Contacts:
In Islamabad: Shahzad Sharjeel (92-51) 2279641
ssharjeel@worldbank.org
In Washington: Jan Erik Nora (202) 458 4735
enora@worldbank.org ISLAMABAD, June 19, 2008 ─ Freedom of Information (FOI) is a core principle of good governance. Transparency, accountability and civil society participation are integral to equitable development and poverty reduction. These conclusions were drawn by a wide range of participants at a workshop: “Freedom of Information in Pakistan: Drawing on International Experience,” organized by the World Bank on Thursday. “Information is central to any notion of accountability and accountability is essential for good governance and effective service delivery”, said Yusupha Crookes, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “As Pakistan's development partner and as an institution that prides itself in being a ‘Knowledge Bank’, we hope that by providing this opportunity to learn from international experience, and share ideas about how FOI can be made a reality in Pakistan, we will be making a modest contribution to this process.”
Salient recommendations from international and local experiences shared at the workshop are; • Like any legislation, it is important to ensure that effective provisions are made for FOI implementation and enforcement;
• Lack of access to information or discretionary powers in its sharing present a serious roadblock to empowerment and collective oversight by society;
• Stakeholder participation and consultation in FOI design strengthens ownership;
• Demand driven provision of information under FOI legislation needs to be complimented by proactive dissemination of information by public and private bodies;
• Awareness about their rights under the FOI needs to be raised among citizens; and
• Importance of FOI needs to be contextualized under the wider perspective of roles and responsibilities of state and its citizens
Rick Snell from the University of Tasmania, Jose Jarero Valencia from the Federal Institute for Access to Information in Mexico, Sohini Paul from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Adil Gilani from Transparency International, I.A Rehman from Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Zafarullah Khan, Executive Director Center for Civic Education, Senator Haji Mohammad Zareef of ANP, Ahsan Iqbal, MNA and Secretary Information PML-N, and Mazhar Abbas, General Secretary Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) made presentation and participated as panel discussants on various themes under the subject. Representatives of civil society, donor community, government officials and media participated in the workshop. The background paper prepared for the FOI workshop is available on the Bank’s web site, and the workshop proceedings will be summarized into a report that will be shared with the participants, and submitted to the government as an input to the stakeholder consultation process it is spearheading on FOI legislation. For more information on the workshop and related documents, please visit http://www.worldbank.org.pk
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