Right to Information Empowerment Programme - Overview
OVERVIEW
In 2006 the Public Affairs Centre established the 24 months “Right to Information Empowerment Programme” funded by HIVOS. This programme aims at improving the right to information legislation, the implementation and enforcement of such legislation and the utilisation of the right to information as a tool for democracy, good governance and the protection of human rights in a number of South Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Right to Information Empowerment Programme focuses on facilitating the effective engagement of active citizens, civil society organisations, human rights activists and development experts in the field of the right to information, through awareness raising, capacity building and research activities.
WHY DOES PUBLIC AFFAIRS CENTRE FOCUS ON RIGHT TO INFORMATION?
The Public Affairs Centre is promoting governance which is participatory, is based on the rule of law and protects human rights, is consensus oriented, transparent, accountable, effective and efficient, responsive, equitable and inclusive. This assures that corruption is minimised, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. The right to information is an empowering instrument with the potential to serve as a tool for good governance, against corruption, to strengthen democracy, and to fulfil other human rights, including a number of civil and political rights such as freedom of expression as well as economic, social and cultural rights such as right to food, right to education, right to health.
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 and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) 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 2006, India received a score of just 3.3 (out of a maximum of ten) in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking it 70th out of 163 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 about one’s economic, social and cultural rights is not only related to these rights – it is a precondition for their realisation. Without information about the scope and content of the right to education, health, housing or food, citizens are unable to determine whether their rights are being respected. In the next step, the right to information can be used 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, supported by the engagement of civil society.
WHAT IS PUBLIC AFFAIRS CENTRES' FOCUS IN THE FIELD OF RIGHT TO INFORMAION?
The Right to Information Empowerment Programme focuses on facilitating the effective engagement of active citizens, civil society and non-governmental organisations, human rights activists and development experts in the field of the right to information, through awareness raising, capacity building and research activities.
This includes:
- conducting a field assessment of civic action and the capacity building needs in the field of the right to information
- organising and conducting training programmes and workshops for civil society organisations, human rights activists and development experts from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on advocacy work and strategic litigation in the field of the right to information
- conducting and publishing a comparative study on best practice examples in the field of the right to information in developing countries
- developing and publishing a compilation of instruments to strengthen right to information legislation and its implementation, including whistle-blower protection models and citizen charter models
- designing and up-dating an inter-active website on the right to information
- advising on strategic litigation test cases in the field of the right to information
- advising on the development and design of citizen charters in order to promote a proactive publication of key procedural information
PROJECT TEAM
Sabine Benzing-Balzer - Project Coordinator for the Right to Information Programme
Sheila Premkumar - Senior Programme Officer
Poornima D. G. - Consultant
Megha Gowda - Programme Associate
Tanya Manocha - Intern (December 2007 - January 2008)
Reeba Muthalaly - Intern (February 2008)
LINKS TO RIGHT TO INFORMATION PROJECT WEBSITES
Right to Information Training for NGOs from India
Right to Information Training for NGOs from Karnataka
Right to Information Training for NGOs from Sri Lanka and Pakistan
Right to Information Training for NGOs from Bangladesh and Nepal
Strategic Litigation on Right to Information
For further information on the Right to Information Empowerment Programme please visit the LEARN MORE section and PUBLICATION section of this website or contact:
Sabine Benzing-Balzer
Project Coordinator – Right to Information Empowerment Programme
Public Affairs Centre
No. 15 KIADB Industrial Area
Brommasandra – Jigani Link Road
Anekal Taluk
Bangalore – 562106
Telephone Number: +91 - 80 - 27834918/ 19/ 20
E-mail: sbenzingbalzer@yahoo.com, sabine@pacindia.org or pacindia@vsnl.com