Lessons learned
2021 Report on Public Access to Information (SDG 16.10.2)
To recovery and beyond
The report takes stock of the global progress on the adoption and implementation of legal guarantees on Access to Information worldwide highlighting key findings from UNESCOs 2021 Survey on Public Access to Information SDG 16102 and other ongoing initiatives in the area
Resources
Executive Summary
As countries are trying to emerge from the COVID19 pandemic the role of access to information ATI continues to be critical in rebuilding communities and strengthening their public institutions
ATI and disability rights
The importance of access to information ATI as an internationally recognised human right for all including for persons with disabilities has long been acknowledged However the realisation of this right for those with disabilities remains a challenge
ATI reporting in Voluntary National Reviews
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development encourages countries to conduct regular and inclusive reviews of progress at the national and subnational levels which are countryled and countrydriven In this regard Voluntary National Reviews VNRs serve as a followup and review mechanism through which countries assess and present progress made in achieving the SDGs
A growing interest in reporting on ATI
Respondents and scores There is a growing interest in reporting progress on Access to Information and countries and territories with dedicated oversight institutions perform better
SDG 16 interlinkages: the role of Access to Information in COVID-19 recovery
There is strong evidence that progress on key aspects of SDG 16 namely transparency accountability and participation and inclusion has enabling effects on aspects of SDG 1 and SDG 10 that are critical for COVID19 recovery namely social protection equal opportunities and the eradication poverty
Shaping the way political systems work: Access to Information for inclusive, effective and accountable institutions
Political systems are made up of formal institutions as well as key principles or substance This substance is a set of common ideas that underpins and permeates the entire system defining the way it works It is the common agreements upon which politics rest and that underpin the way formal institutions operate They become an anchoring principle and as such they define how the system works its philosophy
Commitment versus action in Africa: Implementation is as important as adoption of Access to Information laws
As a fundamental and universal human right access to information ATI is particularly relevant in the management of the ongoing COVID19 pandemic in providing citizens with reliable timely and independent information This however remains a challenge even in countries with constitutional and legal guarantees for access to information
Promoting proactive transparency during COVID-19 in Mexico
As part of its policy on proactive transparency the National Institute for Transparency Access to Information Protection of Personal Data INAI of Mexico has developed a platform to promote the dissemination of useful and reliable information about the COVID19 pandemic to the general public and the authorities
ATI by local authorities in Ukraine during COVID-19
Access to reliable information related to COVID19 is of critical importance to provide the opportunity for the public to make informed decisions about their health and security
National regulation systems are increasingly conducive

Other editions

Report on Public Access to Information (SDG 16.10.2)