Peace Programs

Access to information is the cornerstone to good governance and to any anti-corruption and transparency effort, and is increasingly recognized as a fundamental human right. Since 1999, The Carter Center has supported the establishment of an access to information culture, beginning with a project in Jamaica that focused on ongoing legislative efforts to pass an access to information law. The Center's current project models itself on the success of its work in Jamaica, including promoting participatory lawmaking through informed debate and facilitating new partnerships between government and civil society. The project assists access to information initiatives throughout the world with particular emphasis on the Americas region and in the core countries of Jamaica, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Mali.

Guiding Principles: The Need for Access to Information

Democracy depends on a knowledgeable citizenry whose access to a range of information enables them to participate more fully in public life, help determine priorities for public spending, receive equal access to justice, and hold their public officials accountable. Inadequate access to public information allows corruption to flourish, and back-room deals to determine spending in the interests of the few rather than many. Access, however, must be balanced with protection of personal privacy and narrowly defined state interests.

Passage and implementation of an access to information act has become a trend throughout the world, particularly in developing nations. There are now almost 70 countries with the statutory right to information, many of them enacted in the last decade. International funding institutions are, likewise, recognizing the importance of access to information and in some cases, are including the ratification of such an act as a condition for funding or debt relief. In the Western Hemisphere, countries are at widely divergent stages in their development of such legislation. For example, the U.S. Freedom of Information Act was signed into law in 1966 (with important reforms in the early 70s), and Canada provided citizens a right to access to information in most of its provinces by the early 1980s. While many Latin American and Caribbean countries recognize a right to information within their constitutions, it is only recently that public access to information has been put into practice.

Passage of an access to information act, however, is only the first step. Following the promulgation of legislation, governments must adequately implement and enforce the laws; otherwise, it becomes simply a "check the box" exercise and does not increase citizen trust or government accountability. Thus, appropriate emphasis must be given to the three phases of developing an access to information culture: passage, implementation, and enforcement, with a complementary focus on encouraging the law's use.

Project Origins

The Carter Center's first access to information initiative arose from a broader anti-corruption pilot initiative.  In 1999, The Carter Center hosted the Transparency for Growth conference in Atlanta, Georgia, and undertook four pilot projects.  In response to a request from the Jamaican Government, one of the pilot projects focused on informing the debate about the value and content of the right to information and supporting its legislative efforts to pass the statute. Through the work in Jamaica, the Center recognized the critical role of access to information and learned important lessons, which were shared within the region and with countries of focus. 

Project Objectives

In partnership with government and civil society, the Center's access to information project focuses not only on the passage of legislation but also encourages effective implementation, enforcement, awareness, and use. Establishing a vibrant access to information culture is the responsibility of both government and civil society. While governments must pass comprehensive legislation and implement the necessary procedures, civil society also must play a leading role, such as by making information requests and pursuing appeals when requests are denied.

The Center's access to information project seeks to:

• Provide observations and inform members of the executive branch, legislators, citizen groups, the private sector and media during the debate relating to the value of the right to information and  content and drafting of the new law, based on the emerging international standards
  
• Explore other mechanisms to advance transparency, such as voluntary openness strategies
  
• Convene meetings of the relevant stakeholders to encourage a participatory lawmaking process, thus providing greater legitimacy to the process and the legislation
  
• Enhance government officials' capacity to implement the legislation
  
• Develop and promote civil society's ability to request information and monitor government compliance
  
• Advance effective enforcement of the law through increasing civil society capacity to seek judicial redress and the judiciary's ability to respond
  
• Work at the hemispheric level to share experiences and provide additional support.

The Carter Center's Contributions to Access to Information

Throughout the world, the Carter Center has been instrumental in providing technical assistance to legislators and civil society advocates in the drafting and passage of access to information laws.  The Center has facilitated training and expert consultation to public servants with regard to archiving, document retrieval, and information request processing.  The Carter Center also is effective at "getting a dialogue started between groups that never speak" and in positively engaging voices that are seldom heard. For example, the Carter Center has offered hundreds of workshops among different sectors of society, including the government, civil society organizations, the private sector and the media. As part of the hemispheric and country specific work, the Center produces and publishes materials for wide-spread distribution.  Guidebooks on the promotion and implementation of the right to information, as well as pamphlets, manuals and brochures focus on key issues and support all stakeholders in advancing the right to information. Finally, the Access to Information project has maintained field offices in Bolivia, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Mali.  Field office representatives are well-connected in the national government and civil society and work to promote access to information efforts through ongoing and direct engagement with local, national, and international actors.