GallerySUMMARY – The Inter-American Human Rights System has played a fundamental role in promoting the right to information in Latin America. This learning material describes the mandate and composition of this system and describes its two main outcomes regarding the right to information: the Model Inter-American Law and the Inter-American Court’s paradigmatic rulings on […]
GalleryGuide – The Latin American Approach to Transparency and Access to Information
Advocacy Guides, Country Reports, Training Materials
SUMMARY – By providing greater access to public information and promoting transparency, Latin American countries seek to improve social oversight, inform citizens about government policies and programmes, advance other human rights, reduce corruption and enhance overall accountability. This ELLA Guide analyses various initiatives implemented in the region, as well as the key role played by civil society in the Latin American […]
GalleryPolicy brief – Fighting Corruption by Improving Transparency and Access to Information
Advocacy Guides, Country Reports, Training Materials
SUMMARY – Using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), in the last decades countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Paraguay have designed and created electronic platforms that make information about procurement and government officials’ personal assets public. These electronic platforms have guaranteed an effective and transparent flow of public information, thereby empowering citizens to identify and demand action against […]
GalleryPractice brief – Using Information for Accountability and Justice
Advocacy Guides, Country Reports, Training Materials
SUMMARY – Throughout Latin America, civil society organisations (CSOs) are exacting accountability by undertaking independent assessments of the implementation and outcomes of public policies and programmes. To get the information needed for these assessments, CSOs have used the Right to Information guaranteed by Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs), Constitutions or Court decisions. By conducting these exercises, civil society has highlighted mismanagement and […]
GalleryPractice Brief – Civil Society’s Regional Network for Advancing Freedom of Expression and Access to Information
Advocacy Guides, Country Reports, Training Materials
SUMMARY – The Regional Alliance for the Freedom of Expression and Information (the Alliance), an innovative civil society network, has had a major role in promoting freedom of expression and the right to information regionally. The Alliance coordinates the efforts of 23 civil society organisations (CSOs) from 19 American countries and carries outextensive advocacy work at the regional level.1 […]
GalleryCitizen Assessment of Budget Transparency: Latin American Budget Transparency Index
Advocacy Guides, Country Reports, Training Materials
SUMMARY – Civil society organisations (CSOs) developed a new benchmarking exercise to assess and compare levels of budget transparency across countries in order to address a specific transparency problem: budget information may be available, but it is not useful. Since 2001, CSOs and academic institutions have implemented the Latin American Budget Transparency Index (Índice Latinomericano de Transparencia Presupuestaria – […]
GalleryPolicy Brief – Building the Legal Framework to Support Trasparency and Access to Information in Latin America
Advocacy Guides, Training Materials
In the last two decades, Latin American countries – including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Uruguay, among others – have designed and adopted Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs). These FOIAs have increased transparency of government actions, ensured citizens’ right to request and access public information, and enhanced overall accountability. This Brief […]
GalleryThe Power of Using the Right to Information Act in Bangladesh: Experiences from the Ground
Advocacy Guides, Country Reports, Publications, Training Materials
Fifteen cases from Bangladesh to showcase how an abstract law can become relevant and useful for everyday citizens, while building the capacity of NGOs to document their experiences for further dissemination.
GalleryAdvancing Access to Information Principles Through Performance Management Mechanisms: The Case of Canada
Advocacy Guides, Country Reports, Publications, Training Materials
On the basis of a detailed case study of the government of Canada, this report examineshow management accountability processes operating within public services may contribute to the promotion and enforcement of access laws.
GalleryExploring the Role of Civil Society in the Formulation and Adoption of Access to Information Laws: The Cases of Bulgaria, India, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom
Advocacy Guides, Country Reports, Publications, Training Materials
This paper analyzes civil society’s contribution to the adoption of access to information laws in five countries.
GalleryEnforcement Models. Content and Context
Advocacy Guides, Publications, Training Materials
The paper defines three distinct models for enforcing ATI legislation, the considerations applied in designing and selecting the models, and some of the key factors related to the proper functioning of the system, through the use of illustrative case examples.
GalleryAmending Access to Information Legislation: Legal and Political Issues
Advocacy Guides, Publications, Training Materials
This paper is about efforts to amend the legal framework for the right to information, with a particular focus on access to information (ATI) laws.
GalleryBudgeting Implications for ATI legislation: The Mexican Case
Advocacy Guides, Country Reports, Publications, Training Materials
The paper analyzes the budgeting implications of implementation of access to information legislation in Mexico.
GalleryProactive Transparency: The Future of the Right to Information?
Advocacy Guides, Publications, Training Materials
The paper reviews the development of, and the emerging standards for proactive disclosure.
GalleryLibertad de información. ¿Tres palabas inofensivas? Leyes de acceso a la información y rol de la prensa
Advocacy Guides, Publications, Training Materials
La aprobación e implementación de nuevas leyes sobre acceso a la información pública se incrementó notablemente en los últimos años. Esta investigación documenta y analiza la relación entre la prensa y el derecho de acceso a la información pública.
GalleryThe Right to Information and Privacy: Balancing Rights and Managing Conflicts
Advocacy Guides, Publications, Training Materials
The paper examines legislative and structural means to better define and balance the rights to privacy and information.
Booklet for tracking Freedom of information requests by communities
Advocacy Guides, For Human Rights Defenders, Publications, Training Materials
Complex monitoring templates including online systems have been used by civil society groups all over the world to monitor and track the results of Freedom of information requests. However communities often need a simple tool to record what has happened to their Freedom of information requests once sent to government agencies. Methods to track […]