1989 Reporters Committee decision, appellate courts in particular began to find any number of reasons why such information was protected by Exemption […]
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24 February 2012
Ghana Parliament Continues to Delay FOI Legislation
By Toby McIntosh Supporters of freedom of Information legislation in Ghana continue to wait for Parliament to prepare a report on last summer’s national consultations about the long-delayed bill. Some members of Parliament recently lamented that President John Evans Atta Mills has not delivered on his promise to get a FOI bill passed. The Joint Committee […]
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24 February 2012
More OGP Countries Post Updates on Action Plans
Seven other countries participating in the Open Government Partnership have submitted interim reports on their efforts to write national action plans. According to a FreedomInfo.org review, Estonia, Georgia, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Montenegro and Sweden sent in updates within the past week that are posted on the OGP website. This leaves 15 countries that apparently have not heeded a January […]
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24 February 2012
FOI Supporters Meet With Top Sierra Leone Official
Advocates of the much-delayed freedom of information bill in Sierra Leone recently met with a key advisor to the president, who promised to give the bill closer study, according to a report in Sierra Express. Five FOI Coalition members met with the Chief of Staff in the office of the President on Feb. 2 to discuss the […]
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24 February 2012
Zambian Minister Predicts FOI Bill Will Be Tabled by July
Zambia’s Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Labour Fackson Shamenda Feb. 22 said a freedom of information bill will be tabled in Parliament by July. He was speaking at the send-off ceremony for eight representatives from the media, civil society and government officials who will visit the United States Feb. 25-March 11 to study the U.S. […]
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24 February 2012
FOI NOTES: Open Data, FOI Literacy, United States
Open Data: The new version of the Open Data Handbook has been released by the Open Knowledge Foundation. Bangladesh: Three years after passage of the Bangladesh Right to Information Act, 98.2 per cent of the rural population have no idea on how to use it in their daily life, according to a recent baseline survey […]
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23 February 2012
OGP Selects 35 Civil Society Reps to Attend Brazil Meeting
By Toby McIntosh The Open Government Partnership Feb. 22 announced the names of 35 persons from civil society organizations who will represent their countries at the April 17-18 OGP meeting in Brasilia, Brazil. Their selection comes along with a few additional facts about the still-developing OGP governance plan. The OGP expects to have about 100 […]
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23 February 2012
Indian Health Foundation Told to Comply With RTI
India’s Central Information Commission has ruled that the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) had falls under the Right to Information Act, using the decision to underscore its position that other public-private partnerships are also covered, a contentious issue. Commissioner Shailesh Ghandi, who wrote the opinion, directed the chairman of PHFI to appoint a Public […]
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22 February 2012
Indian Committee Displeased With Nuclear RTI Exemption
A proposed Right to Information law exemption in a new Indian nuclear safety bill appears to be faring poorly in Parliament. A committee looking into the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority bill is likely to propose dropping the RTI provision, according to reports in The Hindustan Times and India Today. The government-backed bill would create a […]
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17 February 2012
Philippines Coalition Endorses Aquino FOI Legislation
A leader in the Philippines House of Representatives has indicated he plans to schedule hearings on freedom of information in late February en route to summertime enactment. The comment by Deputy House Speaker and Quezon Representative Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada came at a Feb. 15 press event at which the bill’s supporters released a lengthy statement […]
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17 February 2012
Comments In, Hearing Set As UK Furthers FOIA Review
The public comment period has ended and the Justice Select Committee has scheduled its first “evidence session” on possible revision of the United Kingdom’s Freedom of Information law. The committee will hold its first evidence session Feb. 21 and hear from: Maurice Frankel, Director, Campaign for Freedom of Information; Alexandra Runswick, Deputy Director, Unlock Democracy; […]
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17 February 2012
Indian CIC Orders Agency to Post More on Website
The Indian Central Information Commission has told the Ministry of Environment & Forests to put more information on its website. The Jan. 18 decision by Commissioner Sailesh Gandhi resulted from a complaint brought by Shibani Ghosh of The Access Initiative India Coalition (TAI India) arguing that certain categories of information should be available on the […]
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17 February 2012
AG Offers Amendments for Bahamas FOI Legislation
The Bahamas House of Assembly on Feb. 20 is scheduled to begin debating a freedom of information bill, changes for which were recently proposed by Attorney-General John Delaney. A copy of the latest bill is here. The latest amendments would restrict use of the law to Bahamian citizens and permanent residents and provide for the […]
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13 February 2012
OAS Special Rapporteur Put Under Pressure by Report
Efforts to reduce the budget and influence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur for Freedom Expression may be in abeyance for the moment, but the controversial efforts may resurface, according to persons familiar with the situation. Recommendations seen as potentially damaging to human rights in the region, approved by […]
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13 February 2012
Guatemala Weighs Tighter Hold on Military Information
By Rachel Hatcher Hatcher is a PhD candidate at the University of Saskatchewan. She is now in Guatemala studying post-conflict public memories and discourses of the civil wars in Guatemala and El Salvador. The Guatemalan Congress is considering stricter controls on the release of information about military and diplomatic matters. The proposal, first introduced on […]
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13 February 2012
21 Governments Tardy With Updates on OGP Activity
Twenty-one governments have yet to report on their progress toward developing Open Government Partnership action plans, according to a FreedomInfo.org tally. In the action plans that have been submitted, however, it appears that governments are holding consultations and preparing draft plans, though few of those have emerged in full. Three countries have already announced draft action […]