UNESCO has received completed survey forms from 66 governments on the subject of freedom of information.
The goal was to gather information on the functioning of FOI laws as part of the research related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The forms were sent out in early March to 209 nations and territories. (See March EYE story.) The original deadline of March 20 was extended to June 30.
A report on the survey results will be ready in November, UNESCO officials said. It will be presented to the Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), which will meet virtually Nov. 25 to 26.
The data will not be released beforehand as had been previously announced.
The survey was designed to measure progress toward fulfilling the 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) seeks to measure the adoption and implementation of access to information (ATI) regimes.
“More countries now have freedom-of-information laws, but their implementation could be stepped up,” says the headline on a brief section on FOI in the 2020 SDG annual report. The report says FOI laws have now been adopted by 127 countries.
The survey, with two main parts, was sent to national governments, who also were asked to gather information on subnational entities. Basic questions concerned how many requests for information are submitted, how many are fulfilled, and how long it takes to get answers. Similar data about the appeals process is also requested. For more detail and links see previous EYE story.
Responses are not mandatory.
A UNESCO official said the response rate was “good,” noting that the Covid-19 pandemic struck as the survey was being sent.
“The only consequence is that data for any given country will be missing from global databases and publications which impacts the ability to effectively monitor both nationally and internationally over time,” the official said. He elaborated:
Although countries have agreed to the SDGs, so in principal should be reporting the data for the SDGs, they may not always be able to do so for all targets/indicators. Statistical capacities at national level vary across the world and across sectors. There may be other factors for not replying to a survey such as political will, national priorities, the human and financial resources available, or that the data available are not easily transferable to the survey instrument. In addition, the Covid-19 has also had an impact on the ability to produce data and report.
Besides the UN SDG report there as related website. Countries also produce national reports as part of the SDG process. Some NGOs are tracking national performance on freedom of information.
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