ParlAmericas, the Transparency and Access to Information Network (RTA), the European Union’s EUROsociAL+ programme and the Organisation of American States (OAS) hold the webinar Model Inter-American Law 2.0 on Access to Public Information for Parliaments of the Americas and the Caribbean
In the context of this pandemic, transparency and access to information are crucial to building bridges between the government and citizens to address these challenges through a greater culture of accountability and citizen participation. These issues are especially relevant in the parliamentary sphere because of its proximity to the problems and needs of citizens, who also demand a greater role in decision-making and in the construction of their own future.
That is why, following the approval by the OAS Annual Assembly of the Inter-American Model Law 2.0 on Access to Public Information in October 2020, it is important to share its nature and scope with parliamentarians and parliamentary staff of the Americas and the Caribbean, international specialists, and transparency enforcement bodies, and to create new spaces for cooperation.
To contribute to this, the parliaments of the Americas and the Caribbean, ParlAmericas, the Transparency and Access to Information Network (RTA), the European Union’s EUROsociAL+ programme and the Organisation of American States (OAS) will hold the webinar “Inter-American Model Law 2.0 on Access to Public Information for the Parliaments of the Americas and the Caribbean.”
The event will include a presentation on the Inter-American Model Law 2.0 on Access to Public Information, which is intended to serve as a hemispheric reference to further advance in strengthening standards of transparency and access to information for the benefit of citizens in the region. The panel Reflections on national experiences will be moderated by the expert María José Méndez, EUROsociAL+ consultant, and will include the participation of Caroline Maynard, Information Commissioner of Canada; Gloria de la Fuente, President of the Council for Transparency of Chile; and Senator Ranard Eric Henfield of The Bahamas, Vice-President of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network for the Caribbean. The panel will promote the exchange of good legislative practices for transparency and access to information, aspects that are part of the Legislative Transparency Toolkit, developed by ParlAmericas, EUROsociAL+, and the RTA.
On this toolkit, Felice Zaccheo, Head of Unit for Mexico, Central America, Caribbean and Regional Operations, DG International Partnerships of the European Commission, pointed out that it is a tool that contains numerous contributions from European legislatures, including the European Parliament, the Parliaments of Estonia, the United Kingdom, Georgia, Italy, Spain, France and Norway, and “valuable contributions from legislatures in Latin America and other regions of the world, which makes it a truly global effort for knowledge management and the exchange of best practices.”
Senator Bertha Alicia Caraveo Camarena (Mexico), Vice-President of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network for North America, stressed that “for ParlAmericas, transparency and access to information are central pillars of an open parliament, which is why these issues are at the heart of our institutional agenda. Offering this type of informed dialogue to parliamentarians from the Americas and the Caribbean, in which they can familiarise themselves with the Model Law and strengthen the collaboration with the enforcement bodies on access to information issues, is fundamental.”
Gabriel Delpiazzo Antón, president of the RTA, said that “with more transparent parliaments, greater citizen participation is achieved and trust is restored for a more democratic society.”
Member of Parliament Ana Lucia Delgado (Costa Rica), Vice President of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network for Central America explained that “the adoption or updating of laws on access to public information is a task that cannot be postponed as it responds to our commitments to transparency and openness. Having first-hand knowledge of the proposals and standards developed by the OAS is an excellent opportunity for legislators in the Americas and the Caribbean to articulate our work on these issues.”
You can find the agenda of the webinar in this link.
For more information about our work, see our respective websites and social media: ParlAmericas (website and Twitter); RTA (website and Twitter) and EUROsociAL+ (website and Twitter).
