New York, September 28, 2007-The Open Society Justice Initiative today celebrates International Right to Know Day (September 28) by highlighting the past year's progress towards realizing this right around the world.

"Although the global movement experienced setbacks in 2007, the bottom line is that there have been net gains, especially in China, Latin America, and West Africa," said Sandra Coliver, the Justice Initiative's senior legal officer for freedom of information (FOI) and expression. "Even in the United States, where freedom of information has suffered under the Bush Administration, passage of the Open Government Act provides some hope."

It is important to celebrate these achievements, many due in no small part to civil society members of the FOI Advocates Network and other Justice Initiative partners. Congratulations to all!

Since Right to Know Day, September 28, 2006:

In Africa

Nigeria's National Assembly passed an FOI bill in February, only to have President Obasanjo refuse his assent, despite years of having publicly supported the legislation. But following the April elections, the FOI bill now has new forward momentum: the Nigerian FOI Coalition launched a petition drive last week which has already collected more than half a million signatures in support of the bill.

In Kenya, an FOI bill is currently pending before parliament. The governments of both Ghana and Tanzania are currently considering drafts of government-sponsored FOI bills.

The Africa Freedom of Information Center (AFIC)-which will support FOI adoption, implementation, and reform campaigns throughout Africa-is being launched in Lagos on September 28. The center was developed by a group of 30 NGOs from 16 countries and is led by a Steering Committee of six organizations: Human Rights Network, Uganda; Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Ghana; International Commission of Jurists, Kenya; International Federation of Journalists, Senegal; Citizen's Governance Initiatives, Cameroon; and Media Rights Agenda, Nigeria.

In the Americas

In Paraguay, a court ruled for the first time that Paraguay's Constitution protects the right of access to state held information. The case started when a member of the office of the public defender was twice denied information on scholarship regulations at the National University of Asuncion.

Chile's highest court issued a seminal ruling in August in Casas Cordero et al v. the National Customs Service, declaring that the right of access to government information is protected by the constitution's guarantee of freedom of expression and the principles of a democratic republic. In so ruling, Chile joined Costa Rica and Paraguay in recognizing the constitutional status of the right even though it is not expressly stated in their constitutions. The Chilean NGO Pro Acceso brought this case and also the Claude Reyes case which resulted, on September 19, 2006, in a landmark decision by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights finding that the right to access information is part of the right to freedom of expression and that "access to information held by the State ... permits participation in public governance." Chile's legislature is expected to pass an FOI law within the next few months, strongly backed by President Michelle Bachelet's governing party.

In a case brought by Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS), the Constitutional Court of Peru in August ruled that Peru's Ministry of Justice had violated the constitutional right of access and the FOI law by charging costs for copying that exceeded the market rate. In a second IPYS case, the Lima district court ruled that publication of a detailed assets declaration does not violate privacy rights. The court held that, in spite of the confidentiality provisions of the relevant regulation, a court is entitled, in access to information cases, to overrule an agency when it finds that the withholding of the requested information is not "reasonable."

Honduras and Nicaragua adopted laws codifying the right to information. Civil society groups in both countries are working to promote robust implementation, but express concerns regarding efforts in Honduras to politicize appointment of the information commissioners and, in Nicaragua, increasing centralization of control over executive branch information.

Both houses of the U.S. Congress passed bipartisan legislation aimed at addressing several problems with the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. The legislation is expected to be harmonized and signed into law by the end of the year.

The legislature of the Cayman Islands, a UK territory best known for its strict bank secrecy laws and easy offshore incorporations, passed freedom of information legislation. Implementation is set to begin this year with the appointment of information officers for each government ministry, and the legislation is expected to be formally signed into law by 2009.

In Asia

China's State Council adopted regulations, to enter into effect in 2008, which, according to a top official, are intended to safeguard "the public's right to know, the right to participate and the right to supervise" and to "help curb corruption at its source."

Indonesia's legislature appears poised to adopt an FOI law, having decided to give priority to adoption of this law over adoption of a competing law on state secrets.

In Europe

The Council of Europe is continuing to draft a convention which will be the first multilateral treaty ever to recognize and elaborate in detail a general right of access to official information. Access Info Europe, Article 19, and the Justice Initiative have collected signatures from more than 180 organizations and 170 prominent individuals throughout Europe and around the world in support of language that reflects the full scope and parameters of the international right.

Around the World

Civil society groups in more than 60 countries are celebrating Right to Know Day with press conferences, popular theater, publications, mass signature campaigns, seminars, large public conferences, awards (including golden padlock awards in Bulgaria and southern Africa, and golden key awards in several countries), report launches and even a rock concert.

Contact: David Berry, Open Society Justice Initiative: +1 212 548 0385 (New York).

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