5 January 2005

Brazilian NGOs Form Access-to-Information Network


4 January 2005

Eighteen organisations in Brazil, including the Brazilian Association for Investigative Journalism (Abraji) and the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ), have formed a network to encourage more debate on access to information and to promote legal reforms that foster greater transparency.

On 25 November 2004, the Freedom of Information Forum (Fórum de Direito de Acesso a Informações Públicas) issued a declaration of principles under which it pledged to lobby for a law that facilitates public access to information held by municipal, state and federal governments, and to develop educational campaigns about the need for an access to information law in Brazil.

The Forum will also work to ensure that government agencies correctly archive public documents to facilitate better access. An online discussion forum will be created to allow members to exchange information.

Marcelo Soares of Abraji says the Brazilian Council of Lawyers, one of the members of the Forum, plans to do an analysis of Brazilian laws to assess whether secrecy provisions violate the constitution. If there are grounds for challenging the constitutionality of these laws, the next step would be to launch a legal challenge at the Supreme Court.

Soares says many laws are in need of reform, including a presidential decree approved in 2002 that allows the government to prevent the public from accessing documents considered top secret for 50 years. The 50-year seal can be renewed indefinitely.

For more information, contact: abraji@abraji.org.br

Visit these links:
- Abraji: http://www.abraji.org.br.
- IJNet Story on Abraji:
http://www.ijnet.org/FE_Article/newsarticle.asp?Terms=&UILang=1&CId=263690&CIdLang=1
- ARTICLE 19: http://tinyurl.com/7xgyp
- FENAJ: http://www.fenaj.org.br/


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Brazil

News site threatened with multiple lawsuits 1 February 2012 Journalists threatened in Belém and Altamira 15 December 2011 Journalist threatened by politician's brother 15 December 2011 President signs access to information law 23 November 2011 Abraji mourns death of cameraman 8 November 2011 See all alerts: Brazil


South America

ECUADOR: Local media team banned from covering referendum vote counting 9 February 2012 ECUADOR: Fundamedios and AEDEP challenge constitutionality of amendments to Democracy Code 9 February 2012 VENEZUELA: Journalists attacked by men at funeral 8 February 2012 ECUADOR: Fundamedios condemns million-dollar fines against journalists Calderón and Zurita 8 February 2012


 
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