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Special Sessions
At the request of the General Assembly, the Committee on
Juridical and Political Affairs of the Permanent Council has
conducted three special sessions on access to public
information that were coordinated by the Department of
International Law.
The first two special sessions, taking place in
2006 and
2008, served to promote, impart, and exchange
experiences and knowledge with respect to access to
information and the relationship with citizen participation.
The third special session, held on December 13, 2010, served
to determine the effectiveness of the OAS’ activities in
terms of access to information and to plan their future
work.
The special session included the participation of the
Inter-American Juridical Committee, the Special Rapporteur
for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights, the Secretariat for Juridical Affairs, the
Department of International Law, and the Secretariat for
Political Affairs. Also in attendance were many experts who
participated in the drafting of the model law and
implementation guide, as well as civil society organizations
dedicated to ensuring the right of access to information in
the continent, including The Carter Center and the Regional
Alliance for Access to Information and Freedom of Expression
and thirty-three civil society organizations registered with
the OAS. Also participating were the Member States’ experts,
who offered their comments on the model law and
considerations for an Inter-American Program, including the
Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información y Protección de
Datos (México) and the Consejo para la Transparencia
(Chile). Finally, the World Bank also participated,
presenting its newly adopted policy on access to information
that is applicable to all branches of the institution.
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