A/72/350
Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights
Council on the promotion and protection of the right to
freedom of opinion and expression
Summary
The United Nations does not have an access-to-information policy that applies
to every department and specialized agency; it does not even have ad hoc standards
to provide a response to access-to-information requests. For the central global
political institution, one that serves the public interest across a range of subject
matters, this is intolerable. But the United Nations is not alone. While freedom of
information policies have been introduced worldwide, international organizations,
with a few specific exceptions, have not followed suit. The present report provides
an assessment of the state of access to information with regard to the activities of
international organizations. It urges all international organizations, especially the
United Nations, to adopt robust freedom of information po licies, with specific
recommendations to organizations, Member States and civil society.
Contents
Page
I.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
II.
Freedom of information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
A.
Purposes underlying the right to freedom of information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
B.
Legal framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
1.
Nature of the right of access to information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
2.
Narrow restrictions on the right to information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
3.
Legal framework and international organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
Key elements of an access-to-information policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
A.
Access to information in intergovernmental organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
B.
Essential elements of access-to-information policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
1.
Open multi-stakeholder adoption process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
2.
Proactive, clear, searchable and secure disclosure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
3.
Comprehensive policy with binding rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
4.
Clear rules about what information may be withheld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
5.
Complaint and appeals mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
6.
Implementation, review and monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
7.
Independent whistle-blower protections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
Conclusions and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
III.
IV.
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