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THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council to the General Assembly
(AG/doc.4339/04) on the status of implementation of resolution AG/RES. 1932
(XXXIII-O/03), “Access to Public Information: Strengthening Democracy”;
CONSIDERING that Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights
provides that “[e]veryone has the right to freedom of thought and expression.
This right includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas
of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in
the form of art, or through any other medium of one's choice”;
CONSIDERING ALSO that Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
includes freedom “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any
media and regardless of frontiers”;
RECALLING that the Plan of Action of the Third Summit of the Americas, held
in Quebec City, in 2001, indicates that governments will ensure that national
legislation is applied equitably to all, respecting freedom of expression and
access to information of all citizens;
EMPHASIZING ALSO that Article 4 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter
states that transparency in government activities, probity, responsible public
administration on the part of governments, respect for social rights, and
freedom of expression and of the press are essential components of the exercise
of democracy;
NOTING that, in the Declaration of Nuevo León, the Heads of State affirm 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, and, in that connection, that they are committed to providing the legal
and regulatory framework and the structures and conditions required to guarantee
the right of access to public information;
BEARING IN MIND the adoption of the Declaration of Santiago on Democracy and
Public Trust: A New Commitment to Good Governance for the Americas” [AG/DEC. 31
(XXXIII-O/03)], as well as resolution AG/RES. 1960 (XXXIII-O/03), “Program for
Democratic Governance in the Americas”;
CONSIDERING that the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD)
has been identifying and facilitating access by member state governments to
e-government practices that facilitate information and communications technology
applications in governmental processes;
CONSIDERING ALSO that the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD) has been
providing support to the member state governments in dealing with the topic of
access to public information;
NOTING the work accomplished by the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CJI)
on this issue, in particular, the document “Right to Information: Access to and
Protection of Information and Personal Data in Electronic Format,” presented by
Dr. Jonathan Fried (CJI/doc.25/00 rev. 1);
RECOGNIZING that the goal of achieving an informed citizenry must be rendered
compatible with other societal aims such as safeguarding national security,
public order, and protection of personal privacy, pursuant to laws passed to
that effect;
RECOGNIZING ALSO that democracy is strengthened through full respect for
freedom of expression, access to public information, and the free dissemination
of ideas, and that all sectors of society, including the media, through the
public information they disseminate to the citizenry, may contribute to a
climate of tolerance of all views, foster a culture of peace, and strengthen
democratic governance;
TAKING NOTE of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; and
RECALLING initiatives recently taken by civil society regarding access to
public information, in particular, the Declaration of Chapultepec, the
Johannesburg Principles, the Lima Principles, and the Declaration of the SOCIUS
Peru 2003: Access to Information,
RESOLVES:
1. To reaffirm that everyone has the freedom to seek, receive, access, and
impart information and that access to public information is a requisite for the
very exercise of democracy.
2. To reiterate that states are obliged to respect and promote respect for
everyone’s access to public information and to promote the adoption of any
necessary legislative or other types of provisions to ensure its recognition and
effective application.
3. To encourage the member states, in keeping with the commitment made in the
Declaration of Nuevo León, and with due respect for constitutional and legal
provisions, to prepare and/or adjust their respective legal and regulatory
frameworks, as appropriate, so as to provide the citizenry with broad access to
public information.
4. To urge member states to take into consideration clear and transparent
criteria of exception when drawing up and adapting their domestic legislation.
5. To encourage member states, through their respective national legislation
and other appropriate means, to take necessary measures to facilitate the
electronic availability of public information.
6. To instruct the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Unit for the Promotion of
Democracy to:
a. Support the efforts of member states that so request in drafting
legislation and developing mechanisms in the area of access to public
information and citizen participation; and
b. Assist the Permanent Council in the preparatory work for the special
meeting mentioned in paragraph 9.a.
7. To instruct the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression to continue
to report on the situation regarding access to public information in the region
in the annual report of the IACHR.
8. To instruct the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development to
identify new resources to support member states’ efforts to facilitate access to
public information.
9. To recommend to the Permanent Council that it:
a. Convene a special meeting with the participation of experts from the
states and civil society representatives to promote, impart, and exchange
experiences and knowledge with respect to access to public information and its
relationship with citizen participation; and
b. On the basis of the report of the special meeting, and through the
Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs, prepare a basic document on best
practices and the development of points of agreement or guidelines for
increasing access to public information.
11. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its
next regular session on the implementation of this resolution, which will be
carried out in accordance with resources allocated in the program-budget of the
Organization and other resources.
[24] The delegation of Venezuela requested that its
declaration on this resolution be registered. The declaration, which was read at
the third meeting of the General Committee of the General Assembly on June 8,
2004, is attached herewith.
ANNEX
DECLARATION BY THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela considers that access to public
information held by the state should be fully consistent with Article 13 of the
American Convention on Human Rights, which establishes that “[e]veryone has the
right to freedom of thought and expression. This right includes freedom to seek,
receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers,
either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other
medium of one's choice.” Venezuela maintains that a democratic system for access
to public information should allow all citizens, without exception, to seek,
receive, and impart information. A citizen seeking information is consciously
and fully exercising the right to access to information, and the state must
promote the adoption of legal provisions guaranteeing that right. Likewise, on
the basis of the principle of equality before the law, the state must guarantee
the same right to the poor, the underprivileged, and the socially disadvantaged.
Along these lines, in keeping with said principle of equal participation,
Venezuela presented the following proposal: “To instruct the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights to conduct a study on how the state can guarantee all
citizens the right to receive public information, on the basis of the principle
of the transparency of information, when it is disseminated through the mass
media, in the full exercise of the right to freedom of expression and as an
effective means of equal and full participation.” Venezuela regrets that a
response to the message of the poor has once again been postponed, as
dramatically revealed in the study published by the World Bank, Paying Attention
to the Voice of the Poor. We share the view of those who claim that refusing to
grant the poor and the disadvantaged access to information condemns them to
continued social and economic ostracism. Venezuela therefore urges the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to take the initiative and, under the
powers granted to it in the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, to
conduct the aforementioned study and report on the results thereof to the
General Assembly at its next regular session. |
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