In 2015, noting that different civil society organizations and government agencies from around the World had been observing September 28 as the international day of the right to know, UNESCO officially proclaimed this date as the International Day for Universal Access to Public Information. This right enables and promotes the enjoyment and exercise of other human rights, such as the right to health, education, and a healthy environment, since it lends transparency to criteria used in designing, implementing, funding, and evaluating public policies. It may also be a tool for investigative journalism, a means to obtain documentary evidence for use in judicial proceedings, and a tool to promote regulatory improvements.

In the current context of pandemic, when the production of decrees and exceptional measures is increased, simplifying many processes for financing public works, selecting contractors and awarding direct purchases, it is important to highlight the importance of access to public information as a mechanism for societal control of government management, as well as a key to obtaining accurate and updated information on the prevalence of the virus, available testing and treatment services, interruptions or modifications to the provision of other public services, the official measures implemented to prevent infections, and the impact of these measures on the daily activities of the population, among others.

At the regional level, the OAS has played a key role part in disseminating the right of access to information, creating and promoting international standards and principles guaranteeing access to information at all levels of the State, including the three branches of government, mainly through the adoption in 2010 of the Model Inter-American Law on Access to Information (2010), which shortly thereafter became a referent for countries wishing to improve their laws or adopt new legislation in this area, and the Inter-American Program on Access to Public Information (2016).

For further advancement of this field, the highest body of the OAS, the General Assembly, at its 2017 session requested the Department of International Law (DIL) to conduct a process of consultation with institutional partners, OAS Member States, experts and civil society organizations to identify thematic areas in which it was deemed necessary to update or broaden the Model Inter-American Law. The outcome of this process was detailed in a document that was delivered this past June to the Inter-American Juridical Committee (consultative organ of the OAS in juridical matters, for which the DIL serves as Technical Secretariat).

In March 2020, the CJI adopted a Proposed Inter-American Model Law on Access to Public Information 2.0, which constitutes a qualitative leap in the strengthening of regional standards. This Proposal was sent to the OAS Permanent Council, with a view to its elevation to the consideration of the Organization’s General Assembly, which will hold its 50th regular session on October 20 and 21.

The DIL thus reaffirms its commitment to continue promoting opportunities for collaboration that strengthen the right of access to public information in the region, and joins civil society, international organizations, the Network for Transparency and Access to Information (RTA), and the OAS Member States’ initiatives to highlight the importance of this date.

For further information on this matter, please contact the Department of International Law of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs of the OAS +1 202 370-0741.