Sri Lankan Right to Information

Friday, September 28, 2018 A street drama performance Near Fort Railway Station Photo - Gayan Pushpika he year 2018 was named as the Tyear of ‘increasing public awareness’ on the Right to Information Act in order to create wider public acceptance and awareness of the Act, having en- sured the Sri Lankan citizen’s right to information on June 24 2016. The International Day for the Universal Access to Information which falls on 28 September, will be celebrated in Sri Lanka under the theme of ‘the right to information for a superior public service’ at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre. The event organized by the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media has also declared 21-28 September as the ‘access to information’ week, and they have taken various measures to inform the people of the importance to exercise the right to information. To read Pawatha as an Paper visit www.dailynews.lk /pawatha International RTI Day 2018 Friday, September 28, 2018 2 The Right to Information is an important M achievement in the path towards E good governance o have the country’s citizens become active participants in the progress of the country. S Tcountry’s governance is a mark of a developed democracy. Ma- ture forms of government based on the concept of a representative In connection to the Interna- S democracy have used various alternative methods to incorporate tional Day for the Universal their citizens in the subject of governance. The Right to Information Access to information which A Act belongs to such a method used by advanced democracies. falls on 2018 September, an international conference has G The right to information can be simply identified as the legal right been organized in Colombo. bestowed on the citizens to find out information on the workings of This will help us share our Maithripala Sirisena their elected government and its representative agencies.This right experiences with developed President E not only fences and confines corruption, fraud and misuse of public countries around the world who The Democratic S resources but also helps in improving the efficiency of the public also practice this right and have Socialist Republic of sector. opportunities to openly discuss, Sri Lanka learn, share examples and re- Our government which came into power after a struggle launched solve any issues. by a civil society collective to re-establish democracy in the country, introduced the right to information as a right of the citizens’ of I would like to extend my heart- this country. Thus this was a fulfillment of one of the main promises felt praise to the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media which is taking made to the civil society collective. Given the importance of this act, steps to promote the right to information; an important principle in it was decided that in 2018, the government would introduce vari- the journey towards achieving good governance and wish the con- ous measures to make the general public aware of the provisions ference all the success it deserves. of the act and the manner in which it can be used to increase its wider application and have the right to information work towards the The right to information is a victory of the people hen we consider future prospects of a country and the wel- People must be informed re- Wfare of its citizens, Right to Information (RTI) is one of the garding the Act, its implementa- most important rights enjoyed by the people. It is a remarkable tion and usage in order to real- achievement of this government to ensure the right of access to ize the goals of implementing information through the Act No 12 of 2016. this Act. On this International The government’s objective is to foster a culture of transparency Right to Information Day, we and accountability of public authorities and to promote a society in should follow collective meas- which the people of Sri Lanka will be able to actively participate in ures to enhance the public the decision making. awareness in the Act for mak- Ranil Wickremesinghe Prime Minister It is accepted that the people have a right to inquire after the func- ing it The Democratic tions of the public authorities that affect the general public. The an approach in the best interest Socialist Republic of government named 2018 as the “Year of Public Awareness” in co- of the people and the country. Sri Lanka incidence with the International Right to Information Day to promote the public for requesting information. International RTI Day 2018 Friday, September 28, 2018 3 The right to information is extremely important to M achieve the principles of E S good governance S he United Nations in its Universal Declaration of Human information among the TRights in 1948 stated in Article 19 that all individuals have general public and will al- A the right to freedom of opinion, expression and the right to seek, ways respect the citizen’s receive and impart information. In addition it also stresses on right to information and G the right to seek information and ideas through any media. will ensure it through the We have since 1978, for the first time worked to incorporate principles accepted in Vi- E the right to information as a fundamental right in the Constitu- sion 2025 to help deliver Mangala Samaraweera tion of the country. Despite the various challenges, the ability a superior government Minister of Finance S to enact the Right to Information Act No 12 of 2016 into the service to the people. and legal framework of the country is considered among one of our Through the Right to In- Mass Media greatest victories. formation Act, the coali- The people of the country as of now are realizing the impor- tion government is able tance of this act. To further widen its reach, the government to uphold its three main is working to include the study of the right to information as a pillars which are; democ- subject in the school curriculum and into the syllabi of higher racy, reconciliation and economic development and by moving education and technical education institutions. The government forward with this concept, I believe we are able to ensure great- through its ‘Vision 2025: Sri Lanka’s Path to Prosperity’ will also er media freedom and create a more informed general public work towards strengthening and further promoting the right to equipped with the free availability of information. Let us commit to a transparent government service t has been two years since the Sri Lankan citizens received the to increase awareness Iright to information through the 2016 Right to Information Act. of the act among the As we celebrate the International Day for the Universal Access general public. Of these to Information, all public authorities in the country have been events the international subjected to this act and the people have received the oppor- conference which would tunity to enjoy the full benefits of democracy. However simply be held at the Nelum- because a right to information act has been enacted, all changes Pokuna Theatre would expected of it will not take place. Its effectiveness would depend have special benefits on its public acceptance and use. Thus it is imperative that we and allow us to share make the people aware of this act. our experiences and Whilst Sri Lanka was the last country in South Asia to adopt this achievements among our Lasantha Alagiyawanna right, the results of the last two years have clearly shown that peers in South Asia. This Deputy Minister of this act has become an important tool in the hands of the public would make it a great Finance and to breathe life into the concept of good governance. opportunity to increase Mass Media We need to understand that when there is no transparency in awareness among public governance there is distance created between the people and officials and the general their politicians and public servants. Thus we need to create a public on the importance wider dialogue among the people with regards to this act. There- of this act. fore our ministry has declared a week to celebrate international day for information this year and organized several programmes International RTI Day 2018 Friday, September 28, 2018 4 I The story and important junctures in the N Right to Information Act n the face of it, the Right to Information Act in Sri Lanka by the Editors’ Guild, Free Media Movement and the Centre F Odoes not have a long history. If you only take the story for Policy Alternatives in 2002 and 2003. Similarly another at- of the time it took to become law, it only has a history of two tempt was made in 2000, when the incumbent President at O years. The Right to Information Act was enacted as a funda- the time, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga included the mental right in 2015, through the 19th Amendment to the Con- Right to Information as a fundamental right in the new draft stitution on 15 May 2015. Thereafter for the practical imple- Constitution prepared by the government at the time, it was R mentation of that right, the Right to Information Act 2016 No not successful at the time. 12, was presented to Parliament and passed on June 2016. M Thus the whole process only took a short time period of three Thus several attempts made to introduce the act prior to years. 2015 were not successful, but the ‘Freedom of speech and A expression including publication’’ had been guaranteed as a In the meantime it is important to note that in 2011, The Les- fundamental right, and expressed so by two Supreme Court sons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission report recom- judgments.

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