With 40 experts from 13 countries of the region
attending, the Fourth Workshop: Model
Inter-American Law on Access to Information 2.0
was conducted successfully on May 16.
The activity was organized by the Department of
International Law (DIL) of the OAS Secretariat
for Legal Affairs, with the co-sponsorship of
EUROsociAL and institutional support from the
Comptroller General's Office [Controladoria-Geral
da União (known by its Portuguese acronym, CGU)]
and the Transparency and Access to Information
Network (known by its Spanish acronym, RTA). On
this occasion, the OAS program was held in the
framework of the XVII Meeting of the RTA, in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil.
The event brought together member states’ focal
points for the Inter-American Program on Access
to Public Information, bodies responsible for
guaranteeing access to information, and
specialists on access to information from
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras,
Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, and Uruguay, as
well as representatives of civil society and of
EUROsociAL, and the Vice Chair of the
Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI),
Rapporteur for this topic.
The purpose of the workshop was to generate
international input for the update of the
chapter on bodies responsible for guaranteeing
access to information in the Model
Inter-American Law on Access to Information 2.0
document. The debate was enriched through an
open discussion component where participants
offered specific input that will be compiled in
a working document for consideration by the CJI.
Discussion also took place between the CJI
Rapporteur and the participants, who had been
involved throughout the preparation of Model Law
2.0. During this discussion, they expressed
views regarding topics discussed in earlier
workshops, such as parties to whom the Law
applies, the regime of exceptions, and active
transparency.
This activity concludes the consultation process
launched n 2018, pursuant to the mandate issued
in General Assembly resolution AG/RES. 2905
(XLVII-O/17), by which the DIL is requested to
identify thematic areas in which it considers it
necessary to update or broaden the 2010 Model
Inter-American Law on Access to Public
Information. The output of this intensive effort
will be a cutting-edge document and major
technical resource, which will be presented to
the Inter-American Juridical Committee for its
consideration.
Since the right of access to information is a
key right, Model Law 2.0 aims to be an
instrument that reinforces member states’
efforts to harmonize and update their domestic
legislation and that fosters a qualitative leap
in the promotion and development of this law at
the regional level.
» Additional information about Equal Access to Public Information work can be seen on
this link
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 0743.
