Nepal Monitor: The National Online Journal

By Chiranjibi Kafle
Knowledge has traditionally been one of the key factors affecting human conditions in terms of work, influence and domination over others in a society. Those equipped with better knowledge have always excelled over others who are less knowledgeable or entirely ignorant over a particular issue, idea or a technique. In this sense, knowledge has also been a tool to human achievement, progress and social reform ever since the beginning of civilization. However, the trend of formally accepting knowledge as such a reformatory tool is a relatively modern phenomenon, beginning especially in the middle of the 18th century and gaining rapid international impetus in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

This article will try to explore the attempts made by some western and Asian countries to recognize knowledge as tool to social reform in the form of legislations that allow people to seek information or knowledge from public authorities or governments. Simultaneously, it will also dwell on general factors leading to Right to Information movements or awareness drives in various parts of the globe and the role those movements have ultimately played in enhancing public knowledge and social/administrative practices. Precaution shall, however, be taken not to resort to lengthy deliberations, and reference shall be made of only a limited number of countries as would sufficiently substantiate the points made in the essay.

Information as Right
The concept of recognizing knowledge as people's 'right' in a modern society seems to be put into action first by a European country, Sweden. It has incorporated 'right to information' issue with the freedom of the press. The 1766 Freedom of the Press Act of Sweden is regarded as the pioneer legislation ensuring public access to information or records held by government bodies. Nearly two and a half centuries down the line, "over seventy countries around the world have implemented some form of freedom of information legislation. These laws—also described as 'open records' or (especially in the United States) 'sunshine' laws—set rules on access to information or records held by government bodies." (See note 1)

Among countries that have established citizen's right to information are Albania, Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, European Union, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States as well as Zimbabwe, among others. Besides these, many more countries are in the process of legally recognizing citizen's right to information in one or the other form.

After more than a decade-long campaigns and initiatives, Nepal also introduced (passed) a Right to Information Act on July 18, 2007 through its interim Parliament. Although brought as a separate legislation and not linked to the freedom of the press, the media community, especially the journalism professionals, took a lead role in intervening the policy debate in this direction. Giving insight into the spirit and aspiration of the Right to Information legislation, the Nepalese Right to Information Act, in its preamble says: 'As a legal arrangement is desirable in order that the state functioning [mechanism] is made open and transparent in line with the democratic polity so as to make it accountable and responsible towards the citizen; in order to ease the general public's access to information of public interest; in order to protect the sensitive information that could be damaging to the interests of nation as well as citizens; and in order to protect and implement citizen's right to information, the Legislature-Parliament hereby issues this Act.'(See note 2)

Thus, people, their need for information and official accountability seem to be the central focus of the Act, wherein people are empowered with access to information (and thus knowledge on a given issue). Such an access to information would subsequently allow them to raise fingers against any possible irregularity and malpractice in the public domain. In general, 'right to information' laws define a legal process by which government information is available to the public. Although there are many countries that provide vague constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information, such a right remains just on papers usually where specific legislation to support them does not exist.One of the basic principles underlying most freedom of information legislations is that the burden of proof falls on the body asked for information, not the person asking for it. The requester does not usually have to give an explanation for their request, but a valid reason has to be supplied in the case when information is not disclosed. In fact, the Right to Information movements stress on the principle of "maximum disclosure" which presumes that all information held by public bodies can be accessed by members of the public and that any restrictions should apply in very limited circumstances..." (See note 3)

Traditional government authorities are hardly open to the idea of openness. The idea of bureaucratic or administrative openness, leading to transparent official processes is often an eyesore to many people in the positions who knowingly or unknowingly indulge in various forms of financial or other irregularities. The practice of censorship also primarily aims at preventing access to knowledge. Yet the modern world is gradually rebelling against restrictions on knowledge and information which are powerful tools for social reform. Even in Sweden, the pioneer in Freedom of Information legislation, the issue of the freedom of information came to the fore as a forceful tool to correct social ills including corruption. As it tended to make the officials or politicians more responsible and answerable towards citizens, the perceived legitimacy of such officials or politicians also got increased. Here's one relevant statement:

"In the 18th century, after over 40 years of mixed experiences with parliamentarism, public access to government documents was one of the main issues with the Freedom of the Press Act of 1766. Although the novelty was put out of order 1772-1809, it has since remained central in the Swedish mindset, seen as a forceful means against corruption and government agencies' inequal treatment of the citizens, increasing the perceived legitimacy of (local and central) government and politicians. The Principle of Publicity (Swedish: Offentlighetsprincipen), as the collection of rules are commonly referred to, provides that all information and documents created or received by a public institution (local or central government, and all publicly operated establishments) must be available to all members of the public. It also states that all public institutions must do everything in their power to give anyone access to any information that he or she might want as soon as possible. The only exceptions to this rule are regulated in the Secrecy Act, detailing what government agencies can keep secret what type of document, under what circumstances, and towards whom." (See note 4)

According to the Swedish legislation, the right of access to official documents may be restricted only if restriction is necessary having regard to the security of the Realm or its relations with a foreign state or an international organization; the central finance policy, monetary policy, or foreign exchange policy of the Realm; the inspection, control or other supervisory activities of a public authority; the interest of preventing or prosecuting crime; the public economic interest; the protection of the personal integrity or economic conditions of private subjects; the preservation of animal or plant species." (See note 5)

In case of Nepal too, although the law is new and hardly yet harvested, the public is guaranteed with access to information except on matters relating to someone's privacy and matters that could pose threat to national security, integrity, communal harmony, criminal investigation, international relations, nation's fiscal or monetary interests or individual's security. Thus, the 'right to information' seems to pave the way for knowledge based on authentic information or evidences and also empower people with the authority to investigate or question the concerned authorities over the procedural details and fairness regarding any public activities or execution of duties under their responsibility.

As knowledge was a factor that could also enhance one's access or hold to power and positions, even the ancient Greek rulers valued knowledge, and sometimes they even faked knowledge so as to show their social superiority. Faked knowledge however often resulted in suffering that ultimately led to their ruins. Sophocles, for example, saw all men in the late fifth century "caught in inexorable trap." "Forced by the condition of their life to act as if they had knowledge of the future, they were bound, like King Oedipus, to suffer because they actually lacked such knowledge and therefore could not avoid the errors that would inevitably bring them to ruin." (See note 6) If only they had the knowledge, and acted without any fakeness, the unfortunate turn of events could probably have been averted. In the modern society, Right to Information or Freedom of Information is regarded as a fundamental human right. Even the United Nations, in its very first General Assembly in 1946, adopted Resolution 59 (1) stating that "freedom of information is a fundamental human right and ...the touch-stone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated." (See note 7)

Information and Transparency
The importance of Right to Information movements across nations are primarily perceived through their scope in creating a more open and transparent society by promoting the sharing of information; reducing poverty by feeding clear information even to the poor and marginalized section of the society; and challenging corruption and political/bureaucratic irregularities through informed assessments of actions. In Nepal, in course of a series of national campaign, people from various walks of life took Right to Information as a tool for social justice as they thought it held the scope "to cope with the widespread discrimination [amongst people] in terms of geography, gender and racial consideration. And even as the nation was set for Constituent Assembly elections, there were fears that even the future constitution may not address the real issues of people. Right to Information (they thought) could provide remedy to many such fears." (See note 8)

The importance of the Right to Information can also be gauged from the following case of the Philippines. In the Philippines, civil society groups (NGOs and Lawyers' Associations) have played an active role in obtaining and disseminating official information, including forcing the publication of all of Marcos's unpublished presidential decrees and executive orders. In 2001, a coalition of opposition media groups, using information obtained through the constitutional guarantee, launched a vigorous and successful multi-media campaign exposing former President Estrada's corrupt dealings, resulting in his overthrow. This brought home the importance of free access to information to prevent such corruption from occurring in the future. (Puddephatt) (See note 9)

Similarly, in a famous case in Thailand, a girl student was denied admission at one of the country's elite colleges even after a public admissions exam. Her mother was disappointed and challenged the decision. "After two and a half years of struggle, backed by Official Information Commission and the Information Disclosure Tribunal, her claim was upheld by the Supreme Court and the school was forced to disclose its records, admitting that they had accepted a number of students with the same exam results as her daughter because they had rich and well-connected parents...The case attracted widespread attention and resulted in the government re-affirming their commitment to the disclosure of information and passing legislation to enhance the transparency of educational admissions and examination results." (See note 10)

Here is an Indian case reflecting how right to information is necessary also to protect civil liberties, for example, by making it easier for civil society groups to monitor wrong doing such as extrajudicial killings by the police. Several years ago, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, "several people, including a 14-year-old boy, were shot dead by the police in an alleged run-in with 'Naxalites.' Angry citizens' groups alleged that those killed were innocent indigenous people and [hence] demanded the criminal records of those killed. The fact that the authorities regularly refuse to release information to civil society on such issues is indicative of the need for right to information legislation." (See note 11)

Following the introduction of Right to Information law in 2005, rooms are now open for citizens to demand information on many issues like the one mentioned above. Thus, what can be concluded is that Right to Information movements around the world have led authorities in many countries to pass legislation recognizing people's right to gain knowledge, and have inculcated awareness on people on the need for knowledge and information in the case of other nations where such legislation is either absent or in the process of making. Whatever the case, Right to Information movements have sought to empower the people through knowledge, by recognizing knowledge as a tool to social progress or reform.

Notes/References

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act. Retrieved: 23.9.2007 [2] Translation by author[3] Puddephatt, Andrew. Right to Information Practical Guidance Note (unpublished report 3.2.1). UNDP, Bureau for Development Policy, Democratic Governance Group. 2004.[4] ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Sweden#Public_access_to_governmental_ documents. Retrieved: 23.9.2007.[5] Op cit[6] Doren Charles Van. A Histoty of Knowledge. Ballantine Books, New York. 1992. P 51[7] Puddephatt, Andrew. Op cit, Chapter 1[8] Kafle, Chiranjibi. "National Campaign for Right to Information". Voice of Freedom, Vol 1 No 2 April-June 2007. Freedom Forum, Kathmandu.[9] Op cit. Chapter 2.2.2[10] Puddephatt, Andrew. Op Cit. Chapter 4.1[11] Mendel, Toby ed. Global Trends on Right to Information: A Survey of South Asia. Ch.2.3.3. http://www.article19.org/pdfs/publications/south-asia-foi-survey.pdf Retrieved: 23.9.2007

(This article originally appeared in UNMESH Journal, published by Tribhuvan University, RR Campus unit of TU Teachers Union.)

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