Deputy Minsiter for Information, Telecommunication and Postal services during the International Day for Universal Access to Information event in Juba, 28 September 2020 ©UNESCO
South Sudan joined the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day for Universal Access to Information that took place from 28-29 September 2020 in Juba. The occasion brought together stakeholders from government, media, academia, CSOs, youth and women organizations. This year’s national celebration was marked under the theme: “Access to Information in Times of Crisis”.
This year’s theme has been timely, as it sought to tackle the significance of access to information in times of crisis and advocate for the strengthening of associated legal frameworks and ensure their implementation. The IDUAI serves as an opportunity to call on the goverment to enact and fully implement Right to Access to Information laws.
Access to Information is a right that every citizen should enjoy, he further stated that the government was committed to ensuring implementation of this right, as it’s the only means through which citizens can access information on health matters, peace and the nation building process.
While Mr. Peter Garang, Executive Director, at the Information Commission, highlighted progress made so far by the commission towards implementation of the Access to Information Act, 2013. He stated since establishment of the Information Commission in 2016, a 3-year strategic plan has been developed, several capacity building trainings on the Act have been conducted and with support from UNESCO, the Commission is developing simplified guidelines of the Act,2013 that will be easy to read and understand by the public. He therefore called on media development partners to strengthen support towards the commission to facilitate implementation of the act.
Further, Ms. Doreen Loboka, UNESCO Communication Specialist, called on the government to prioritize access to information for every citizen. She said, “when citizens are equipped with information, they are empowered to make informed decisions and empowered to contribute to sustainable development”. Ms. Loboka also urged the government to; 1) adopt and implement sound constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for access to information in times of crisis. Better implementation requires investment and provision of legal advice, promotion, monitoring and capacity-building assistance of relevant institutions she noted. 2)Practice proactive information sharing while ensuring that no one is left behind hence measures such as making information available in local languages and in a diversity of accessible formats with use of accessible technologies need to be adopted
In addition, Ms. Ayaa Irene and Ms. Josephine Achiro, media association representatives urged the Government, Journalists and media institutions to bridge the information gap in times of crisis, by availing timely, accurate and reliable information to the public as a means to mitigate/reduce misinformation and disinformation in times of crisis. Journalists were also encouraged to observe their journalistic code of ethics as they carry on their work.
The national event on access to Information was organized by the South Sudan Information Commission with support from UNESCO’s Multi Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA). Since 2016, member states have marked the International Day for Universal Access to information following the adoption of the resolution 38 C/70 declaring 28 September of every year as an International Day for Universal Access to Information