Equitable Access to Public Information
- September 2013
Department of International Law co-sponsors Conference in San José, Costa Rica to commemorate International Right to Know (or Access to Information) Day.
On September 12, 2013, the Department of International Law (DIL) facilitated organize a Conference in San José, Costa Rica to disseminate and promote access to public information and to share best practices in that area. The Conference took place in the Auditorium of the College of Economic Science Professionals of Costa Rica.
The high-level event was organized by the Defensoría
de los Habitantes (Ombudswoman's Office), the Office
of the First Vice-President of the Republic, the
College of Economic Science Professionals, the
Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy (MIDEPLAN),
E-government (Gobierno Digital) and the National
Commission for Improving Administration of Justice (CONAMAJ).
The purpose of the Conference was to enhance citizen
awareness of the importance of access to public
information and of the part played by the exercise
of that right in strengthening democratic
governance. Thus, the Ombudswoman, Ofelia Taitelbaum,
emphasized the crucial importance of access to
information for transparency, accountability, and
the strengthening of Costa Rican democracy, as well
as the importance of coordinating efforts, not only
among State institutions but also with the
productive sector and civil society organizations,
in order to facilitate the full exercise of that
right.
For her part, the Comptroller General of the
Republic, Marta Acosta, underscored the pressing
need of citizens to enjoy free access to all the
documents recording the provision of goods and
services by public institutions, including the
responsibility of the Office of the Comptroller
General itself, as the oversight body.
The delegate of the Mexican Federal Institute for
Access to Information and Data Protection (IFAI),
María Elena Pérez-Jaén, gave a presentation on the
access to public information model applied by the
IFAI and spoke about the Law on Transparency and
Access to Public Information held by Government,
which established Mexico as one of the region's
pioneers in this field, and about Mexico's
experiences with that law.
Mr. Roberto Sasso, President of the Technology
Research Club of Costa Rica, underscored the
importance of information technology as a powerful
tool for achieving transparency and of Costa Rica's
digital strategy being promoted by the Technology
Research Club. He also mentioned that the
aforementioned strategy revolved around the four
areas most impacted by technology: productivity,
connectivity, education (in and based on
technology), and transparency.
Finally, Dr. Dante Negro, Director of the OAS
Department of International Law (DIL), gave a brief
account of how the issue had been developed within
the Organ ization
and of the process leading up to and the contents of
the Model Inter-American Law on Access to Public
Information adopted by the OAS General Assembly in
2010 as a means of encouraging citizen
participation, accountability, open government, and
integrity in the management of public funds. He
pointed out that this Model Law was being used as a
point of reference for numerous legislative
amendments being undertaken by the countries of the
Hemisphere. He also mentioned the DIL's legal
cooperation project, sponsored by the Canadian
International Cooperation Agency, aimed at helping
countries in the Hemisphere develop and enhance
their regulatory frameworks regarding access to
public information.
Dr. Negro referred finally to the outcomes of the
High-Level Workshop on Equal Access to Public
Information conducted on September 10 and 11, 2013,
in Costa Rica, organized jointly by the DIL, the
Office of the Vice-President of the Republic of
Costa Rica, and the National Commission for
Improving the Administration of Justice (CONAMAJ).
This activity forms part of the above-mentioned
project and provided a forum for pondering and
analyzing Costa Rica's current legal framework
regarding access to public information. The forum
also helped to identify regulatory and other
measures that could improve it.
Links / Documents Related to the Conference:
For future updates on the
conference, please click here »
*only Spanish
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