access to info. law
Tuesday 8.6.2021 Solomon Islands - Latest Developments -
UN calls on the Solomons to pass freedom of information legislation and set up a human rights body
On 10th May 2021, the UN Human Rights Council reviewed the human rights record of the Solomon Islands as part of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The Council UN called on the Solomons to pass freedom of information legislation, set up a human rights body and ratify the ICCPR Read more
Friday 4.6.2021 Belarus - Latest Developments -
Proposed law amendments in Belarus pose serious threats to Freedom of Expression and Press
The increased detention of over 480 journalists between 2020 and 2021, the searching of editorial offices and homes of journalists and the forced diversion of the Ryanair flight 4978 from Athens to Vilnius that subsequently led to the detention of journalist and political activist Roman Protasevich show that the Belarusian authorities are taking action to hinder freedom of the press. This is evident in the introduction of new amendments on 24th May 2021 that threaten the work of journalists. These are amendments to the Law on Mass Events, the Law on Mass Media, and the Law on Telecommunications. Read more
Tuesday 11.5.2021 Brazil - Latest Developments -
Dictatorship-era National Security Law used to intimidate critics in Brazil
On 29th April 2021, Brazil became the second country to surpass 400,000 coronavirus deaths, according to data by Johns Hopkins University. In April 2021 alone, the country lost nearly 85,000 lives – the deadliest month yet of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more | Read in Portuguese
Thursday 18.3.2021 Bolivia - Latest Developments -
Human rights organisations concerned about partial justice system in Bolivia
On 18th February 2021, Bolivia legislature approved Supreme Decree 4461, proposed by the current government, which conceded amnesty and pardon to persons deprived of liberty in the context of the political crisis. Read more | Read in Spanish
Tuesday 9.3.2021 Uruguay - Latest Developments -
Renewed pandemic restrictions in Uruguay
In an interview published by El Telégrafo in November 2020, Uruguay’s National Director of Telecommunications Guzmán Acosta y Lara said that “community radio stations that do not fulfil their purpose and compete illegally will undoubtedly be closed down”. Read more
Friday 5.3.2021 El Salvador - Latest Developments -
Bukele secures supermajority in El Salvador's legislature
On 28th February 2021, legislative and municipal elections took place in El Salvador. Nayib Bukele’s party Nuevas Ideas won 56 seats, reaching the number needed to secure a supermajority in the country’s single-chamber legislature for the 2021–2024 period. Read more | Read in Spanish
Monday 22.2.2021 Honduras - Latest Developments -
Justice for Keyla: nursing student’s suspected homicide sparks outrage in Honduras
In early February 2021, police forces in Honduras repressed protests for justice in the case of Keyla Martínez, a nursing student who died under police custody in La Esperanza, Intibucá. Read more
Friday 30.10.2020 Romania - Latest Developments -
Concerns over limiting freedom of information
Due to the pandemic, firms and other commercial entities have been exempted from declaring their beneficiaries. NGOs, however, were not. This has placed a significant burden on NGOs, especially for smaller organisations with a small budget. While the current government has not run a smear campaign against NGOs, they are not very NGO-friendly either. Discriminatory laws, such as the law on preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing, are in place. In a seperate concern, there are plans to limit freedom of information permanently. According to a proposal of the General Secretariat of government for changes to the application norms of Law 544/2001, public authorities and institutions would need to provide information only in formats they already have. If the institutions do not possess the information in the format that an external actor has requested, they have no obligation to provide any information. NGOs have condemned proposed limitations to freedom of information.
Read more
Friday 30.10.2020 Namibia - Latest Developments -
Mass #ShutItAllDown protests demand action against rising GBV
Throughout several months this year, there have been a series of abductions and gender-based violence cases which prompted youths and civil society organisations to begin protests calling for government action to address the rising numbers; CSOs call for enactment of Access to Information Bil Read more
Monday 12.10.2020 Burundi - Latest Developments -
Civil society intensifies calls to release jailed activists, journalists
Civil Society calls for renewed interest in the case of human rights defender Germain Rukuki, who has been imprisoned for the past three years; Recent case of the four journalists from Iwacu group was named by Time Magazine as the fifth most urgent case of threats to press freedom in the world; Human Rights Watch (HRW) concerning Burundi’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the silencing of medical doctors and healthcare workers; President Ndayishimiye makes reference to exiled opposition leaders, linking them with “support of homosexuality" in televised speech Read more | Read in French
