RIGHT to information or freedom of information is a fundamental human right. In 1946, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 59(1) stating: “Freedom of Information is a fundamental human right….” Freedom of information depends on the degree of access to information. There are many reasons why right to information is very important. Among them, most notable are; creating a more open and democratic society, reducing poverty (achieving the Millennium Development Goals), curbing corruption and enhancing transparency.
There can be no democratic participation in decision making without transparency and sharing of information. Effective anti-poverty programmes require accurate information on problems hindering development to be in the public domain. Due to freedom of information people can understand the political map and can give their views on decision making process, which will help to balance the unequal power dynamic. The right to information is therefore central to the achievement of the MDGs.
Corruption has a pernicious effect on less developed countries. It discourages foreign investment and eats away at the budgets allocated to public procurements. It causes social unrest due to the division it creates between those who have easy access to goods and services and those who remain excluded. If the public administration publishes regular accounts incidents of corrupt activity will decrease as the details will one day come to light.
In the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Articles 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 give the freedom of movement, assembly, association, thought and speech, respectively, but there is no article in the constitution providing freedom of information or right to access information. Nevertheless, after huge demand from civil society, the Right To Information Act (RTIA) was enacted to define public information and give citizens the right to access it. The law was fully effective in 2009. It was passed during the then caretaker government and adopted by the subsequently elected parliament under the Awami League.
This law lays out the rules by which citizens can ask for information, and an appeals procedure if they are not satisfied with the government response. According to the law, a citizen can file a request to the Designated Officer (DO) of government, non-government and autonomous bodies. Citizens can ask for information or for inspection of documents, through an application which includes the applicant’s name, address, correct and clear description of the information requested, any additional information to help locate the information, and instruction on how he/she would like to get the information—on paper and/or electronic copies.
According to the law the DO is compelled to provide the information immediately. But if it is not available the RTIA gives the DO 20 working days. If the information is held by two or more agencies, the DO has 30 working days. For appeals and complaints, agencies have 15 calendar days to consider an appeal, and the Information Commission has between 45 and 75 calendar days to give a decision. For violation of the law the DO or the personnel concerned will be fined maximum Tk.5,000, or he may asked to fulfill the loss occurred, or any other disciplinary action can be taken.
However, as an Asian Development Bank Scholar, I had an opportunity to stay in Hong Kong for about two and half years. I had the opportunity to closely observe their freedom of information practice. Since March 1995, they have had a “Code on Access to Information.” This code defines the scope of information that will be provided, sets out how the information will be made available, either routinely or in response to a request, and lays down procedures governing its prompt release. Two aspects are included in the code; proactive disclosure and information upon request.
Under proactive disclosure, government organisations are compelled to publish their documents yearly and make them available. The code compels them to arrange public inspection programmes at appropriate locations. Simultaneously, citizens have the right to get desired information upon verbal or written request. The main point is that our RTIA focuses only one aspect, and that is providing information upon request. Though, in Section 6 of RTIA, information disclosure by the authorities is mentioned, indication of how exactly the information will be made available for the public is missing. The Act calls for yearly publication of documents by the authorities. But how will the publications be made available for the public proactively? The method for doing so is not mentioned in the RTIA.
To go forward it is important to ensure proper implementation of the RTIA. To achieve this, each and every organisation should make arrangements for adequate training of DOs on RTIA. Civil society and the government bodies need to launch campaigns to raise awareness among the citizens about their right to information as well as the process of getting the desired information.
On the other hand, the most important part (learning from Hong Kong RTI code) is that the Bangladesh government needs to focus on proactive disclosure mechanism as well. Section 6 of the RTI A needs to be amended by adding proactive disclosure methods, such as arrangement of public inspection programmes routinely at some particular locations, etc.
September 28 is International Right to Know Day, which was established by access to information advocates from around the globe. It was first observed in 2003. The aim of Right to Know Day is to raise awareness of every individual’s right of access to government held information, and to know how elected officials are exercising power and how tax payers’ money is being spent. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is arranging “information fair” at 45 districts to observe Right to Know Day, 2013. All are welcome to the fairs to know more and to give their valuable opinions to foster Right to Information.
There can be no democratic participation in decision making without transparency and sharing of information. Effective anti-poverty programmes require accurate information on problems hindering development to be in the public domain. Due to freedom of information people can understand the political map and can give their views on decision making process, which will help to balance the unequal power dynamic. The right to information is therefore central to the achievement of the MDGs.
Corruption has a pernicious effect on less developed countries. It discourages foreign investment and eats away at the budgets allocated to public procurements. It causes social unrest due to the division it creates between those who have easy access to goods and services and those who remain excluded. If the public administration publishes regular accounts incidents of corrupt activity will decrease as the details will one day come to light.
In the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Articles 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 give the freedom of movement, assembly, association, thought and speech, respectively, but there is no article in the constitution providing freedom of information or right to access information. Nevertheless, after huge demand from civil society, the Right To Information Act (RTIA) was enacted to define public information and give citizens the right to access it. The law was fully effective in 2009. It was passed during the then caretaker government and adopted by the subsequently elected parliament under the Awami League.
This law lays out the rules by which citizens can ask for information, and an appeals procedure if they are not satisfied with the government response. According to the law, a citizen can file a request to the Designated Officer (DO) of government, non-government and autonomous bodies. Citizens can ask for information or for inspection of documents, through an application which includes the applicant’s name, address, correct and clear description of the information requested, any additional information to help locate the information, and instruction on how he/she would like to get the information—on paper and/or electronic copies.
According to the law the DO is compelled to provide the information immediately. But if it is not available the RTIA gives the DO 20 working days. If the information is held by two or more agencies, the DO has 30 working days. For appeals and complaints, agencies have 15 calendar days to consider an appeal, and the Information Commission has between 45 and 75 calendar days to give a decision. For violation of the law the DO or the personnel concerned will be fined maximum Tk.5,000, or he may asked to fulfill the loss occurred, or any other disciplinary action can be taken.
However, as an Asian Development Bank Scholar, I had an opportunity to stay in Hong Kong for about two and half years. I had the opportunity to closely observe their freedom of information practice. Since March 1995, they have had a “Code on Access to Information.” This code defines the scope of information that will be provided, sets out how the information will be made available, either routinely or in response to a request, and lays down procedures governing its prompt release. Two aspects are included in the code; proactive disclosure and information upon request.
Under proactive disclosure, government organisations are compelled to publish their documents yearly and make them available. The code compels them to arrange public inspection programmes at appropriate locations. Simultaneously, citizens have the right to get desired information upon verbal or written request. The main point is that our RTIA focuses only one aspect, and that is providing information upon request. Though, in Section 6 of RTIA, information disclosure by the authorities is mentioned, indication of how exactly the information will be made available for the public is missing. The Act calls for yearly publication of documents by the authorities. But how will the publications be made available for the public proactively? The method for doing so is not mentioned in the RTIA.
To go forward it is important to ensure proper implementation of the RTIA. To achieve this, each and every organisation should make arrangements for adequate training of DOs on RTIA. Civil society and the government bodies need to launch campaigns to raise awareness among the citizens about their right to information as well as the process of getting the desired information.
On the other hand, the most important part (learning from Hong Kong RTI code) is that the Bangladesh government needs to focus on proactive disclosure mechanism as well. Section 6 of the RTI A needs to be amended by adding proactive disclosure methods, such as arrangement of public inspection programmes routinely at some particular locations, etc.
September 28 is International Right to Know Day, which was established by access to information advocates from around the globe. It was first observed in 2003. The aim of Right to Know Day is to raise awareness of every individual’s right of access to government held information, and to know how elected officials are exercising power and how tax payers’ money is being spent. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is arranging “information fair” at 45 districts to observe Right to Know Day, 2013. All are welcome to the fairs to know more and to give their valuable opinions to foster Right to Information.
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