In 2015, noting that
different civil society organizations and
government agencies from around the World had
been observing September 28 as the international
day of the right to know, UNESCO officially
proclaimed this date as the International Day
for Universal Access to Public Information. This
right enables and promotes the enjoyment and
exercise of other human rights, such as the
right to health, education, and a healthy
environment, since it lends transparency to
criteria used in designing, implementing,
funding, and evaluating public policies. It may
also be a tool for investigative journalism, a
means to obtain documentary evidence for use in
judicial proceedings, and a tool to promote
regulatory improvements.
In the current context of
pandemic, when the production of decrees and
exceptional measures is increased, simplifying
many processes for financing public works,
selecting contractors and awarding direct
purchases, it is important to highlight the
importance of access to public information as a
mechanism for societal control of government
management, as well as a key to obtaining
accurate and updated information on the
prevalence of the virus, available testing and
treatment services, interruptions or
modifications to the provision of other public
services, the official measures implemented to
prevent infections, and the impact of these
measures on the daily activities of the
population, among others.
At the regional level, the
OAS has played a key role part in disseminating
the right of access to information, creating and
promoting international standards and principles
guaranteeing access to information at all levels
of the State, including the three branches of
government, mainly through the adoption in 2010
of the Model Inter-American Law on Access to
Information (2010), which shortly thereafter
became a referent for countries wishing to
improve their laws or adopt new legislation in
this area, and the Inter-American Program on
Access to Public Information (2016).
For further advancement of
this field, the highest body of the OAS, the
General Assembly, at its 2017 session requested
the Department of International Law (DIL) to
conduct a process of consultation with
institutional partners, OAS Member States,
experts and civil society organizations to
identify thematic areas in which it was deemed
necessary to update or broaden the Model
Inter-American Law. The outcome of this process
was detailed in a document that was delivered
this past June to the Inter-American Juridical
Committee (consultative organ of the OAS in
juridical matters, for which the DIL serves as
Technical Secretariat).
In March 2020, the CJI
adopted a Proposed Inter-American Model Law on
Access to Public Information 2.0, which
constitutes a qualitative leap in the
strengthening of regional standards. This
Proposal was sent to the OAS Permanent Council,
with a view to its elevation to the
consideration of the Organization’s General
Assembly, which will hold its 50th regular
session on October 20 and 21.
The DIL thus reaffirms its
commitment to continue promoting opportunities
for collaboration that strengthen the right of
access to public information in the region, and
joins civil society, international
organizations, the Network for Transparency and
Access to Information (RTA), and the OAS Member
States’ initiatives to highlight the importance
of this date.
» For the Proposed Model Inter-American Law on Access to Public Information 2.0,
click here.
» For the Inter-American Program on Access to Public Information,
click here.
For further information on this matter, please contact the Department of International Law of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs of the OAS +1 202 370-0741.