Search Tips
sorted by
30 shown of 432 entities
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- In his 2016 report detailing the refusal of the United Nations to acknowledge responsibility for the tragic outbreak of cholera in Haiti, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights noted the following: “It has been suggested to the Special Rapporteur by several sources that the legal advice originally submitted to the Secretary-General took a rather different approach to these crucial issues [the responsibility of the United Nations for the cholera outbreak] from that which was finally adopted, but this cannot be confirmed since none of the analyses of the Office of Legal Affairs have been made public. If true, however, it might explain why the arguments adduced in order to abdicate responsibility are both peremptory and inadequately justified (A/71/367, para. 33).”
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The present report, which explores freedom of information policies in the context of international organizations, placing specific but not exclusive focus on the United Nations system, is the result of a year’s worth of research and investigation, including a call for submissions that generated responses from 16 international organizations and 5 non-governmental actors. Access to information under human rights law, noting the expansion of freedom of information policies adopted by Governments worldwide, is discussed in section II below. The elements necessary for an effective freedom of information policy at the international level are presented in section III, and a series of recommendations for intergovernmental organizations, Member States and non-State participants in international governance are presented in section IV.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Before assessing what elements might constitute an appropriate freedom of information policy for intergovernmental organizations, it is worth examining the norms that apply under human rights law, for it is evident that the policies that underlie the law apply with equal force both to intergovernmental organizations and to States.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- From the early days of the mandate’s work, Special Rapporteurs have elaborated on the right to information. In only the second report of the mandate, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the “vitally important” roles served by the right to information (E/CN.4/1995/32, para. 135), and the 1998 report emphasized that “the right to access to information held by the Government must be the rule rather than the exception”. The 1998 report also noted a specific right to information about “State security” and, in a notable statement, raised concerns about government prosecution of civil servants who disclose “information which has been classified”, adding that Governments “continue to classify far more information than could be considered necessary”. By this the Special Rapporteur meant that Governments should only withhold material in which “serious harm to the State’s interest is unavoidable if the information is made public and that this harm outweighs the harm to the rights of opinion, expression and information”. He concluded, “The tendency to classify or withhold information on the basis of, for example, ‘Cabinet confidentiality’ is too often the practice, which adversely affects access to information” (E/CN.4/1998/40, paras. 12 and 13).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- During the period of normative expansion in the establishment and work of human rights bodies, States were also adopting legislation to implement the right to information, while many incorporated a right to information as a matter of constitutional law. At the domestic level, States have increasingly opened up the workings of government as a matter of law, if not always achieving the best implementation practices. Nevertheless, the environment of confidentiality and withholding that tends to prevail within bureaucracies and in political leadership around the world remains difficult to eliminate. A prevailing exclusion of national security information from right-to-information legal frameworks encourages a tendency to look at disclosures, even those of the highest public interest without meaningful harm to governmental interests, as contrary to “the national interest”. Such attitudes put significant negative pressure on access-to-information laws, and they may have a spill-over effect beyond traditional national security environments. In short, while the legal framework for access to information has improved globally, open government still faces significant barriers in terms of overcoming attitudes and instilling implementation practices.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Recognition of the right to information, consistent with article 19 of the International Covenant, has come with the acknowledgment that access to information may be subject to limitations. Those limitations, originating in article 19 (3), must be provided by law and be necessary and proportionate in order to protect the rights or reputations of others, national security or public order or public health or morals. I have previously reviewed how the restrictions permissible under article 19 (3) apply in the context of freedom of information (A/70/361, paras. 8-13). How international organizations might translate the norms of the International Covenant for the purposes of their own access-to-information initiatives is discussed below.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- A subject of discussion among academics and lawyers for many years, it is often argued that human rights law, including article 19 of the International Covenant and the other instruments identified herein, does not strictly apply to intergovernmental organizations, certainly not in the same way that human rights law binds States. Yet, looking at the issue purely from the perspective of organizational obligations and immunities, a legalistic approach to the human rights obligations of intergovernmental organizations misses the most salient points, both in law and in policy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The media coverage of intergovernmental organizations is also radically different from the day-to-day or hour-to-hour reporting in domestic environments. Considering the size of the international bureaucracy, in comparison to the coverage in robust media environments of national or local governance, very few reporters cover the United Nations or other intergovernmental organizations on a dedicated basis. Those who do cover them must often work hard to get their editors, and certainly their readers, to understand the relevance of these institutions to their own lives and public policy preferences. As a result, members of the international civil service do not find themselves under the journalistic microscope in the same way that domestic bureaucrats do (or should) around the world. Such oversight may be pursued by Member States from time to time, particularly in areas of budgeting, but the difficulty of accessing information about the workings of intergovernmental organizations exacerbates the already difficult situation in terms of the pursuit of accountability at the international level. In this kind of atmosphere, every newspaper or magazine article that uncovers a problematic practice on the part of an intergovernmental organization may be taken as an attack on the institution as a whole, largely because the work of these institutions is so removed from the lives of members of the public. Fixing that, and adopting robust access-to-information policies, is one step towards better understanding, accountability, oversight and protection of the missions of intergovernmental organizations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- There is no principled reason why intergovernmental organizations should adopt access-to-information policies that vary from those adopted by States. While notions of “national security” and “public order” may not generally apply to intergovernmental organization for purposes of restrictions on access to information, each institution needs to identify how the restrictions applicable under human rights law apply in their particular context. Some argue that, because of their nature, intergovernmental organizations need to withhold information generated or provided by Member States. But that would overreach, providing a potentially major loophole that could interfere with the development of policies that advance the public’s right to know.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Sixteen institutions made submissions for the compilation of the present report, which I supplemented with interviews and consultations. Despite extensive outreach, dozens of intergovernmental organizations and agencies within the United Nations system did not respond to the mandate’s call for submission. I was particularly disappointed not to receive a submission from the Secretariat of the United Nations Headquarters in New York. While organizations that did not make any submission may have some kind of access-to-information policy in place, 10 organizations that made submissions have formal access-to-information, disclosure or transparency policies; two are currently drafting policies; one does not have a formal access-to-information policy but provides access through an array of its policies; and three do not have any information access policies. Based on research, it appears that most international organizations lack binding policies to protect and promote the right of access to information. Put another way, based on my research, with a few notable exceptions, intergovernmental organizations have failed to create mechanisms that can penetrate their opacity and enable easy access to their operations. Most egregiously, 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 for response to access-to-information requests.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Dynamic and flexible access to information policies are feasible, as demonstrated by the policies adopted by several organizations. Finance, environment and development institutions tend to have active approaches to information, responsive to the demands of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders that their work be transparent and open to genuine scrutiny.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have active institutional websites, training guides and designated access-to-information departments that oversee annual reporting and information disclosure. In its submission, the Center for Law and Democracy stated that the prevalence of access-to-information policies in the international finance sector “is largely due to heightened civil society scrutiny of their work, given its high impact, and also partly due to the fact that Member States are keen to ensure that their money is being handled appropriately”. There is also focused attention on the part of civil society, to such an extent that the Global Transparency Initiative, an informal network of civil society organizations promoting openness at financial institutions, has created a charter elaborating the standards upon which the access-to-information policies of international financial institutions should be based. This rights-based approach to establishing an access-to-information policy includes a presumption of disclosure, generous automatic disclosure rules, a clear framework for processing requests for information, limited (though still often overbroad) exceptions and a right to appeal refusals to disclose information to an independent body. Many financial institutions have access-to-information policies that embody a significant number of the elements of the charter advanced by the Global Transparency Initiative. For example, the World Bank’s policy includes guiding principles upholding maximum access to information, a list of exceptions, a set of procedures describing how information is made available and a two-stage appeals mechanism. Under the appeals mechanism, the requester enjoys recourse to an appeals board, consisting of external and independent outside experts. Its disclosure policy includes a declassification system timeline and a set of definitions. The World Bank has also instituted an “access to information committee”, which is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the policy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Access information policy at UNEP is focused on a policy of maximum disclosure and openness. Its policy defines the type of information it can disclose, which is any information relating to UNEP and in its possession, and includes established exceptions, consistent with relevant rules and practices of the United Nations, for example, how to handle sensitive information and classification. UNEP has a specific information request mechanism that includes information on how to frame a request, and to whom. Furthermore, it specifies that if there is an exception of concern, the officer handling the request shall seek guidance from a senior legal officer. UNEP has a timeline for handling requests, indicating that receipt of a request must be acknowledged within 5 days, a response within 30 days, and a response to an information appeal within 60 days. The policy contains a fee structure, under which most information is released free of charge, except for printing costs. It requires a reason for the denial of a request for information and establishes an appeals mechanism, made up of a panel of two members of UNEP and one outside representative. In addition, the policy includes a public interest override test according to which UNEP will release information if the benefits of disclosure outweigh potential harm.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- One of the earliest access-to-information policies was established by UNDP, which operates on a presumption in favour of disclosure. It defines what type of information it discloses and where the policy applies. A notable feature of this policy is that it provides a link to publicly available information to help requesters determine what type of information they might need to request. Like many intergovernmental organizations, UNDP has a list of exceptions to disclosure. Like UNEP, it has a harm test and a public interest override, under which an independent Information Disclosure Oversight Panel determines whether certain types of information should be disclosed because such disclosure would serve a public benefit. UNDP has specific request times: 30 calendar days for information requests; and 30 calendar days for appeals. It includes not only an annex of information that describes exceptions and the information normally made available to the public but it also a flowchart as a visual aid to describe the information-request process.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- After reviewing domestic access to information policies and existing policies adopted by these and other institutions, as well as consulting with stakeholders and examining the related work of the previous Special Rapporteur, I have identified practices that intergovernmental organizations should include as part of their access to information policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Apart from the organizations mentioned above, most intergovernmental organizations operate on an ad hoc, case-by-case basis; different departments authorize or withhold disclosure in the absence of standards.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Among the principles set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 19 (3) states that all restrictions on the right to access information must be provided by law. In the context of States, this is understood to require adoption of restrictions through regular legislative processes with clear rules to avoid excessive restrictions on access to information on the part of decision-makers or undue restrictions on public engagement (CCPR/C/GC/34, para. 46). Intergovernmental organizations should ensure that stakeholders, including members of the public and civil society organizations, have the ability to participate meaningfully in the development, review and updating of access policies. Several organizations have undertaken to involve stakeholders when developing policies. For example, UNEP publicized drafts of its interim policy and revised policy, posting them on its website for two months for input and comments from member States, observers and the general public. The organization also held formal hearings discussing the policy, which was live streamed to allow for public participation. The IFC policy evolved in three phases, involving the public and various external stakeholders. Throughout the process, IFC consulted various stakeholder groups, including its clients, the banking community, other financial institutions, civil society organizations, affected communities, an external advisory group, academia and think tanks, practitioners and Governments.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Requests for information should be a necessary fall-back position in any access-to-information policy. At the foundation of such a policy, organizations must actively disclose information that is likely to be of relevance to the public, and they should do so on a timely basis, including consistent and usable updates, especially of websites. In this regard, OHCHR has made significant strides in the digital age, providing access to outcome documents from both charter-based (for example, the Human Rights Council and its special procedures mechanisms) and treaty-based mechanisms, webcasting of meetings of those mechanisms, regular press briefings by the spokesperson of the United Nations High Commissioner, annual reports and periodic reporting to the Council on all special procedures communications. While there are still important areas for improvement, the OHCHR public disclosures policy mirrors what other institutions are doing across the United Nations system and at other intergovernmental organizations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Two categories of information deserve specific mention so as to clarify exactly how access to information advances the public’s right to participation. First, while most organizations seek to exclude “internal documents”, they should in fact be providing access to all information that enables the public to understand the bases for decisions. The Aarhus Convention, for instance, defines “environmental information” as including “cost-benefit and other economic analyses and assumptions used in environmental decision-making”. Organizations should include the “analyses and assumptions” that underlie their decisions within the definition of information that may be disclosed, including not just economic but also legal, political, institutional, operational and similar kinds of analyses and assumptions. Most intergovernmental organizations are not in favour of such disclosures, but non-disclosure of important process documentation hinders public understanding of their work. At the very least, it should be presumed that such information is subject to disclosure.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Second, information about the selection and election process for all categories of committees and monitoring bodies, whether involving Member States, experts or others, should be subject to disclosure. Generally, intergovernmental organizations should be making greater efforts to disclose specific kinds of governance decision-making. For instance, one of the most basic public functions of organizations, elections, whether of State delegations to serve on committees or individuals to serve in expert roles such as special rapporteurs, remain largely closed to public scrutiny. Organizations should devote clearly identifiable space on their websites for information about candidates to elective or selective positions, and they should provide information about State compliance with the organization’s norms in the context of elections to bodies held by State delegations. Those making appointments or selections to expert bodies should make public the reasons for their choices. Timely and interactive access to such processes would enhance their credibility as well as the accountability of those making the selections. As noted below, some kinds of information may be subject to non-disclosure, for instance, if necessary to protect the personal data of individual candidates for positions. Generally, however, there is legitimate dissatisfaction among civil society organizations about their limited ability to learn about such processes as they are happening. In turn, the lack of information leads to misunderstandings about the nature of elective or appointment processes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- States may impose restrictions on access to information held by public authorities only when they meet the three-part test, of legality, necessity and proportionality, and also legitimate objective. The general limitations on access to information applicable to States should also apply to intergovernmental organizations. The requirement of legality (“provided by law”) requires that regular procedures be followed in the adoption of restrictions and that there be clarity and specificity in the rules. They must not be drafted so generically that they provide unfettered discretion on the power of the decision makers to refuse disclosure of information (CCPR/C/GC/34, para. 25). Similarly, the requirement of necessity, which implies proportionality, means that the policies of intergovernmental organizations should permit non-disclosure only when disclosure would indeed cause likely harm to a legitimate interest (CCPR/C/GC/34, para. 38).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The policies of intergovernmental organizations must clarify what kinds of information may not be disclosed; in their actual withholding of information, they should be held to a high standard in identifying their reasons. At a minimum, intergovernmental organizations should specify what kinds of information they consider to be sensitive and subject to non-disclosure. In doing so, they should not overstate what is subject to non-disclosure but adhere strictly to notions of public interest.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The UNDP information disclosure policy provides a good example of how to approach exceptions. Its policy, which notes that the organization operates in contexts of “crisis, conflict or humanitarian disasters” that pose challenges to UNDP operations and Member State interests, identifies several categories of information deemed confidential and “not available to the public”. Not all of the categories of exceptions are entirely appropriate, such as “[c]ommercial information where disclosure would harm either the financial interests of UNDP or those of third parties involved” or “[i]nformation which, if disclosed, in UNDP’s view would seriously undermine the policy dialogue with Member States or implementing partners”. (These exceptions are found in the policies of other intergovernmental organizations as well.) Both categories seem overbroad and subject to undue discretion of the organization. Nonetheless, recognizing this potential for overbreadth and potentially illegitimate non-disclosure in paragraph 12 of its information disclosure policy, UNDP provides that it could disclose even “confidential” information “if it determines that the overall benefits and public interest of such disclosure outweighs the likely harm to the interest(s) protected by the exception(s)”. Such authority rests not only in UNDP itself but in the independent panel created to oversee such decisions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Not every organization with an access-to-information policy deals with exceptions in the same way, but a fundamental problem with many is that they do not provide a basis for disclosure in the public interest (which UNDP does provide). For instance, while the policy of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) largely follows along the lines of UNDP, it fails to include a public interest test to provide for disclosure, even in situations where non-disclosure may be permitted. UNESCO has recently adopted a policy that, while noting a commitment to transparency (and despite its role in the United Nations system in promoting access to information), includes similar restrictions as UNDP. However, like UNFPA, it does not provide a public interest override, such that material normally subject to non-disclosure could be released. If an organization does not provide a public interest test, its exceptions appear rigid and likely to result in barriers to transparency. As part of any public interest test, organizations should include a strong presumption that information about threats to the environment, health or human rights and information revealing corruption should be released because of heightened public interest in such information. This would be consistent with emerging norms governing State access to information policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Although they vary in structure, all national right-to-information laws provide an appeals mechanism in the event of non-disclosure. Intergovernmental organizations should also ensure an independent appeals process, protected against political interference and with the competence to make binding decisions. Grounds for appeal should be broad and clear procedures should be in place, including timelines.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- UNDP provides a useful model. Upon a non-disclosure response from its Legal Office, a person making a request may ask for a review of the determination by the Information Disclosure Oversight Panel. According to paragraph 21 of the UNDP information disclosure policy, the Panel consists of four members, all appointed by the UNDP Administrator with input from the Bureaux, including one from the UNDP Office of Audit and Investigations; one from the UNDP Ethics Office; one from a United Nations agency other than UNDP; and one from a non-governmental organization. The Panel reviews the denial of requests to disclose a document or portion of a document to a member of the public, and provides a final recommendation within 30 calendar days of receipt of the appeal. The Panel shares its recommendation with the UNDP Administrator and the relevant internal unit or office. The Administrator has the authority to make the final decision, taking into consideration the recommendations of the Panel. If the Administrator determines that the requested information will not be disclosed, the reasoning is provided.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- While the UNDP process involves strong elements of review, in general the decision-making authority should be lodged in an independent actor, not in the Administrator. Such a rule is reflected in most international standards and can be seen in domestic freedom of information laws. An independent body, such as an ombudsperson or commissioner, should be established to guarantee the right to information outside the chain of the organization’s normal authority.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Intergovernmental organizations, like many (if not all) bureaucratic institutions, prize some measure of secrecy and the ability to work outside the public eye. In order to chip away at the secrecy embedded in large institutions, implementation must continue throughout the life of an access policy, including through education of the staff and leadership. The World Bank has developed a staff handbook, a mandatory training programme, workflow automation and records management systems, including dedicated websites, to provide easy access to documents (including an online portal for users to submit requests for information). Such internal programming is necessary to ensure that access to information becomes a part of organizational culture, understood as the responsibility of a public institution rather than an interference with its work.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Some Governments ensure oversight through annual reports that review the status of their freedom of information regime. The World Bank has followed suit by publishing annual freedom of information reports. In the spirit of such disclosure, intergovernmental organizations should consider posting the responses to requests on their websites so that all subsequent requesters have access to that information. Annual reports that provide statistics regarding the implementation of their access-to-information policies, and their consistency with article 19 of the International Covenant, ensure the proper review of existing policies. For example, IFC monitors its own policy and issues periodic reports on its implementation. This helps show the tangible effects its policy has on increasing transparency and access to information. It also discloses monthly summaries of requests for the public to view and monitor and discloses how many appeals were filed before the Appeals Board.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Access-to-information policies should be subject to regular review and take into account the changes in the nature of information held, including a formal requirement that they be subject to comprehensive review on a regular basis. This allows an opportunity to assess how well the implementation process is and whether there is room for improvement. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to amend the policy to provide for greater information disclosure and to align it with international best practices. These reviews should be conducted in a fully transparent manner and include multi-stakeholder consultation to get feedback from a broad range of stakeholders. Particular attention should be paid to whether categories of information need to be changed. Intergovernmental organizations need to reflect the changing demands of the public and should operate on policies that best suit these demands.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph