Right to Information

Pakistan was the first in South Asia to pass a pro-transparency law in 2002 followed by India in 2005. Nepal passed its access law in 2007 and Bangladesh is likely to have its access legislation instituted before the end of 2008.

Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in South Asia that does not have a law guaranteeing its citizens access to information held by public bodies. The movement to institute a right to information law was launched in Sri Lanka at the turn of this century and needs to be revitalised. Civil society should be at the forefront of the efforts to secure access legislation.
The workshop deepened participants’ understanding of the essential components of an access law and inspired them to advocate for the adoption of an RTI law for Sri Lanka. It also aimed at enhancing the existing South Asian network of right to information advocates.

Exampled used were based on the newly published book “Our Rights, Our Information” (CHRI), which was also launched a week later in Pakistan together with the Centre for Policy and Development Initiative (CPDI). “Our Rights, Our Information” is a compilation of case studies that illustrate how the right to information has been used to secure a range of human rights from the right to food and healthcare to the right to be free from torture and gender-based discrimination.

The capacity building workshop was organized by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), New Delhi, and the Institute for Democracy and Leadership (IDL), Colombo.