Project Description - Right to Information Empowerment Programme
PROJECT AND ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW
Project
The right to information is a new instrument with the potential to serve as a powerful tool for democracy, good governance and the fulfilment of human rights in developing countries. A precondition for its utilisation for these purposes is the enactment of a detailed procedural right to information law and its effective implementation, supported by the engagement of civil society.
With this in mind, Public Affairs Centre established in August 2006 the 20 months “Right to Information Empowerment Programme”. This programme aims at improving the right to information legislation, the enforcement of such legislation and the utilisation of the right to information as a tool for democracy, good governance and the fulfilment of human rights in India and a number of other South Asian developing countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Right to Information Empowerment Programme focuses on facilitating the effective engagement of civil society organisations, human rights activists and development experts in the field of the right to information, through awareness raising and capacity building activities.
This includes:
1. Conducting a field assessment of civic action and the capacity building needs in the field of the right to information
2. Organising and conducting training programmes and workshops for civil society organisations, human rights activists and development experts on advocacy work and strategic litigation in the field of the right to information
3. Conducting and publishing a comparative study on best practice examples in the field of the right to information in developing countries
4. Developing and publishing a compilation of instruments to strengthen right to information legislation and its implementation, including whistleblower protection models and citizen charter models
5. Designing and up-dating an inter-active website on the right to information
6. Initiating and monitoring an on-line discussion forum for civil society organisations, human rights activists, development experts, and citizens on selected issues in the field of the right to information
7. Advising on strategic litigation test cases in the field of the right to information.
Organisation
The Public Affairs Centre, a non-governmental organisation based in Bangalore (India), is dedicated to improving the quality of governance in India and other developing countries. Through national and international research, awareness raising and capacity building activities the Public Affairs Centre has gained expertise in areas in which citizens and civil society organisations can play a proactive role in improving governance. These investments in strengthening civil society are viewed by the Public Affairs Centre as a critical precondition for the effective utilisation of new legal or governance instruments. In the field of the right to information the Public Affairs Centre can draw on the experience, which it has gained through the following activities:
Support of the local right to information advocacy initiative (“Katte”), which aims at improving the implementation of the right to information act in Karnataka;
a desk review and field assessment on whether citizen charters in Karnataka live up to their intended objective of informing citizens about the standards of service provided by public authorities.
The Public Affairs Centre will utilise its expertise in research, awareness rising and capacity building activities on governance and right to information issues towards the success of the Right to Information Empowerment Programme
BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF NEED
A number of Asian developing countries are in the process of discussing, developing, adopting or implementing right to information laws. In this context, the Indian Right to Information Act (Act No. 22 of 2005) came into force on 12 October 2005. This Right to Information Act provides for a procedural right to information. It entitles citizens to seek information, which is held by or under the control of public authorities. The right to information puts public authorities under the corresponding obligation to meet the information request of the citizens, unless previously defined exceptions apply, and furthermore obliges public authorities to proactively provide certain key information, even in the absence of a request.
This new right to information legislation is of critical importance to the Indian citizens and, if improved and enforced effectively, can be the impetus for civil society organisations in other Asian developing countries to advocate for a similar right to information legislation and its implementation.
The importance of the right to information was already recognised in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 59 (I) of 14 December 1946, stating: "Freedom of information is a fundamental human right and [...] the touchstone of all the freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated."
Abid Hussain, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, elaborated on this statement in his 1995 Report to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, stating that: “Freedom will be bereft of all effectiveness if the people have no access to information. Access to information is basic to the democratic way of life.”
These citations highlight the importance of the right to information at a number of different levels: as a fundamental human right in itself, for the fulfilment of other human rights (e.g. freedom of expression, right to food, right to education, right to health, etc.) and as an underpinning of democracy and good governance.
The utilisation of the right to information as a tool for democracy, good governance and the fulfilment of economic and social rights is of particular importance in India and other South Asian developing countries.
Right to information as a tool for strengthening democracy:
The right to information facilitates citizens’ participation in public affairs by providing relevant information to the citizens who are empowered to make informed choices and better exercise their democratic rights.
This is of particular relevance in light of recent political and governance reforms in India that followed the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution in 1993. These reforms focus on decentralisation and strengthening of local governance and aim at the participation of citizens in general and marginalised groups of citizens in particular. In this context, a three-tier system has been established – at the village, intermediate and district level – and the states are required to delegate a range of competences and functions to lower level bodies along with the resources to finance them. Institutions of decentralisation, local governance, and rural development are likely to bring policy formulation, service delivery and resource management within the purview of the citizens. The right to information can be utilised to facilitate this process. Local governance institutions are more likely to act in accordance with the wishes of the electorate if they know that their actions can be constantly scrutinised by citizens.
Right to information as a tool for good governance and against corruption:
In order to make governance more transparent and to effectively hold the government accountable, citizens must be able to access information held by public authorities.
Corruption thrives on secrecy. Individuals and institutions become corrupt only when there is no public scrutiny of their actions. The more they operate in the public gaze the less corrupt (and more efficient) they are likely to be.
In this respect, the right to information can be utilised as a tool to fight the widespread corruption in India. In 2005, India received a score of just 2.9 (out of a maximum of ten) in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking it 88th out of 158 countries. This reflects the serious corruption problem in India - a problem that affects not only businesspeople, but a wide range of individuals. In India, tax revenue meant for investment in public services is an attractive target for abuse. In addition, Indian citizens - especially the poor ones - frequently face corruption in public service delivery via the solicitation of bribes or speed money.
Right to information as a tool for the fulfilment of economic and social rights:
The right to information can be utilised to challenge the denial of access to education, health care, food supply, etc., as well as discrimination against marginalised groups in the provision of these basic public services or the low quality of basic public services in general.
For example, in India a significantly smaller proportion of very poor people have easy access to health care compared to the rest of the population. In particular, poor women face problems in the utilisation of health services. Reasons for this are: burdensome distances to health facilities, shortages of health personnel and medicines, absences of doctors, poor quality of services, lack of hygiene, the non-responsive behaviour of health staff and corruption.
A precondition for the utilisation of the right to information for these purposes is the enactment of a detailed procedural right to information law, which is in line with international standards and inspired by the principle of maximum disclosure of information, coupled with its effective implementation and enforcement.
India’s new Right to Information Act No. 22 contains a procedural guarantee of the right to information and can therefore be considered a good starting point for the empowerment of citizens in their relationship with the state.
Nevertheless, in order to be more effective, the Indian Right to Information Act needs to be improved in the following areas:
Whistleblower protection - it is advisable to include a whistleblower protection provision in the new Right to Information Act No. 22. Those who know best what is going on inside a governmental institution are the civil servants who work there. The information that a government chooses to release to the public may not be the whole truth. This is particularly the case where wrongdoing, such as corruption or serious mismanagement is taking place. Therefore, it is important that the right to information includes the right of civil servants to disclose information about any possible wrongdoing on the part of the institution they work for;
Amendment of the Official Secrets Act of 1923 – the Official Secrets Act severely conflicts with the Right to Information Act No. 22 and needs therefore to be amended.
In India, a promising strategy to improve right to information legislation and to secure its effective implementation and utilisation as a tool for democracy, good governance and the fulfilment of other human rights is the engagement of civil society organisations. The engagement of civil society has already proved to be effective in the pre-legislation stage - civil society was the leading champion and engine for the adoption of the Indian Right to Information Act No. 22. Building on to this, civil society organisations can play many effective roles:
1. Advocating for the improvement of the existing right to information law
2. Using strategic litigation in order to promote the improvement of right to information law, its broad interpretation and its implementation and enforcement
3. Helping to build awareness among citizens of their right to information and its utilisation as a tool for the fulfilment of human rights and for good governance
4. Helping to put some pressure on the civil service to implement and enforce the right to information and to promote within the civil service the notion that official information belongs to the people. This can be done through advocacy work and advisory services in the development of citizen charters, etc.
In order to facilitate this engagement of civil society organisations or human rights activists there is a critical need for information tools and strategic capacity building, such as basic training programmes or workshops on advocacy strategies and strategic litigation on the new instrument.
The effective engagement of civil society organisations in India can also serve as a positive example for civil society in other South Asian developing countries facing similar problems to advocate for the adoption of a procedural right to information law (in Bangladesh and Nepal), or to advocate for the improvement and implementation of the procedural right to information law (in Pakistan and Sri Lanka).
OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE
The Right to Information Empowerment Programme aims at facilitating the effective engagement of civil society organisations in the field of the right to information. Through awareness raising and capacity building activities the following objectives are envisaged:
1. The improvement, implementation and enforcement of the new Right to Information Act No. 22 in India;
2. The development, adoption and implementation of right to information legislation in other South Asian developing countries, e.g. Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka;
3. The increased utilisation of the right to information as a tool for democracy, good governance and the fulfilment of other human rights, such as freedom of expression, the right to food, the right to education, the right to health, etc.
METHODS
The primary methods for achieving the above stated objectives of the Right to Information Empowerment Programme are:
1. Awareness raising among citizens of the right to information through information tools (right to information website and studies) and through awareness raising activities of the trained civil society organisations
2. Capacity building among civil society organisations, human rights activists and development experts on advocacy, awareness raising, and strategic litigation in the field of the right to information through training programmes and workshops, information tools and an on-line discussion forum
ACTIVITIES
The following activities will be implemented to achieve the project objectives:
1. Designing a right to information website containing information on international and national right to information standards, procedural aspects of the right to information, best practice examples, non-governmental organisations active in the field of right to information and training programmes. This website will be designed as an active web portal with space for civil society organisations, active citizens, human rights experts and development experts to discuss, document and share emerging practices and experiences on an ongoing basis
2. Initiating and monitoring an on-line discussion forum, using wiki technology, on selected right to information issues for civil society organisations, engaged citizens, human rights activists and development experts (as part of the website)
3. Establishing an “Anti-corruption and Right to Right to Information Helpline”, which citizens can use to complain about illegal gratification, bribes or speed money demands by public authorities in Bangalore; as well as to ask questions on right to information application procedures and to report problems in respect to this new legal instrument. The complaints received will be forwarded to the agencies for investigation and redress
4. Conducting and publishing a comparative study on best practice examples in developing countries, including elaborate right to information legislation and litigation, effective implementation strategies, and successful activities of civil society organisations in the field of right to information
5. Developing and publishing a compilation of instruments to strengthen right to information legislation and its implementation. This compilation will include a whistle blower protection model for South Asian right to information legislation and citizen charter models, which focus on the promotion of right to information implementation
6. Conducting an implementation-audit on right to information provisions in the public sector in Karnataka with the help of volunteers - this audit will focus to 75% on the urban sector (Bangalore) and to 25% on rural districts (Bellary Town Municipality); organising 1 public meeting in Bellary Town Municipality and 1 public meeting in Bangalore to disseminate the findings among civil society and public authorities;
7. Undertaking a field assessment on civic action, which aims at ascertaining the capacity building needs in the field of right to information. This will include the following field visits: 1) a 5-day visit to the non-governmental organisation Parivartan in Delhi and the Mazdoor Kisaan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) movement in Rajasthan, and 2) a visit to selected regional right to information initiatives in Karnataka
8. Designing, organising and conducting an initial 3-day training programme for 15 participants from Indian civil society organisations, to be held in Bangalore. The training programme’s main focus will be on advocacy and strategic litigation towards improving the Right to Information Act No. 22 and its implementation;
9. Designing, organising and conducting an initial 3-day training programme for 18 participants from selected Bangladeshi and Nepali civil society organisations, to be held in Dhaka. The training programme’s main focus will be on advocacy and strategic litigation for the adoption of procedural right to information laws in Bangladesh and Nepal. The participating civil society organisations will be selected jointly with Transparency International Bangladesh and Transparency International Nepal, whom the Public Affairs Centre selected as the lead partner organisations for the Right to Information Empowerment Programme; Designing, organising and conducting an initial 3-day training programme for 18 participants from selected Sri Lankan and Pakistani civil society organisations, to be held in Colombo. The training programme’s main focus will be on advocacy and strategic litigation for the improvement and implementation of the Pakistani Right to Information Ordinance of 2002 and the Sri Lankan Draft Freedom of Information Act of 2004. The participating civil society organisations will be selected jointly with Transparency International Sri Lanka and Transparency International Pakistan, whom the Public Affairs Centre selected as the lead partner organisations for the Right to Information Empowerment Programme
10. Designing, organising and conducting a pan-South Asian follow-up workshop for 15 participants from Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali, Pakistani and Sri Lankan civil society organisations on the implementation of advocacy and public interest litigation strategies in their respective countries. This workshop is intended to promote an ongoing exchange of experiences with right to information projects among the participating civil society organisations
11. Supporting citizen action and raising capacity of civil society in the field of right to information in Karnataka through two 2-day district level workshops for 40 participants and an orientation session for the 15 implementation-audit volunteers
12. Supporting and advising civil society organisations or lawyers in India and Sri Lanka on right to information test cases, which have the potential to set a strong legal precedent for the protection of the right to information. Through a call for cases on the right to information website civil society organisations and lawyers will be invited to seek the strategic litigation support of the Public Affairs Centre for their test cases. Test cases will be selected on an ongoing basis .
OUTPUTS/ DELIVERABLES
The successful completion of the activities mentioned above will lead to the following outputs and deliverables:
1. A right to information website
2. A right to information on-line discussion forum
3. An anti-corruption and right to information helpline
4. A study of best practice examples in the field of right to information in developing countries
5. A compilation of instruments to strengthen the right to information legislation and implementation
6. An implementation-audit of right to information provisions in the public sector in Karnataka publicly disseminated
7. Increased capacity among civil society organisations from the five South Asian countries on advocacy work and strategic litigation in the field of right to information through training programmes, workshops and training materials
8. Increased capacity among civil society organisations from Karnataka in the field of right to information and the empowerment of civil society members to participate as volunteers in the conduction of the implementation-audit
9. Strategic litigation support through advice notes for right to information test cases
TARGET GROUPS
The Right to Information Empowerment Programme has two different but interlinked target groups:
The first, and primary, beneficiary group consists of citizens from South Asian countries, who will be enabled to utilise the right to information as a fundamental human right, as a tool for good governance, as a means for participating in the democratic political process and as a way to claim their other human rights.
The second target group consists of trained civil society organisations, human rights activists and development experts who will be enabled to influence the improvement and implementation of the right to information.
EVALUATION
The project evaluation is the responsibility of the Project Coordinator of the Right to Information Empowerment Programme and consists of:
1. Analysis of knowledge gain on part of the training programme participants through pre- and post-knowledge tests
2. Documentation of agendas and attendance rosters from training programmes and workshops
3. Analysis of results of questionnaires in which the training programme participants are asked to comment on the quality of the Foundation’s training materials, information tools (website, studies, etc.) and the on-line discussion forum
4. Analysis of periodic reports of the participating civil society organisations, human rights activists or development experts on their activities in the field of right to information
The Project Coordinator will submit an annual report to the donor that presents the evaluation findings and utilisation of funds.
PROJECT TEAM
The Public Affairs Centre appointed Sabine Benzing-Balzer as a full-time Project Coordinator for the Right to Information Empowerment Programme. The responsibilities of the Project Coordinator include: designing and updating the programme’s website, establishing and monitoring its discussion forum, researching right to information developments, conducting studies, designing and organising training programmes and workshops, advising on strategic litigation on the right to information and evaluating the project itself. Sheila Premkumar, Senior Programme Officer at the Public Affairs Centre, will implement the extension of the existing “Anti-corruption Helpline” to a “Anti-corruption and Right to Information Helpline”, co-ordinate an audit of right to information provisions in the public sector in Karnataka, support citizen action and raise capacity of civil society in the field of right to information in Karnataka. Dr. Gopakumar K. Thampi, Executive Director of the Public Affairs Foundation, provides continuing pro-bono advisory support to the Right to Information Empowerment Programme. Additional trainers for the training programmes and workshops will be selected at the point of initiation of the project.
Gopakumar K. Thampi is Executive Director of the Public Affairs Foundation in Bangalore and former Head of the Asia Desk at the Transparency International Secretariat in Berlin.
Gopakumar’s professional career encompasses inter-disciplinary work profiles in the areas of governance, public accountability and corruption, public policy reforms, civil society interventions, conflict resolution, entrepreneurship and strategic management. In this respect, he gained considerable expertise in capacity building and awareness raising programmes. These initiatives have been carried out in association with international foundations and development agencies, national and regional governments, and civil society organisations.
Gopakumar holds a doctoral degree in Entrepreneurial Studies and postgraduate qualifications in Economics, Journalism and Mass Communication, as well as Conflict Resolution.
Sabine Benzing-Balzer is Project Coordinator of the Right to Information Programme at the Public Affairs Centre in Bangalore (India). In this function she is responsible for managing research and capacity building projects in the field of right to information and citizen charters.
Sabine previously worked as a Legal Intern at the United Nations Environment Programme in Geneva, as an Intern at the Umweltbundesamt (Federal Environmental Agency) in Berlin, as a Research Assistant at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), as a Professional Support Lawyer in the European and Public Law Department of the international law firm Lovells in Frankfurt/ Main; as a Legal Researcher in the International Advocacy Department of Minority Rights Group International in London and as a Research Consultant at the Public Affairs Foundation in Bangalore. In these positions she contributed to several international research and capacity building projects.
Sabine holds a German law degree (Staatsexamen) and a Master’s degree (LL.M.) in Public International Law from the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Lund, Sweden.
Sheila Premkumar is Senior Programme Officer at Public Affairs Centre in Bangalore. She is currently the Team Leader for the Citizen Action Support activities of the Public Affairs Centre.
Her work includes managing the team’s work on electoral interventions, capacity building and training; dissemination of information, advocacy efforts and campaigns with civil society groups. An important campaign she presently anchors is the Coalition Against Corruption. This is a unique initiative of five NGOs to provide a help line for citizens to access public services without paying bribes. Sheila represents the Public Affairs Centre in the KRIA KATTE, an informal platform of civil society organisations launched by the Public Affairs Centre in 2004 to campaign for the proper implementation of right to information in Karnataka. She also represents the Public Affairs Centre in Swabhimana, an NGO where the Public Affairs Centre is an institutional trustee. In this function, she organised a number of events for a cleaner, greener and safer Bangalore jointly with Swabhiamana. Sheila has several years of experience in networking with different stakeholders and mobilising groups for collective action. Sheila holds a Masters degree in Business Administration and has earlier worked with the Public Sector Undertaking Bharat Heavy Electricals in their HRD department for eight years.
ORGANISATION
The Public Affairs Centre is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Bangalore, which is dedicated to improving the quality of governance in India and other developing countries. The focus of the Public Affairs Foundation is primarily on areas in which citizens and civil society organisations can play a proactive role in improving governance. In this respect, the Public Affairs Centre undertakes and supports research, disseminates research findings, facilitates collective citizen’s action through awareness raising and capacity building activities and provides advisory services to state and non-state agencies in tandem with Public Affairs Foundation, its sister organisation. It networks with other like-minded groups for linking knowledge and citizen action. The Public Affairs Centre and Public Affairs Foundation are widely known for pioneering "Citizen Report Cards", their flagship product used to improve public services, as well as their work on electoral transparency, and fight against corruption in the framework of the 'Coalition Against Corruption'.
In the field of right to information the Public Affairs Centre is involved in the local right to information advocacy initiative ("Katte"), which aims at improving the implementation of the right to information act in Karnataka. In response to Katte’s demand for public authorities’ greater voluntary disclosure of information by public authorities, a Public Affairs Centre delegation undertook a desk review of selected citizen charters, followed by a field assessment to supplement the desk review’s findings. The objective of these exercises was to ascertain whether citizen charters in Karnataka live up to their intended purpose, which is to inform citizens about the standards of service provided by public authorities.
In the framework of the Right to Information Empowerment Programme, the Public Affairs Centre intends to utilise its expertise in awareness raising and capacity building activities in the areas of good governance and the right to information.