UNESCO has launched a new survey asking governments about their laws on access to information and how they are being implemented.
UNESCO is the “custodian agency for reporting on global progress” toward fulfilling Sustainable Development Goal 16.10.2, which calls for the adoption and implementation “of constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information.”
The announcement did not link to the survey, but a UNESCO official made available the package of instructions, which describes the survey. (See UNESCO instruction manual, full text.)
The eight-question survey is significantly shorter than the initial 20-question survey in 2020 that garnered a low response rate. UNESCO in 2020 sent it to 209 countries and associated territories, hearing back from 69 countries and territories. See EYE article on UNESCO’s November 2020 report about the survey.
Among other things, UNESCO asks how many requests were received. It also asks how many they were denied, fulfilled, partially fulfilled, pending or “dismissed as ineligible.” The survey also asks for the number of cases appealed and how they were responded to. (See EYE March 2021 article on this topic.)
The UNESCO questionnaire was developed in consultation with members of the International Conference of Information Commissioners, which signed a memorandum of understanding with UNESCO in December. (See announcement.)
The deadline for replies is May 3, 2021.
