Civil society organisations, including TI, are increasingly asserting the rights of citizens to know what governments, international organisations and private corporations are doing and how public resources are being allocated.

A number of African TI chapters have been involved in the drafting and promotion of freedom of information legislation. The importance of access to information in the fight against corruption is reflected by one of the more salient provisions of the AU Convention (Article 9), which reads: “Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures to give effect to the right of access to any information that is required to assist in the fight against corruption and related offences.” For example, TI Ghana published a Statement on the importance of Information law and TI Kenya The Freedom of Information Bill, 2007.

As one of the key priorities of TI in the Middle East and North Africa region raising awareness has been coupled with projects to improve access to information and stress the development of an independent, non-state financed media. Outcomes of these projects include a Green Book on access to information produced by TI-Lebanon, the AMAN coalition in Palestine's work on the first draft law in the Arab World on access to information, and the on-going work of AACC-Algeria to establish a database with publications linked to corruption.

However, it can be seen from the picture below that the majority of countries within the Africa and Middle East region have not yet adopted legislation securing the right of freedom of information up to 2007.

http://www.privacyinternational.org/issues/foia/foia-laws.jpg

To learn more about access to information as a thematic issue within the global priorities of TI and for relevant resources and publications please visit the access to information section on the global priorities pages.