By Dehran Muratov

The Balkan Forum

Universal access to information is a cornerstone of healthy and inclusive societies characterized by knowledge. This implies that everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information. This right is an integral part of the right to freedom of expression. In that context, media play a key role in informing the public on issues of public interest. Hence, the right to universal access to information is also linked to the right to freedom of the press. Media (regardless of whether electronic, print or online) have the opportunity to provide reliable information to citizens only if they have access to public information. Establishing full transparency in the work of all public bodies, where all information of public importance is easily accessible, is one of the main features of democracy.

Freedom will be deprived of value if citizens don’t have access to information. The right to information or the right to know implies that the general public should continuously participate in the free flow of information and know what is happening in their community, municipality, state… Seeking and receiving information implies a human right. Every citizen has the right to be informed, to know how public institutions at the local and central level function, to have insight into how public money is spent, what their rights are and how they can use them.

On November 17, 2015, UNESCO declared that the International Day for Universal Access to Information would be marked and celebrated on September 28 every year, and the 74th UN General Assembly adopted it as the international day in October 2019.

The goal of International Day for Universal Access to Information  (September 28) is to strengthen citizen awareness that every individual has the right to access to all government information such as the right to know how their elected officials exercise power and how taxpayers’ money is spent. Free access to information is a measure of the development of democracy in a society. This significant date has the goal to highlight also the need of improving laws related to information and their actual implementation, which further enables building inclusive institutions and access to information about events and processes in the region and the world.

More excuses, less transparency

The European Commission 2024 Rule of Law Report  is a synthesis of the rule of law situation in the EU and an assessment of the situation in each Member State, as well as candidate states for EU membership. For the first time, the 2024 Report also includes chapters on the four candidate countries (North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania).

The European Commission Report on North Macedonia notes that “on average, there have been 8 500 requests for public information annually in the past three years”. Furthermore, it notes that stakeholders “expressed concerns that the protection of personal data is often used as a blanket reason to refuse access to documents”. Also, the European Commission notes that the delay for obtaining public information is too long, ‘especially for journalists who work on tight deadlines, while the public administration is not sufficiently responsive in giving access to information in practice”.

According to the law, citizens should receive a response immediately, but no later than 20 days. In case of an oral request, the information should be received immediately, but no later than 5 days of the request. In exceptional cases, the request could be answered in a longer period, but no longer than 30 days. The deadline can be extended in cases where the information is of a larger size or when partial access is provided.

It’s interesting to note that the Report of the Agency for Free Access to Public Information points out that most complaints are submitted by applicants because of the so-called “silence of the administration”. That is contrary to the spirit of transparency. The silence of the administration should be a rare exception, and not a rule in the work of information holders.

Because informed citizens can make informed decisions, for example, when they go to vote and for whom to vote. Therefore, it can be concluded that when there are more excuses, there is less transparency.

Access to information is a human right 

The right of access to information is inseparable from the body of human rights that are part of laws and international documents that countries have the obligation to respect.

The situation of those rights and freedoms in some of the countries in the Western Balkans region is in a dire state, even though truly progressive laws have been passed in these countries, which – often are not applied, at least not fully. That, among else, is a result of authoritarian practices of some of the authorities who use manipulations and populist propaganda, causing only seemingly democratic procedures and practices. That, among else, is enabled also by the low political culture, but decisive for those situations is the irresponsibility and corruption of the holders of power and participants in building the system, who rely on the obligations to meet the minimum standards for respect for democratic standards and human rights and freedoms.

The tendency of the authoritarian authorities is contrary to the commitments to proactive transparency, that is, to self-initiatively publish information and date provided by law, such as public procurement contracts, budget execution reports and legal regulations. It often happens that the commitments to transparency are only declarative and facts and public data are manipulated. The importance of online space for access to information, where everyone could join and receive the expected data, instead of citizens having to constantly submit requests for the same, is crucial.

Translated by: N. Cvetkovska

This article appeared first on The Balkan Forum within the #Towards2030 initiative.