The International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) was proclaimed on 15 October 2019 at the 74th
UN General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
to be held on
28 September
Events Pre-1600
*48 BC – Pompey disembarks at Pelusium upon arriving in Egypt, whereupon he is assassinated by order of King Ptolemy XIII.
* 235 – Pope Pontian resigns. He is exiled to the mines of Sardinia, along with Hippolytus ...
.
Initially the day (commonly called the Access to Information Day) was designated by the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
General Conference. It was inaugurated in November 2015 and was
first held on 28 September 2016.
The day had been recognised as
International Right to Know Day
The International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) was proclaimed on 15 October 2019 at the 74th UN General Assembly to be held on 28 September.
Initially the day (commonly called the Access to Information Day) was designated by ...
since 2002 and was developed by international civil society advocates beginning in 2012. The UNESCO resolution creating the day was pushed by African civil society groups seeking greater information
transparency.
Currently only 17 African Union member states have adopted national
right to information
The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of information act of 2002 (India), Freedom of Information Act ...
laws, and groups like Open Government Partnership hope that the recognition of the right to information will "provide an important platform for all stakeholders at national level to discuss the adoption and effective implementation of national right to information laws in line with continental and international standards and obligations."
However, African civil society groups like MISA Zimbabwe have noted that states like Zimbabwe which do have Right to Information laws still have a long way to go to ensure they improve governance. In 2016, MISA Zimbabwe used Access to Information Day to criticise Zimbabwe's poor information transparency provisions, noting that, "While Zimbabwe was one of the first African countries to adopt an
access to information
Access may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network
* Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom
* Access Co., a Japanese software company
* Access Healthcare, an Indian BPO se ...
law in the form of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the law in question is a far cry from its purported import and impact."
See also
*
Right to know
Right to know is a human right enshrined in law in several countries. UNESCO defines it as the right for people to "participate in an informed way in decisions that affect them, while also holding governments and others accountable". It pursues ...
References
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External links
International Day for the Universal Access to Information (2016) at UNESCOCopies of Guide Book
Freedom of information
Awareness days
September observances