ELLA Policy Brief: Building the Legal Framework to Support Transparency and Access to Information in Latin America
ELLA is the Evidence and Lessons from Latin America programme
Abstract
In the last two decades, Latin American countries - including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Uruguay, among others - have designed and adopted Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs). These FOIAs have increased transparency in government actions, ensured citizens’ right to request and access public information, and enhanced overall accountability. This Brief describes and analyses critical features of these Latin American legal frameworks, highlighting their originality, design, preliminary outcomes, and the contextual factors that enabled their adoption. The lessons coming out of Latin American countries’ experiences in designing their FOIAs will likely be of use to countries in other regions that are looking to either create or strengthen their own legal framework supporting access to information.
Key Lessons:
•A legal framework with a comprehensive scope and clear sanctions in the case of non-compliance ensures greater access to information and transparency.
•An independent oversight body monitoring FOIA compliance can enforce the right to access information more effectively, thus legal frameworks including an agency like this are stronger.
•By mandating governments to make public information accessible to all citizens, and particularly to vulnerable groups, FOIAs can promote not only greater accountability, but also participation and social justice.
Citation
FUNDAR. ELLA Policy Brief: Building the Legal Framework to Support Transparency and Access to Information in Latin America. ELLA, Practical Action Consulting, Lima, Peru (2012) 5 pp.