UNESCO is going back to the drawing board after its proposed “lite” approach to measuring implementation of access to information laws was criticized as being too light at a Sept. 3 meeting.
Some revisions will be made, according to a UNESCO official and six persons who attended the one-day meeting in Paris that they characterized as lively and positive.
Access to information experts at the meeting suggested a variety of more comprehensive questionnaires for governments and the use of public opinion surveys to gauge how well access laws are working.
The UN, however, has sought to keep the measuring sticks for Strategic Development Goals fairly short and the meeting participants interviewed doubted the ultimate tool will grow much longer, but are hoping for improvements. Several said they hope the attention given to the SDG assessments will prompt governments and civil society organization to engage in more comprehensive reviews.
UNESCO official invited submissions from participants, by Sept. 10, on adding additional elements to its “lite” recommendation.
The “lite” approach includes eight main questions. It asks whether there are “mechanisms for oversight of implementation,” whether a guide has been disseminated to citizens, how many requests were made and granted, and whether an annual report is issued. Governments also are asked to identify “gaps and challenges,” an idea criticized by some meeting participants.
UNESCO convened the session to get input on measuring national progress toward fulfilling Sustainable Development Goal 16.10 which asks that governments: “Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.” The associated “indicator” (SDG 16.10.2) states: “Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information.” (See previous article on the Paris meeting, including links to documents, in eyeonglobaltransparency.net.)
Several of those attending the session reported that UNESCO officials did not welcome proposals to measure “proactive disclosure.” But a question on the topic may yet be added, one person said. There also was discussion of utilizing proactive disclosure associated with assessing progress on other SDGs.
No specific timeframe was set for preparation of a new plan on 16.10.2, and several attendees professed confusion about the way forward. It may be discussed in November by the Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication.
Asked about the process, Guy Berger, Director of the Division of Freedom of Expression and Media Development at UNESCO, said in an email:
At present, in our designated role as convening agency for global monitoring on 16.10.2, our reporting goes to the UN Secretary General’s annual report on SDG implementation, which is presented to the UNGA.
Normally, the deadline for our synthesized input is end of Feb each year, and the UNSG’s report appears circa June/July.
We do report also on our activities to our member states in terms of fulfilment of our prescribed programme, and this covers our monitoring above, and activities such as IPDC talks to mark the IDUAI each 28 September. This reporting is not a special report dedicated to SDG 16.10.2 monitoring however. There is a scenario however that the IPDC Council in November may request exactly such a special report for its biannual meetings.
