Freedom of Information for Pacific Policy Makers

This is a report of the workshop on Freedom of Information for Pacific Policy Makers held in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from June 30 to July 2 2008, at which representatives from ten Forum Island Countries (FICs) discussed freedom of information (FOI) legislation. The meeting was organised by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Centre.

This document lists the status of FOI legislation in the various island nations participating and describes context-setting discussions from the meeting that aimed at providing policy-makers with information on FOI legislation useful for their country context. It intended to provide a grounding in the basic legal principles and implementation issues for consideration, which they could then take back and discuss with their government colleagues.

The right to information in the Pacific, as stated here, can do the following:

• Promotes democratic governance.
  
• Facilitates public sector efficiency.
  
• Supports decentralisation.
  
• Supports participatory development.
  
• Fosters economic development.
  
• Exposes corruption.
  
• Strengthens state-building.
  
• Improves media reporting.

Participants were encouraged to think of good FOI law as providing a human right. "Everyone is entitled to information held by government. Exemptions should be limited, narrowly drawn and focused on protecting the public interest... In countries where it may be difficult to enact legislation, as a first step, governments should be encouraged to develop information disclosure policies, either for the whole of government or on a sectoral basis. This alternative approach still supports the government machinery to disclose information and encourage better maintenance of records." A key challenge is that legislation be recognised as being locally driven to "develop partnerships and buy-in from all stakeholders, including governments, Members of Parliaments, officials, the public, and civil society groups."

Among good practices for inclusion in legislation are the following:

1. Maximum disclosure - defining what type of information, who must provide it, and who can request it.
   
2. Obligation to publish - Public bodies should be under an obligation to publish and update key information, in an easily accessible medium and format, including notice boards and radio announcements, recognising that improvements in radio are needed in some island locations. In one country, "[a]s a short-term remedy, important radio sessions are recorded by tape and distributed to outer islands via the Government’s shipping services." The following is offered as an example of FOI practice: "In Solomon Islands, the Government and UNDP collaborated on the development of the People First Network (PFNet), a network of 20 computers located throughout Solomon Islands, with email and internet services for remote island stations. The Government has entered into an MOU [memorandum of understanding] with PFNet and uses their stations to make vital information readily available to the public. Each fortnight, Government newsletters are sent through the email stations and are then printed and distributed around the centres. The Government also has a free feedback service, where members of the public can write to the government at no charge to report back on problems."
   
3. Limited exemptions based on the public interest - Exemptions involving national security, defence, law enforcement, international relations, national financial and economic interests, commercially confidential information, invasion of personal privacy, and premature government policy disclosure were listed.
   
4. Inexpensive, timely, independent oversight - An oversight body - outside the bureaucracy, if possible - needs to have powers to investigate appeals, make decisions, and enforce them. In the Pacific Islands, this has been an ombudsman, a commission, or the courts - often an existing body that will not increase demand on resources.
   
5. Simple, cost-effective, timely processes for facilitating access.
   
6. Monitoring and promoting open government - including training public officials and educating the public.

Challenges include: breaking down strong bureaucratic cultures of secrecy, which can be done through training programmes; developing coordinated implementation planning models among the island nations; improving records management; increasing public education; and increasing information dissemination - using local dialects, making complex information more "digestible", and improving information technology - including the radio, internet, and television.