Waging Peace: Bolivia

Promoting the Right of Access to Information

A free flow of information can serve to underpin the democratic transformation and help advance citizen participation, development, and socio-economic rights. The Carter Center has worked in Bolivia since 2003 to support the establishment of an access to information culture. The Center has collaborated with the government to increase its capacity by providing expertise on archiving and records management best practices and by training civil servants on access to information. The Center supported the establishment and implementation of a voluntary openness strategy, piloted by select ministries and agencies, which allowed the government to demonstrate their commitment to transparency more immediately and to learn valuable lessons to be applied once the comprehensive law was passed.

Additionally, The Carter Center worked with Bolivia's government, Congress, and civil society to support the drafting of an access to information law that met emerging international standards, sharing its international experiences and exchanging ideas with local actors while recognizing that an access to information law must be formulated and disseminated in a manner appropriate to local circumstances. The Center provided observations on the draft law upon request of the Bolivian government. To strengthen the involvement of civil society in the drafting process, the Center helped create a forum for dialogue among key stakeholders and published guidebooks that were widely distributed and served to inform the debate.

Finally, The Carter Center facilitated the creation of local and national civil society consortia to promote the passage of the law.

Read more about the Center's access to information work in Bolivia >