19 March 2012 - “Right to information laws in Africa and the Americas are falling below the standards set by regional human rights bodies, while in Europe the standards themselves are weaker than the better right to information laws, according to a new analysis by Access Info Europe (Spain) and the Centre for Law and Democracy (Canada).
Using their RTI-Rating tool announced last year (See previous FreedomInfo.org report), the two groups compared the measured the strength of right to information model laws.
The Organisation of American States’ Model Inter-American Law on Access to Information scored 142 out of a possible 150 points while the 19 access to information laws in the region have an average of just 92 points.
“Similarly, the African Union’s Draft Model Law for AU Member States (which has not yet been finalised) sets a high standard with 138 points out of 150, while the average for the region’s ten access to information laws is 91 out of 150, which means that key aspects of the right are not being protected at the national level,” according to the report.
The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents scored just 81 out of a possible 150 points. “This is in line with the average of 80 points for the 41 laws in the Council of Europe region but does little to pressure European countries to improve the laws they have adopted or to give effect to what the European Court of Human Rights has now recognised to be a fundamental human right.” read more>>>
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