Freedom of Information Implementation in the Caribbean

A CPA/Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) workshop of Caribbean MPs, government officials and civil society representatives agreed that Caribbean countries should move quickly to enact wide-ranging Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation.

The workshop agreed 28 measures which should be covered in FoI legislation in the Caribbean. They also suggested the region’s jurisdictions should share expertise to assist each other in establishing effective information regimes. Noting that the cost of FoI and of the proactive, regular and voluntary disclosure of information is a concern, especially in small jurisdictions with limited resources, the workshop argued that regular disclosure is less costly than disclosures made in response to individual public requests.

FoI regimes should cover as broad an area as possible: government departments all constitutional or statutory bodies, those which are wholly or partly government funded and bodies which are either performing public functions or providing public utilities in a monopoly. In addition, governments should also press for access to information held by any international organizations to which they belong. The workshop also heard that a Caribbean Human Rights Treaty is being discussed throughout the region and it is expected to encourage all states to adopt Freedom of Information as a basic human right.

The workshop was attended by 46 participants, including 16 Parliamentarians and representatives from government ministries and public groups. They met in Dominica’s House of Assembly from 27 November to 1 December. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, the Carter Centre, the Organization of American States and the Parliament of Dominica joined with the CPA and CIDA to put on the workshop. As well as Dominicans, participants came from Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.