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The Heads of State of the Americas declared that “access to
information held by the State, subject to constitutional and
legal norms, including those on privacy and confidentiality,
is an indispensable condition for citizen participation and
promotes effective respect for human rights.” The heads of
State then affirmed their commitment in the Declaration of
Nuevo Leon “to provid[e] the legal and regulatory framework
required to guarantee th[is] right.”
Accordingly, OAS member States, via General Assembly
resolution
AG/RES. 2514 (XXXIX-O/09), requested the
preparation of a
Model Inter-American Law on Access to
Information to provide States with the legal foundation
necessary to guarantee the right to access to information,
as well as an Implementation Guide for the Model Law to
provide the roadmap necessary to ensure the Law functions in
practice.
This General Assembly mandate instructed the Department of
International Law to coordinate the drafting of the Model
Law and Implementation Guide with the participation of
experts from the relevant organs, agencies and entities of
the OAS, of OAS Member States and of civil society
organizations. The
group of experts met over the period of a
year to draft, discuss, edit, and finalize the Model Law and
Guide. The final versions of both instruments were approved
in March 2010 and presented the Permanent Council’s
Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs in April 2010.
The Permanent Council, in May 2010, elevated a resolution
and text of the Model Law to the fortieth regular session of
the General Assembly, held in June 2010, which adopted
resolution
AG/RES 2607 (XL-O/10) on the Model Law – the
complete text of which is attached to the resolution – and
instructs the General Secretariat, through the Department of
International Law, to provide support to the member States
that so request in the design, execution, and evaluation of
their regulations and policies on access to public
information by citizens.
Approval of the Model Law received ample media coverage, and
has already had a tangible effect in States whose
parliaments and legislatures are discussing legislation on
access to information. It will also be a tool for countries
that have legislation on the subject but wish to update it
to the standards of the Model Law.
The Model Law builds off of previous efforts the OAS has
taken to advance the right of access to information,
including the Joint Document Recommendations on Access to
Information [CP/CAJP-2599/08], which provides detailed
information on the right to access to information, as well
as policy and legislative recommendations, and the Report on
the Questionnaire “Legislation on and Best Practices of
Access to Public Information of the Commission on Juridical
and Political Affairs” [CP/CAJP-2608/08], which contains
answers by the States and civil society to the questionnaire
as well as recommendations from civil society organizations.
In addition, the Model Inter-American Law and the Guide for
its Implementation, incorporate the principles outlined by
the Inter-American Court on Human Rights in Claude Reyes v.
Chile, as well as the Principles on Access to Information
adopted by the Inter-American Juridical Committee [CJI/RES.
147 (LXXIII-O/08)]. |
