Good and Bad News on Government Information

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The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is the first international court to declare that access to government information is a human right. The recent ruling was reached in a case brought by Chilean environmentalists against the U.S.-based logging company Trillium. The court's decision is based on the American Convention on Human Rights' Article 13, which deals with "freedom of thought and expression." The ruling states, "Article 13 of the Convention, which specifically establishes the rights to 'seek' and 'receive' information, protects the right of all persons to request access to information held by the State." In other news, the nonprofit research group National Security Archive (NSA) is criticizing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' report on improving access to U.S. government information. The report "fails to acknowledge that many of the admirable goals set by [federal] agencies [to improve responses to Freedom of Information Act requests] can only be met with an increased commitment of resources," which "is not being considered by the Administration," states NSA. Among the "serious deficiencies" noted by the group are some federal agencies' "lack of basic technology such as copiers and Internet access."