The Right to Information in Times of Crisis: Access to Information – Saving Lives, Building Trust, Bringing Hope!

This issue brief on ‘The Right to Information in Times of Crisis’ is part of the UNESCO series ‘World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development’. It recognizes the heightened importance of information in crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and attends to the ways in which States can foster trust among members of the public by enabling and ensuring access during such crises. The key highlights of the brief include: “1) Public access to information serves public health and economic goals and should be seen as part of the response and not as an external burden. 2) The right to information is a fundamental human right. The experience of many countries shows that it is possible to maintain right to information systems during a health emergency. 3) States are under a positive obligation to disclose on a proactive basis key emergency-related health, budgetary, policy-making, procurement, economic, benefits-related and other information. 4) A health emergency may result in logistical barriers to the processing of requests for information, such as an inability to access physical documents or to provide information to requesters who are not digitally enabled. Workarounds should, as far as possible, be sought to this. 5) The view that public authorities are too busy to process requests for information during a health emergency can be addressed, in part, by extensive proactive disclosure as a way to limit the volume of requests. 6) Digital technologies provide robust means to maintain right to information systems during health emergencies. Building on lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic, States should put in place robust digital systems for the right to information, including in preparation for possible crises.” The objective of the issue brief is for it to serve as referential guidance for UNESCO member States, civil society organizations, media outfits, academics, and internet companies.