Organizer: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
Event: News articles among the Commonwealth countries
Date: September 26-28, 2005

Description: Articles on the Right to Know Day 2005 were published across the
Commonwealth countries, like Bangladesh, Fiji, Guyana, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sierra Leone

Fiji: Day Set for Awareness, Fiji times, September 28, 2005

Day Set for Awareness
Fiji times, September 28, 2005

September 28 is International Right to Know Day and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative said the day would be dedicated to creating awareness about the right to information.

In a statement from their New Delhi office, CHRI said their International non-governmental organisation had a mandate to ensure the practical realisation of human rights in Commonwealth countries.

This awareness, the statement said, would focus on two broad areas like access to justice and access to information.

The organisation said they have been actively involved in freedom of information and have been campaigning for access legislations in nations that do not have one and pushing for policy makers to draft policies which could then be drafted.

The statement goes on to say that 12 countries in the Commonwealth have access laws in place but Fiji was not one of these.

The organisation said the Fiji Labour Party in 2000 had drafted a Freedom of Information Bill but stopped there as a result of the coup.

It said in September of 2004, the Citizens Constitutional Forum launched a Freedom of Information Bill.

It said the Government had included the Bill in its 2004 legislative agenda but has yet to come up with a law for discussion.

The organisation said that important legislations such as these could not be undermined in this part of the world where countries are striving to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

International Right to Information Day would be celebrated by activists to symbolise the global movement to promote right to information.

The Freedom of Information Bill was first introduced by the Mahendra Chaudhry government.

For more than 50 years, the right to information has been identified as a
fundamental right.

This right has been seen throughout the world as a strength to participation
in democracy that would in turn ensure development that is centered on people.

To date, 60 countries throughout the world, including 10 Commonwealth countries have guaranteed that citizens are accessible to information about what their Government's are doing.

According to CHRI, Fiji has yet to enact any such law on access to information for its citizens and this could be the reason that it is struggling with poverty and good governance.