PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release
LUSAKA – MISA Zambia today joins the international community in commemorating the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). This year, the International Day for Universal Access to Information focuses on the importance of the online space for Access to Information.
Access to Information (ATI) is the concept that information held by public or state institutions or private institutions conducting business that has implications for the public should be accessible to the public.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through media and regardless of frontiers.”
The focus of this year’s UDUAI highlights the important role that online spaces have played in providing a platform for citizens to access information in the digital era and engage in meaningful dialogue and debate. Online platforms are fundamental platforms that have enabled quick information sharing amongst citizens and therefore the government is implored to use these platforms to provide citizens with information that allows them to make informed decisions regarding public resource use as well as to hold leaders accountable.
As we commemorate this important day, MISA Zambia wishes to appeal to the government to quicken the process of enacting the Access to Information Law.
It should be emphasised that Access to information encourages effective participation by citizens in political, social and economic process. For example, when citizens are well informed about governance processes in their country and information is available on how they should participate in such processes, there is a possibility that they will take interest at least in some aspects of civic participation. But where information is lacking, effective public participation in important process cannot be guaranteed.
In his first address to the Thirteenth Parliament, President Hakainde Hichilema promised that in order to improve the governance environment, his government would enhance media freedom and ATI by facilitating the establishment of a media self-regulating regulatory framework and enacting legislation on the ATI.
The International Day for Universal Access to Information is marked and celebrated every year on 28 September after the declaration by UNESCO on 17 November 2015.
Issued by
MISA ZAMBIA
Rev. Fr. Dr. Barnabas Simatende, OMI (PhD).
Chairperson
