In this Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011 photo, bundles of documents to be organized and digitally scanned sit in piles at the former National Police archive in Guatemala City. Guatemala adopted a freedom of information law in 2008. In the first worldwide test of freedom of information in 2011, Guatemala was among the most responsive of 105 countries involved, confirming a request from The Associated Press in 72 hours and sending all documents in ten days. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
EDITOR’S NOTE _ More than 100 countries have legislation that _ on paper _ gives citizens the right to know what is happening in their governments. The Associated Press has tested these laws worldwide for the first time.
By Martha Mendoza, AP National Writer
Satbir Sharma’s wife is dead. His family lives in fear in rural India. His father’s left leg is shattered, leaving him on crutches for life.
Sharma’s only hope lies in a new law that gives him the right to know what is happening in the investigation of his wife’s death. Most of all, he wants to know what will happen to the village mayor, now in jail on murder charges.
He talks quietly, under his breath, because his two young sons still think their mother is sick in the hospital and will come home. He pats a tidy stack of government documents perched on a table, under the gaze of Hindu gods from pictures on the wall.
“At least,” he says sadly, “we have the truth.”
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The promise is magnificent: More than 5.3 billion people in more than 100 countries now have the right — on paper — to know the truth about what their government is doing behind closed doors. Such laws have spread rapidly over the past decade, and when they work, they present a powerful way to engage citizens and expose corruption.
However, more than half the countries with such laws do not follow them, The Associated Press found in the first worldwide test of this promised freedom of information. And even when some countries do follow the law, the information unearthed can be at best useless and at worst deadly.
Right-to-know laws reflect a basic belief that information is power and belongs to the public. In a single week in January, AP reporters tested this premise by submitting questions about terrorism arrests and convictions, vetted by experts, to the European Union and the 105 countries with right-to-know laws or constitutional provisions.
AP also interviewed more than 100 experts worldwide and reviewed hundreds of studies.
Among its findings:
— Only 14 countries answered in full within their legal deadline. Another 38 countries eventually answered most questions, at least providing data.
— Newer democracies were in general more responsive than some developed ones. Guatemala confirmed the AP request in 72 hours, and sent all documents in 10 days. Turkey sent spreadsheets and data within seven days. Mexico posted responses on the Web. By comparison, Canada asked for a 200-day extension. The FBI in the United States responded six months late with a single sheet with four dates, two words and a large section blanked. Austria never responded at all.
— More than half the countries did not release anything, and three out of 10 did not even acknowledge the request. African governments led the world for ignoring requests, with no response whatsoever from 11 out of 15 countries.
— Dozens of countries adopted their laws at least in part because of financial incentives, and so are more likely to ignore them or limit their impact. China changed its access-to-information rules as a condition to joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, to boost the economy by as much as 10 percent. Beijing has since expanded the rules beyond trade matters. Pakistan adopted its 2002 ordinance in return for $1.4 billion in aid from the International Monetary Fund. Neither country responded to the AP’s test.
“Having a law that’s not being obeyed is almost worse than not having a law at all,” says Daniel Metcalf, the leading U.S. Freedom of Information authority at the Justice Department for the past 25 years, now a law professor at American University. “The entire credibility of a government is at stake.”
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