By Shushan Doydoyan, President of the FOICA
On May 22-24 representatives of 40 countries gathered in Manchester city of Great Britain to take part in the 4th International Conference of Freedom of Information Commissioners (ICIC) which is aimed at summarizing achievements and gaps in the sphere of Freedom of Information.
In his speech, the host of the conference – U.K. Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas brought forward the idea that in practice, the right for access to information often conflicts with other interests, protected by the law. To such belong the people’s right for privacy, business interest and others. For example, writing about private restaurants, the journalists come into collision with the commercial interests of the restaurant’s business, as well as the people’s right for privacy. But when the matter concerns dirty environment and anti-sanitarian conditions in the restaurant, in this case the society has the right to be informed about the given restaurant.Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the U.K. Lord Chancellor said that on January 1, 2005 a new chapter in openness began in the UK when the Freedom of Information Act, adopted in 2000, was finally came into force. It will bring fundamental changes in the culture of Government. There are people who expect the introduction of access regimes to have an immediate, tangible, transforming effect on Government. The reality, as each of us knows, is more complex. Freedom of Information is not a quick fix. It is not a magic wand to raise trust in government overnight. It is part of a process that will change the culture of Government and public services and, over time, improve the quality of decision-making.
The European Ombudsman, Nikiforus Diamandourous, presented a European perspective on FOIA focusing on the specifics of the European Union’s Regulation 1049/2001, which regulates access to documents from the European Parliament, Council and Commission.
Helen Darbishire, founder and executive director of Access Info Europe offered a global overview of FOI, focusing on the main challenges faced by FOI advocates. She highlighted the need for securing FOI as a fundamental human right and praised the role of information commissions worldwide as an effective oversight mechanism guaranteeing the right to know. Presenting the FOI situation worldwide, the speaker specially emphasized the openness of government contracts and assets declarations of state officials, bringing the example of Bulgaria, where recently the court declined the claim “Access to Information Program” NGO to receive the copy of the contract signed between “Microsoft” company and the government. The role of non-governmental organizations is especially significant in those countries where there are no Freedom of Information Commissioners.
As a best input from FOI civic advocates in the process, 28 NGOs from Europe, Asia, Latin America took part in the conference, adopted the Manchester Declaration of Access to Information (available on-line at www.foi.am). From Armenia, the declaration was joined by Freedom of Information Center.
It should be mentioned that the Council of Europe has initiated elaboration of a special treaty on “Access to Information”. Thus, the organizations, which had signed under the declaration, also announced their support to the CE initiative, calling for an open treaty-drafting process in which civil society is meaningfully consulted.
