{"id":573,"date":"2020-09-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/"},"modified":"2021-02-11T15:46:52","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T14:46:52","slug":"the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/en\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"The right to know is crucial in a crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000080;\">\u00a0<b>COVID-19 is no reason for restrictions on freedom of information\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">28.09.2020 This International Right to Know Day, we call on all governments and public authorities to ensure that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is not a pretext for limiting citizens\u2019 right to information. Legal and practical processes for accessing information should now be restored to pre-pandemic levels and even improved upon.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">The transparent and timely sharing of information with the public, on both a proactive and reactive basis, is crucial for protecting public health, preventing corruption, safeguarding democratic institutions and improving policy and-decision-making. However, more than six months after the declaration of the pandemic, while many governments have found ways to return to normal operations despite challenges created by the pandemic, freedom of information requests continue to be delayed or refused. Crucial information about the pandemic and how governments are using public funds is not available to the public in many places. This impairs citizens\u2019 rights to access information, participate in public discourse and hold their government accountable.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">In many countries, legitimate public health concerns mean that the rights to assemble and move freely are being curtailed. Other democratic processes such as in-person meetings with and between elected representatives are being restricted. The ability of media and civil society to travel freely to report, document and expose the abuse of power is also being severely reduced. <b>In these circumstances, access to public information becomes even more critical.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">Access to information is a key tool for investigative journalists and NGOs to monitor the work of government institutions. With widespread examples of corruption and poor, often non-inclusive, policies undermining COVID-19 responses and recoveries around the world, open and transparent government matters now more than ever. Humanitarian aid and trillions of dollars of emergency financing must not be left open to abuse while citizens remain in the dark about its use and allocation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">Lessons learned from the first six months of the pandemic show that trust in public officials is crucial for effective government-led responses that minimise the impact of COVID-19 on lives and livelihoods. This trust will be lost if governments do not openly share information with citizens, thereby undermining compliance with public health directives and other measures to stop the spread of the disease.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">Citizens cannot participate in governance without access to information. Access to information is essential for empowering citizens to hold governments accountable. Freedom of press, freedom of expression, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be ensured without access to information.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">As countries (re-)introduce restrictions on public life due to COVID-19, preparation for such measures should always include mechanisms to allow the continuation of government functions that are crucial for citizens\u2019 democratic rights. Ensuring the public\u2019s unobstructed access to information of which they are rightful owners must not be overlooked.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #000000;\">Governments must immediately restore laws and practical systems for implementing access to information to pre-pandemic levels and improve them in line with international standards and best practice.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0COVID-19 is no reason for restrictions on freedom of information\u00a0 \u00a0 28.09.2020 This International Right to Know Day, we call on all governments and public authorities to ensure that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is not a pretext for limiting citizens\u2019 right to information. Legal and practical processes for accessing information should now be restored to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-85","description-off"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The right to know is crucial in a crisis - Transparency International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/en\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The right to know is crucial in a crisis - Transparency International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0COVID-19 is no reason for restrictions on freedom of information\u00a0 \u00a0 28.09.2020 This International Right to Know Day, we call on all governments and public authorities to ensure that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is not a pretext for limiting citizens\u2019 right to information. Legal and practical processes for accessing information should now be restored to&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/en\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Transparency International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TransparencyMK\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-28T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-11T14:46:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ti_macedonia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ti_macedonia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Meto\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/en\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/en\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Meto\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/#\/schema\/person\/441f90f705251dd361acf90fb32e6e7f\"},\"headline\":\"The right to know is crucial in a crisis\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-28T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-11T14:46:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/en\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/\"},\"wordCount\":500,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/en\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/en\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/transparency.mk\/en\/2020\/09\/28\/the-right-to-know-is-crucial-in-a-crisis\/\",\"name\":\"The right to know is crucial in a crisis - 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